The Himmler's SS (35 page)

The Honour Chevron for the Old Guard. This came to be regarded as the badge of the ‘die-hard' Nazi, even though an eighteen-year-old SS recruit in 1939 would have been entitled to wear it had he been a ten-year-old Hitler Youth in 1931.

RZM label inside an Allgemeine-SS peaked cap, indicating that the manufacturer was approved by the NSDAP. As of 16 January 1935, all Nazi uniform items were obliged by law to carry these tags. Unauthorised production of NSDAP equipment was strictly forbidden, and there were severe penalties for noncompliance with the regulations. The RZM had the authority to close down offending firms, and the owners were liable to be imprisoned.

RZM label on the reverse of an SS armband. It can be decoded as follows: RZM – approved by the RZM; SS – approved by the SS; D – ‘Dienstkleidung' or service uniform division of the RZM; A4 – cloth insignia manufacturer; 275 – maker's number, allocated by the RZM; A No. 293333 – serial number of the armband, allocated by the RZM.

Although the SS became one of the most complex of all Nazi paramilitary organisations, its rank structure remained relatively stable and underwent few major alterations. Until 1930 there were basically only two SS ranks, namely SS-Mann and SS-Staffelführer. That year, with the evolution of Stürme and Sturmbanne, nine grades began to be employed by the SS, based on those of the SA. These were:

SS-Mann

SS-Scharführer

SS-Truppführer

SS-Sturmführer

SS-Sturmbannführer

SS-Standartenführer

SS-Oberführer

SS-Gruppenführer

SS-Obergruppenführer

Himmler wearing the elegant pale-grey Allgemeine-SS uniform introduced in 1938.

On 19 May 1933, a further eight ranks were created to accommodate the general expansion of the SS, namely:

SS-Sturmmann

SS-Rottenführer

SS-Oberscharführer

SS-Obertruppführer

SS-Obersturmführer

SS-Sturmhauptführer

SS-Obersturmbannführer

SS-Brigadeführer

In August 1934, Himmler was elevated to the new rank of Reichsführer-SS and given insignia unique to his position, replacing the SS-Obergruppenführer badges he wore prior to that time.

On 15 October 1934, further revisions were made to the SS rank system:

SS-Bewerber was added as the lowest rank

SS-Anwärter was added as the second lowest rank

SS-Scharführer became SS-Unterscharführer

SS-Oberscharführer became SS-Scharführer

SS-Truppführer became SS-Oberscharführer

SS-Obertruppführer became SS-Hauptscharführer

SS-Sturmführer became SS-Untersturmführer

SS-Sturmhauptführer became SS-Hauptsturmführer

Rank insignia remained unchanged from that point until 7 April 1942, when new collar patches were introduced for:

SS-Oberführer

SS-Brigadeführer

SS-Gruppenführer

SS-Obergruppenführer

At the same time, a new and senior rank of SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer was created.

The final and definitive Allgemeine-SS rank system, dating from April 1942 and lasting until the end of the war, was as follows:

As with all NSDAP formations, Hitler was ultimately Commander-in-Chief of the SS and held the personal title of ‘Der Oberste Führer der Schutzstaffel'.

During the war, where an Allgemeine-SS member temporarily serving in the Wehrmacht attained a military rank higher than his rank in the SS, the Wehrmacht rank generally preceded that of the SS so far as ordinary day-to-day affairs were concerned. However, in official SS correspondence and publications the Allgemeine-SS rank always took precedence over all other designations, even governmental titles. For example, ‘Das Schwarze Korps' constantly referred to the German Foreign Minister by his honorary position as ‘SS-Obergruppenführer von Ribbentrop' rather than by his ministerial appointment. Similarly, Allgemeine-SS ranks took precedence over those of the Waffen-SS and police. In April 1941, Himmler arranged for a blanket appointment of all HSSPfs to the ranks of Generalmajor, Generalleutnant or General der Polizei and, after 20 July 1944, the HSSPfs were also made generals of the Waffen-SS. So a man who was nominated to be a general in the Allgemeine-SS, the police and the Waffen-SS would be entitled ‘SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS und Polizei', in that order.

The 1933-pattern SS dagger, showing the single strap hanger (left) and the vertical hanger (right).

The symbolic uniforms and exclusive ranks and titles of the SS were further enhanced by the Black Order's use of decorative edged weaponry. The SS service dagger, or Dienstdolch, was introduced along with its SA counterpart by the interim Chief of Staff of the SA and Himmler's then superior, Obergruppenführer von Krausser, under SA Order No. 1734/33 of 15 December 1933. Black and silver in colour, it bore the SS motto etched on the blade and runes and eagle on the grip, and its general design was based on that of a seventeenth-century German hunting dagger known as the ‘Holbein', which bore a representation of Holbein's painting ‘The Dance of Death' on its scabbard. Worn by all ranks of the Allgemeine-SS with service and walking out dress, the SS dagger was presented to its owner only at the special 9 November ceremony when he graduated from SS-Anwärter to SS-Mann. It was not issued at any other time, or
en masse
like the daggers of the plebian SA. Each SS-Anwärter paid the full cost of his dagger, usually in small instalments, prior to its presentation.

On 17 February 1934, SS-Gruppenführer Kurt Wittje, Chief of the SS-Amt who was dismissed the following year for homosexuality, forbade the private purchase or ‘trading in' of SS daggers on the open market. Henceforth, daggers could be ordered only from manufacturers through the SS-Amt, for issue via the three main SS uniform distribution centres at Munich, Dresden and Berlin, which regularly processed requisitions received from the various Oberabschnitte headquarters. Moreover, it was made a disciplinary offence for an SS man to dispose of or lose his dagger, on the grounds that it was a symbol of his office. In that way, it was assured that no unauthorised person could buy or otherwise acquire an SS dagger. As of 25 January 1935, members dismissed from the SS had to surrender their daggers, even if they were personal property paid for from their own funds. In cases of voluntary resignation or normal retirement, however, daggers could be retained and the person in question was given a certificate stating that he was entitled to possess the dagger.

The SS dagger was suspended at an angle from a single leather strap until November 1934, when Himmler introduced a vertical hanger for wear with service dress during crowd control. However, the vertical hanger, while more stable, was too reminiscent of the humble bayonet frog and in 1936 the single strap was reintroduced for both the walking out and service uniforms. Thereafter, the vertical hanger was restricted to use on route marches and military exercises.