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The Schutzstaffel (German: [ˈʃʊtsˌʃtafl̩] ⓘ; lit. ' Protection Squadron '; SS; also stylised with Armanen runes as ᛋᛋ) was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II.
All divisions in the Waffen-SS were ordered in a single series of numbers as formed, regardless of type. [185] A total of 39 were formed, beginning with the initial three in 1933 and ramping up to nine alone in 1945. Those tagged with nationalities were at least nominally recruited from those nationalities.
The Allgemeine SS also formed several cavalry commands, which were mainly intended to attract German nobility into the ranks of the SS. These formations were little more than equestrian riding clubs and, by the start of World War II, the General-SS Cavalry had mostly ceased to exist except for a handful of members. The command names of the ...
From 1942 onwards, further units of non-Germanic recruits were formed. [12] Legions were formed of men from Estonia, Latvia as well as men from Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, and Cossacks. [18] By 1943 the Waffen-SS could no longer claim to be an "elite" fighting force overall. Recruitment and conscription based on ...
All Waffen-SS divisions were ordered in a single series of numbers as formed, regardless of type. [1] Those with ethnic groups listed were at least nominally recruited from those groups. Many of the higher-numbered units were divisions in name only, being in reality only small battlegroups (Kampfgruppen).
IV SS Panzer Corps (formerly VII SS Panzer Corps) V SS Mountain Corps; VI SS Army Corps (Latvian) VII SS Panzer Corps (see above ↑ IV SS Panzer Corps) VIII SS Cavalry Corps (planned in 1945 but not formed) IX Waffen Mountain Corps of the SS (Croatian) X SS Corps (made up of disbanded XIV SS Corps headquarters) XI SS Panzer Corps; XII SS Corps
Following the 1934 purge of the SA, the concentration camps were run exclusively by the SS via the Concentration Camps Inspectorate and later the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Initially, most prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany , but as time went on different groups were arrested, including "habitual criminals ...
The death squad units of the Einsatzgruppen were formed under the direction of Heydrich and operated by the SS before and during World War II. [30] In September 1939, they operated in territories occupied by the German armed forces following the invasion of Poland. Men for the units were drawn from the SS, the SD, and the police. [31]