| Allgemeine SS | |
 The general SS was the administrative and non-combative part of theSS. | |
 | |
 ReichsführerHeinrich Himmler leads an SS ceremony on the anniversary of the death ofHeinrich I atQuedlinburg, July 1938. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 1934 |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Dissolved | 8 May 1945 |
| Jurisdiction | Germany andoccupied Europe |
| Headquarters | SS-Hauptamt,Prinz-Albrecht-Straße,Berlin 52°30′26″N13°22′57″E / 52.50722°N 13.38250°E /52.50722; 13.38250 |
| Employees | 100,000 c.1940 |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Parent agency | Schutzstaffel |
| Child agencies | |
TheAllgemeine SS ([ˌalɡəˈmaɪ̯nəˈɛsˈɛs]; "General SS") was a major branch of theSchutzstaffel (SS)paramilitary forces ofNazi Germany; it was managed by theSS Main Office (SS-Hauptamt). TheAllgemeine SS was officially established in the autumn of 1934 to distinguish its members from theSS-Verfügungstruppe (SS Dispositional Troops or SS-VT), which later became theWaffen-SS, and theSS-Totenkopfverbände (SS Death's Head Units or SS-TV), which were in charge of theNazi concentration camps andextermination camps. SS formations committed many war crimes against civilians and allied servicemen.[1]
Starting in 1939, foreign units of theAllgemeine SS were raised in occupied countries. From 1940 they were consolidated into the Directorate of theGermanic-SS (Leitstelle der germanischen SS). When the war first began, the vast majority of SS members belonged to theAllgemeine SS, but this proportion changed during the later years of the war after the Waffen-SS opened up membership to ethnic Germans and non-Germans.
Adolf Hitler in 1925 orderedJulius Schreck to organise the formation of a new bodyguard unit, theSchutzkommando ("Protection Command").[2] Hitler wanted a small group of tough ex-soldiers like Schreck, who would be loyal to him. The unit included oldStoßtrupp members likeEmil Maurice andErhard Heiden.[3][4] The unit made its first public appearance on 4 April 1925. That same year, theSchutzkommando was expanded to a national level. It was also successively renamed theSturmstaffel ("Storm Squadron") and then finally theSchutzstaffel ("Protection Squadron"; SS) on 9 November 1925.[5] The SS was subordinated to theSA and thus a subunit of the SA and the NSDAP. It was considered to be an elite organization by both party members and the general population.
The main task of the SS was the personal protection of theFührer of theNazi Party, Adolf Hitler. In 1925 the SS had only 200 active members and in 1926, it ended the year with the same number.[6][7] There were 280 members in 1928 as the SS continued to struggle under the SA.[8] AfterHeinrich Himmler took over the SS in January 1929, he worked to separate the SS from the SA.[9] By December 1929, the number of SS members had grown to 1,000.[10] Himmler began to systematically develop and expand the SS with stricter requirements for members as well as a general purge of SS members who were identified as drunkards, criminals, or otherwise undesirable for service in the SS. Himmler's ultimate aim was to turn the SS into the most powerful organization in Germany and most influential branch of the party.[11] By 1930 Himmler had persuaded Hitler to run the SS as a separate organisation, although it was officially still subordinate to the SA.[12]
After theMachtergreifung (seizure of power) by the NSDAP in January 1933, the SS began to expand into a massive organization. By the end of 1932 it included over 52,000 members.[6] By December 1933 the SS increased to 204,000 members and Himmler ordered a temporary freeze on recruitment.[6]
On 20 April 1934,Göring and Himmler agreed to put aside their differences, largely because of their mutual hatred of the SA. Göring transferred control of theGestapo to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police forces outsidePrussia. Two days later Himmler namedReinhard Heydrich the head of the Gestapo.[13] The SS was further cemented when both it and the Gestapo participated in the destruction of the SA leadership during theNight of the Long Knives from 30 June to 2 July 1934. They either killed or arrested every major SA leader, above allErnst Röhm.[14]
Himmler was later named the chief of all German police in June 1936,[15] and the Gestapo was incorporated with theKripo (Criminal Police) into sub-branches of theSiPo. Heydrich was made head of the SiPo and continued as chief of theSD.[16]
In August 1934, Himmler received permission from Hitler to form a new organisation from theSS Sonderkommandos and thePolitischen Bereitschaften, theSS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT). This was a paramilitary force, which in war was to be subordinate to theWehrmacht ("Armed Forces"), but remained under Himmler's control in times of peace and under Hitler's personal control regardless. According to this restructure, the SS now housed three different subordinate commands:
Himmler further conducted additional purges of the SS to exclude those deemed to be opportunists,alcoholics,homosexuals, or of uncertain racial status. This "house cleaning" removed some 60,000 SS members by December 1935. By 1939, the SS had risen again and reached its peak with an estimated 240,000 members.[20]
By the outbreak ofWorld War II in Europe, the SS had solidified into its final form. Correspondingly, the term "SS" could be applied to three separate organizations, mainly theAllgemeine SS,SS-Totenkopfverbände and the Waffen-SS, which until July 1940 was officially known as the SS-VT.[17][21] When the war first began, the vast majority of SS members belonged to theAllgemeine SS, but this statistic changed during the later stages of the war when the Waffen-SS opened up membership for non-Germans.[22][23] Further, with Himmler as Chief of the German Police, the SS also controlled the uniformedOrdnungspolizei (Order Police).[15]
The termAllgemeine-SS referred to the "General SS," meaning those units of the SS considered "main, regular, or standard." By 1938, the Allgemeine SS was administratively divided into several main sections:
After World War II began, the lines between theAllgemeine SS and the Waffen-SS became increasingly blurred, due largely to theAllgemeine SS headquarters offices having administrative and supply command over the Waffen-SS. By 1940, all of theAllgemeine SS had been issued grey war-time uniforms. Himmler ordered that the all-black uniforms be turned in for use by others. They were sent east where they were used by auxiliary police units and west to be used byGermanic-SS units such as the ones in theNetherlands andDenmark.
Approximately one third of theAllgemeine SS were considered "full time" meaning that they received asalary as government employees, were employed full-time in an SS office, and performed SS duties as their primary occupation. The vast majority of such full-time SS personnel were assigned to the main SS offices that were considered part of the Allgemeine SS. By 1942, these main offices managed all activities of the SS and were divided as follows:[24][25]
Main office commanders and staff were exempt from military conscription, although many, such as Heydrich, served as reservists in the regular German military. Main office members did join the Waffen-SS, where they could accept a lower rank and serve in active combat or be listed as inactive reservists. By 1944, with Germany's looming defeat, the draft exemption for theAllgemeine SS main offices was lifted and many junior members were ordered into combat with senior members assuming duties as Waffen-SS generals.
The core of theAllgemeine SS was part-time mustering formations spread throughout Germany. Members in these regional units would typically meet once a week in uniform, as well as participate in various Nazi Party functions. Activities including drill and ideological instruction, marching in parades, and providing security at various Nazi party rallies.
Regional SS units were organized into commands known asSS-Oberabschnitt meaning "SS-Senior Sector" responsible for commanding a (region), which were subordinate to the SS-HA;[26]SS-Abschnitt (SS-Sector) was the next lower level of command, responsible for administering a (District);[27]Standarten (regiment), which were the basic units of theAllgemeine SS.[28] Before 1934, SS personnel received no pay and their work was completely voluntary. After 1933, theOberabschnitt commanders and their staff became regarded as "full time" but the rank and file of theAllgemeine SS were still part-time only. RegularAllgemeine SS personnel were also not exempt from conscription and many were called up to serve in theWehrmacht.
In 1936, the state security police forces of the Gestapo and Kripo (Criminal Police) were consolidated. The combined forces were folded into theSicherheitspolizei (SiPo) and placed under the central command ofReinhard Heydrich, already chief of the partySicherheitsdienst (SD).[15] Later from 27 September 1939 forward, the SD, Gestapo, and Kripo were folded into theReich Security Main Office (RSHA) that was placed under Heydrich's control.[29] As a functioning state agency, the SiPo ceased to exist. The ordinary uniformed German police, known as theOrdnungspolizei (Orpo), were under SS control after 1936 but were never incorporated into theAllgemeine SS; although many police members were also dual SS members.[15]
Thedeath squad units of theEinsatzgruppen 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 theGerman armed forces following theinvasion of Poland. Men for the units were drawn from the SS, the SD, and the police.[31] Originally part of the SiPo, in late September 1939 the operational control of theEinsatzgruppen was taken over by the RSHA. When the killing units were re-formed prior to theinvasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the men of theEinsatzgruppen were drawn from the SD, Gestapo, Kripo, Orpo, civilian (SS auxiliary) andWaffen-SS.[32] TheEinsatzgruppen units perpetrated atrocities in the occupied Soviet Union, including mass murder of Jews, communists, prisoners of war, and hostages, and played a key role inthe Holocaust.[33]
All Concentration Camp staff were originally part of theAllgemeine SS under the office of theConcentration Camps Inspectorate (Inspektion der Konzentrationslager or IKL). First headed byTheodor Eicke, the Concentration Camp personnel were formed into theSS-Wachverbände in 1933, which later became known as the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV). Thereafter, the SS-TV branch increasingly became divided into the camp service proper and the militaryTotenkopf formation controlled by the SS-VT (forerunner of the Waffen-SS).[18][34]
As the Nazi regime became more oppressive and World War II escalated, the concentration camp system grew in size, lethal operation, and scope as the economic ambitions of the SS intensified.[35] Intensification of the killing operations took place in late 1941 when the SS began construction of stationary gassing facilities to replace the use ofEinsatzgruppen for mass killings.[36][37]
Victims at these newextermination camps were killed with the use ofcarbon monoxide gas from automobile engines.[38] DuringOperation Reinhard, three death camps were built in occupied Poland:Bełżec (operational by March 1942),Sobibór (operational by May 1942), andTreblinka (operational by July 1942).[39] On Himmler's orders, by early 1942 the concentration camp at Auschwitz was greatly expanded to include the addition ofgas chambers, where victims were killed using the pesticideZyklon B.[40][41]
After 1942, the entire camp service was placed under the authority of the Waffen-SS for a variety of administrative and logistical reasons. The ultimate command authority for the camp system during World War II was theSS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt (WHVA) underOswald Pohl. Beside the camp operations, the WHVA was the organization responsible for managing the finances, supply systems and business projects for theAllgemeine SS.[42][43] By 1944, with the concentration camps fully integrated with the Waffen-SS and under the control of the WVHA, a standard practice developed to rotate SS members in and out of the camps, based on manpower needs and also to give assignments to wounded Waffen-SS officers and soldiers who could no longer serve in front-line combat.[44] This rotation of personnel is the main argument that nearly the entire SS knew of the concentration camps, and what actions were committed within them, making the entire organization liable forwar crimes andcrimes against humanity.[45]
By late 1940 theAllgemeine SS controlled theGermanic SS (Germanische SS), which werecollaborationist organizations modeled after theAllgemeine SS in several Western European countries. Their purpose was to enforceNazi racial doctrine, especiallyanti-Semitic ideals. They typically served as local security police augmenting German units of the Gestapo, SD, and other main departments of the Reich Main Security Office.[46]
The Allgemeine SS also included theSS-Helferinnenkorps (Women’s Helper Corps), composed of female volunteers. These women underwent basic and specialized training that covered telephone, teletype, and radio procedures, cryptography, message handling, as well as ideological instruction and SS ritual practices. They worked in Allgemeine SS's child agencies such as theSS Main Office and theSS Economic and Administrative Office in Berlin, at regionalSicherheitspolizei headquarters in cities such asKraków andPrague. However, they primarilty served in theWaffen-SS, often in field signal units attached to divisions.[47]
Theranks of theAllgemeine SS and the Waffen-SS were based upon those of the SA and used the same titles. However, there was a distinctly separate hierarchical subdivision of the larger Waffen-SS from its general-SS counterpart and an SS member could in fact hold two separate SS ranks. For instance, in 1940Hermann Fegelein held theAllgemeine SS rank of aStandartenführer (full colonel), yet was only ranked anObersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS.[48] If this same SS member were anarchitectural engineer, then theSS-Hauptamt would issue a third rank ofSS-Sonderführer.
SS members could also hold reserve commissions in the regular military as well as aNazi Party political rank. Add to this that many senior SS members were also employees of the Reich government in capacities as ministers, deputies, etc. In 1944, nearly every SS general was granted equivalent Waffen-SS rank, without regard to previous military service. This was ordered so to give SS-generals authority over military units and POW camps and apparently to try to provide potential protection under theHague Convention rules of warfare.[49] In the event of capture by theAllies, SS-Generals thereby hoped they would be given status as military prisoners rather than captured police officials.
| Social background of SS-Officers in 1938 | |||
| Social background | SS-Branch | ||
| Social class when entering the SS-Officer Corps | SS-Totenkopfverbände | SS-Verfügungstruppe | Allgemeine SS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Class[n 1] | 26% | 22% | 27% |
| Lower Middle Class[n 2] | 41% | 42% | 43% |
| Upper Middle Class[n 3] | 33% | 36% | 31% |
| |||
| Source: | [50] | ||
In 1944, the stated membership estimate for the SS was 800,000. The Waffen-SS had approximately 600,000 of those members in their ranks.[51] The Waffen-SS had grown from threeregiments to over 38divisions during World War II, and served alongside theHeer (regular army), but never formally a part of it.[52] In comparison, by the end of the war theAllgemeine SS only had a little over 40,000 men still in its ranks.[53]
The mustering formations of part-time SS members, considered before 1938 to be the core of theAllgemeine SS, were maintained in their own order of battle, beginning with regiment sizedStandarten units and extending upwards to division strengthOberabschnitte commands. Within theAllgemeine SSStandarten there were in turn subordinate battalions ofSturmbann themselves divided into companySturme.
For most rank and file members of theAllgemeine SS, theSturm level was the highest which the ordinary SS member would typically associate with. TheSturm itself was further divided into platoon sizedTruppen (sometimes known asZug) which were in turn divided into squad sizedScharen. For largerAllgemeine SS commands, theScharen would be further divided intoRotte which were theAllgemeine SS equivalent of afire team.
Himmler had grand visions for the SS and authorized SS and Police Bases (SS- und Polizeistützpunkte) to be established in occupied Poland and occupied areas of the Soviet Union. They were to be "armed industrialized agricultural complexes". They would also maintain order in the areas they were established. They did not go beyond the planning stage.[54]
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| National | |
| Other | |
