Glossary of WWII German military terms

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This is a list of words, terms, concepts, and slogans that were used by the German military during World War II. Some have also been used in other times, and some are still in use today. Ranks and translations of the nicknames Germans gave their vehicles during the war are included. Also included are some general terms from the German language found frequently in military jargon. Some terms are from the general German cultural background, others are given to show a change that was made before or after the Nazi era. Some factories that were the primary producers of military equipment, especially tanks, are also given.

: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Wehrmacht military ranks | Operation code names | See also | References

Glossary

A

abgeschossen -- shot down; destroyed
Abschnitt -- sector, district
Abteilung (Abt.) -- detachment, section, battalion
Abwehr -- defense; however, this term was also a name for the counter-espionage service (German Secret Service) of the high command, headed by Admiral Canaris.
Abzeichen -- insignia; badge of rank, appointment or distinction
Adlerangriffe -- "eagle attack", term for projected "decisive attack" by Luftwaffe on RAF Fighter Command
Aggregat-4 (A4) -- earlier name for the German V2 rocket.
AGRU-Front -- Technische Ausbildungsgruppe für Front U-Boote -- technical training group for front-line u-boats.
Allgemeine-SS -- general body of the Schutzstaffel consisting of full-time, part-time, and honorary members.
Alte Hasen -- Old hares; slang for military veterans who survived front-line hardships.
Ami -- German slang for an American Soldier
Amt -- office, main office branch
Amt Mil -- German Army intelligence organization which succeeded the Abwehr.
Angriff -- attack
"Arbeit macht frei" -- Work sets you free.; notorious slogan seen in some concentration camps.
Armee -- army
Armeeabteilung -- command between a corps and an army, an enlarged corps headquarters.
Armeekorps -- infantry corps
Armee-Nachrichten-Führer -- Army Signals Officer, served on the staff HQ of an Armee.
Armeeoberkommando -- Field Army Command
Armee-Pionier-Führer -- Army Engineer Officer, served on the staff HQ of an Armee.
Armee-Sanitäts-Abteilung -- Army medical unit
aufgelöst-- dissolved; disbanded, written off the order of battle after being destroyed.
Aufklärung -- reconnaissance
Aufklärungs-Abteilung -- reconnaissance unit or batallion, also used to designate certain battalion-sized units.
Aus der Traum -- lit. The dream is over; a slogan painted by German soldiers near the end of the war expressing the surreality of their situation.
Ausführung (Ausf.) -- version, model, variant, batch
Ausschreitungen -- bloody atrocities (see Greuelerzählungen).
Auszeichnung -- accolade, distinction

B

Banditen -- bandits; bewaffnete banden -- armed gangs; Soldaten in Zivilkleidung -- soldiers in civilian dress; (see Franktireure).
Batterie -- battery, artillery piece
Baubelehrung -- boat famililarization; when a u-boat crew studied the construction of a new submarine; see "KLA."
Baupionier -- army construction engineer
B-Dienst -- Beobachtungsdienst, lit observation service; German Navy cryptanalytical department.
BDM Bund Deutscher Mädel -- League of German Girls, the girls segment of Hitler Youth.
BdU -- Befeshlshaber der U-boote -- Commander-in-Chief of the U-boats (Adm. Donitz); see FdU.
Befehl (pl. Befehle) -- order, command
Beobachtungswagen -- observation or reconnaissance vehicle
Bergepanzer -- salvage or tank-recovery vehicle
Beute-Panzer -- captured tank or armored vehicle
Blechkoller -- tin fright; in U-boats, a form of nervous tension that could be caused by depth charge attacks and resulted in violence or hysteria.
Blitzkrieg -- lightning war; fast moving battle tactics developed by German generals, most notably Erwin Rommel, Heinz Guderian, and Erich von Manstein, using massed tanks and ground-attack bombers to speedily penetrate enemy lines at points and move to their rear, causing confusion/panic among them.
Brückenleger -- bridgelayer
Brummbär -- grumbler; a children's word for bear in German. It was the nickname for a mobile artillery piece
Bundeswehr -- name adopted for the German armed forces after the fall of the Third Reich in the western part. (between 1945 and 1955 there was no German army). Consisting of Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Marine (Navy).

C

Chef des Generalstabes -- Chief of the General Staff
Concentration camp -- Any internment camp for holding "enemies of the Third Reich." The construction of concentration camps began almost immediately after Hitler came to power. There were several kinds: labor camps, prison camps and death camps.

D

Daimler Benz (DB) -- A producer of military vehicles
Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) -- German troops send to North Africa under the command of Erwin Rommel to prevent the loss of Libya by the Italians.
Death Marches -- At the end of the war when it became obvious that the German army was trapped between the Soviets to the east and the advancing Allied troops from the west, the Nazis, in an attempt to prevent the liberation of camp inmates, forced them to march westward. Thousands died in these marches.
Drahtverhau -- barbed-wire entanglement. Slang term used by German soldiers during World Wars I and II for a military-issue mixture of dried vegetables.
Drang nach Osten -- "Push to the East" into Poland.

E

Eagle's Nest -- name given to Hitler's mountain-top home at Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps, also known as the Berghof.
EGz.b.V. -- Einsatzgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung -- SS Special Purpose Operational Group.
Eichenlaubträger -- oak-leaf cluster to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Einheit -- detachment or unit
Einsatz -- duty, mission, encouragement
Einsatzbereit -- statement meaning, "Ready for action."
Einsatzgruppen -- battalion-sized, mobile killing units of the Security Police and SS Security Service or SS Special Action Groups that followed the German armies into the Soviet Union in June 1941. These units were supported by units of the uniformed German Order Police and auxiliaries of volunteers (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian). Their victims, primarily Jews, were executed by shooting and were buried in mass graves from which they were later exhumed and burned. At least a million Jews were killed in this manner. There were four Einsatzgruppen (A,B,C,D) which were subdivided into company-sized Einsatzkommandos.
Einsatzkommando -- Subdivisions of the Einsatzgruppen which took care of the mobilization and killing of Jews during the German invasion into the Soviet Union.
Eisenbahn -- iron way; railroad
Eisernes Kreuz -- iron cross; medal awarded for valorious service
Elektra -- a German radio-navigational system
Endlösung or Endziel -- the "Final Solution"; refers to the genocide planned against the Jewish people.
Enigma -- German message encryption equipment.
Entmenscht -- dehumanized (see Untermenschen).
Erkennungsmarke -- identity tag; "dog tag"
Ersatz -- substitute, replacement, reserves; could refer to replacement troops or any substance used in place of another, e.g., ersatz coffee, ersatz rubber, etc.
Ersatzbataillone or Marschbataillone -- coherent military replacement groups.
Etappendienst -- German naval intelligence department
Etappenschwein -- (slang) "rear swine" (REMF).
Exerzierpanzer -- practice or exercise tank

F

Fallschirmjäger -- paratroopers; German airborne troops
FdU -- Führer der U-Boote; Commander-in-Chief of U-boats (used from WWI to 1939, when title was reduced to Regional Commander)
Feindbild -- enemy image; prejudiced 'bogeyman' image of the enemy
Feld -- field
Feldgendarmerie -- German military or field police
Feldgrau -- field gray; term used to describe the color of the ordinary German soldier's tunic - by extension the soldiers themselves
Feldlazarett -- field hospital
Feldpolizeibeamte -- field police officers
Feldpost, Feldpostbrief; mail to and from troops at the front
Feind -- enemy
Feindfahrt -- enemy trip; in U-boat terminology, a war cruise/patrol against the enemy
Festung -- fortress
Feuerschutz -- suppresive fire, covering fire
FlaK -- Fliegerabwehrkanone, Flug(zeug)abwehrkanone -- air defense gun; ballistic ground to air cannon, anti-aircraft gun; e.g. the eighty-eight
FlaK-Helfer -- FlaK helper; often underaged troops used to load and operate FlaK batteries
FlaKpanzer -- anti-aircraft tank, such as the Möbelwagen
Flammpanzer -- flame-throwing tank
Flammenwerfer -- flame-thrower
Fliegerabwehr-Abteilung -- anti-aircraft batallion
Fliegerabwehrkanone -- see FlaK
Flucht nach vorn -- flight to the front; trying to assault rather than wait or retreat while under threat
Flug(zeug)abwehrkanone -- see FlaK
Forschungsamt -- intelligence service of the Luftwaffe
Franktireure -- terrorists; (see Freischärler)
Franktireurkrieg -- terrorist warfare
Freikorps -- volunteer corps; (see Freiwillige)
Freischärler -- irregular/guerillas (see Widerstandskräfte)
Freischärlerunwesen -- pestering by guerillas; guerilla activities or terrorist incidents
Freiwillige -- volunteer
Fremde Heere Ost/West (FHO/FHW)-- Foreign Armies East/West, staff intelligence specialst on subject
Fronterlebnis -- battle-front expierence
Frontgemeinschaft -- front-line community/commradship
Frontkämpfer -- battle-front soldier
Frontgemeinschaft -- front combat soldier
Führer -- leader, title given to exclusively to Adolf Hitler: Mein Führer, Der Führer
Funke -- 1.: radio [die Funke, f., slang abbrev. for Funkgerät] 2.: spark [der Funke, m.].
Funker -- radio operator (from funken [verb], to transmit by radio)
Füsilier -- an historic German term often used to refer to heavy infantry units, original referring to the type of weapon carried of the same name. During WWII used to name infantry formations with some recon abilities that replaced an infantry division's recon battalion mid-war when the Germans reduced the number of standard infantry battalions in their divisions from 9 to 6.
Freya radar -- first operational radar with the Kriegsmarine

G

Gauleiter -- supreme territorial or regional party authority(-ies)
Gebirgsjäger -- mountain troops; a mountain unit might be described as either Gebirgs or Gebirgsjäger
gefallen -- killed in action
Gefreiter -- Corporal
geheim -- secret
Geheime Feldpolizei -- secret field police
Geheimfernschreiber -- (lit. secret distance writer) cipher machine
Gemeindepolizei -- local police
Gemeinschaft -- a community of men who shared a great destiny.
Generalfeldmarschall -- Field Marshal
Generalkommando -- The headquarters of an army corps
Generalstab des Heeres (Gen.St.d.H.) -- German Army General Staff
gepanzert -- armored
Geschütz -- gun
Gestapo -- Geheime Staatspolizei, lit. secret state police; the official state secret police force of Nazi Germany, coordinated with the Kripo under the SD.
Gewehr -- rifle, such as the Gewehr 43.
Gift -- poison; giftig: poisonous/toxic
Gleichschaltung -- coordination, coordination of everything into Nazi ideals.
Goldfasan (Golden pheasant) -- slang term for high-ranking Nazi Party members. Derived from the brown-and-red uniforms similar to the colors of male pheasants.
Gothic Line -- German defence line in Italy, north of Florence.
Grabenkrieg -- trench warfare
Granatwerfer -- grenade thrower; mortar
Grenadier -- traditional term for heavy infantry, adopted from mid-war onward as a morale-building honorific often indicative of low-grade formations
Grenze -- border
Grenzschutz -- border patrol
Greuelerzählungen -- numerous atrocities
Gröfaz -- German soldiers' derogatory acronym for Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten, a title initially publicized by Nazi propaganda to refer to Adolf Hitler during the early war years; lit. "Greatest War Lord of all Time".
Gruppe -- group; could be either small or large units.
Gruppenstab -- command staff
Gustav Line -- German defence line in Italy, centred on the monastery of Monte Cassino.

H

Halt -- Stop/Freeze
Hakenkreuz -- (hooked cross) the version of the Swastika used by the Nazi Party
Handelsmarine -- German merchant marine
Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG (Hanomag) -- producer of military vehicles
Härteübung -- hardiness training
Haubitze -- howitzer
Hauptamt Sicherheitspolizei (HA-Sipo) -- Security Police headquarters
Heckenschützen -- terrorist-snipers
Heer -- regular German Army
Heeresgruppekommando (HGr.Kdo) -- Army Group Command
Heimat -- home, homeland
Heimatschuß -- homeland shot; a wound not severe enough to be permanently disabling but of enough severity to require evacuation from the battlefront. The German soldier's equivalent of the American G.I.'s "million-dollar wound."
Heldenklau - stealing or snatching of heroes; slang term used to denote the practice of commandeering rear-echelon personnel for front-line service
Hetzer -- agitators, also the name of a tank-hunter
Hilfsfreiwillige (HIWI) - German Army volunteer forces usually made up of Soviet volunteers serving in non-combat capacities
Himmelfahrtskommando -- lit. trip to heaven unit, a suicide mission
Hinterhalt -- ambush
Hitler Jugend (HJ) -- Hitler Youth organization
Hilfswilliger (Hiwi) -- eastern-European volunteer helper to the military
Höckerhindernisse -- anti-tank obstacles often referred to as "Dragon's Teeth"
Hoheitsabzeichen -- national insignia (eagle and swastika)
Hummel -- bumble-bee; nickname for a piece of mobile artillery
Hundehütte -- lit. dog house, punishment hut

I

Infanterie -- infantry
Ivan -- German slang for a Soviet soldier (similar to "Kraut", the American slang term for Germans).

J

Jabo (Jagdbomber) -- fighter-bomber
Jagdgeschwader (JG) -- single-engine fighter wing.
Jagdpanzer -- tank hunter; armored, mobile tank destroyer
Jagd-Kommando -- hunting commando; generally refers to a commando outfit that remained behind enemy lines when an area was overrun and would carry out sabotage and other guerrilla actions. These units did not generally operate as such and were later taken over by the SS and used as front line combat troops in 1944-45.
Jäger -- light infantry; used alone or as part of a specialty such as Gebirgsjäger or Fallschirmjäger. The root Jagd- is also used in its literal meaning of hunter for weapon systems such Jagdtiger.
Junkerschule -- officer academy

K

Kadavergehorsam -- "absolute duty and blind obedience till death"
Kameradschaft -- small military unit, or phrase for "comrade support amongst soldiers" (see Volkgemeinschaft).
Kampf -- struggle, fight or conflict
Kampfgeist -- fighting spirit
Kampfgeschwader (KG) -- bomber wing
Kampfgruppe -- battlegroup; formal designation of an ad hoc task force, or informal description of a combat unit at greatly reduced strength.
Kampfschwimmer -- frogman
Kampfzone -- battle zone
Kampfwunde -- battle injury
Kapo -- crematory-oven workers in the concentration camps (see Konzentrationslager).
Kaserne -- barracks
Kavallerie -- cavalry
Ketten -- track, such as a tank track; tracked vehicle
Kettenhund -- "chained dog", slang for a Military Policeman (derived from the metal gorget worn on a chain around the neck).
Kettenkraftrad -- a tracked motorcycle; also "Kettenkrad"
Kindersärge -- "children's coffins", slang term applied to small, wooden, antipersonnel box-mines.
KLA: Kriegsschiffbaulehrabteilung -- was a warship-construction training division which supervised a Baubelehrung.
Kleinkampfverband (K-Verband) -- special naval operations by a few frogmen.
Kleinkrieg -- guerrilla war
Knochensammlung -- gathering the bones of dead soldiers.
Kommandanten-Schießlehrgang -- U-boat Commander's Torpedo Course.
Kommando -- command; detachment; detail
Kommissarbefehl -- 6 June 1941, order to kill all political commissars in the Red Army (the notorious "commissar order")
Kompanie -- company, unit
Konzentrationslager (KZL) -- concentration camp
Knickebein -- crooked leg, also "bent leg" (in sense of "dogleg"); German navigational system using radio beams to guide bombers.
Krad (Kraft-Radfahrzeug) -- motorcycle
Kradschütze(n) -- motorcycle unit or soldier
Kraut -- for sauerkraut; slang term used by Americans to refer to Germans.
Krieg- -- wartime-, war
Kriegsgefangener -- prisoner of war
Kriegsgericht -- court martial; slang for a war dish or poor meal.
Kriegsmarine -- German Navy 1935-1945
Kriegsneurose -- battle fatigue
Kriegstagebuch -- war diary
Kriminalpolizei (Kripo) -- Criminal police
Krupp (Kp) -- producer of tanks
Krupp-Daimler (KD) -- A producer of tanks
Kübel -- (bucket or tub) short for Kübelwagen, open-topped military utility cars
Kugel -- bullet (also ball)
Kugelblitz -- (lit. ball lightning) fireball
Küstenfischkutter (KFK) -- patrol vessels constructed to a fishing-vessel design; (see Vorpostenboote).

L

Landekopf -- beachhead
Landratsamt -- civil administration
Landsturm -- historically, infantry of non-professional soldiers; a kind of militia
Landser -- historical term for a German infantryman; slang: "Schütze Arsch."
Landwehr -- Territorial Army
Latrinenparole -- "latrine talk" slang for "rumor talk."
laufende Nummer -- serial number
Lebensraum -- space to live in
Lehr -- "demonstration"; usually part of the name of an elite formation used as or mobilzed from instructional troops, e.g. Panzer Lehr.
leicht -- light, usually to refer a lighter type, such as light tank: leichter Panzer. Several classes of division were also classified as "light".
Liechtenstein -- German airborne radar used for nightfighting.
Lorenz Schlüsselzusatz -- German cipher machine.
Lorenz (navigation) -- pre-war blind-landing aid used at many airports. most German bombers had the radio equipment needed to use it.
Luchs -- lynx; nickname given to a version of the Panzer II.
Leuchtkugel -- signal flare
Luftadler -- air eagle; Luftwaffe's eagle insignia
Luftangriff -- air attack, air raid
Luftwaffe -- air force; the German Air Force
Luftschutzpolizei -- air raid protection police

M

MAN -- German armed anti-nazi resistance group named after the MAN engineering works in Bavaria.
Mannschaften -- enlisted personnel
Maus -- mouse; nickname for a large, heavy tank that never passed beyond prototype stage.
Maybach (M) -- a company that manufactured engines for many of the German panzers.
Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (M.A.N.)-- Augsburg-Nuremberg Machine Factory; a German engineering works and truck manufacturer. Now called MAN AG.
Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover (MNH) -- weapon (tank) development and production firm.
Maschinengewehr (MG - pronounced emm-gay) -- machine gun, as in the MG-42.
Maschinenpistole (MP) -- submachine gun, as in the MP40.
Mine (pl. Minen) -- an anti-personnel, tank, or boat mine.
Minensuchboote (M-boats) -- large, minesweepers
Mißliebige -- undesirables
Munitionsschlepper -- munitions or ammunition carrier.
Mütze -- cap or small hat, such as the M43 field cap, also known as the Einheitsfeldmütze.

N

Nachricht(en) -- signals / news / communication
Nachschubtruppen -- supply troops
Nacht und Nebel -- night and fog; code for some prisoners that were to be disposed of, leaving no traces.
Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG) -- night-figher air wing.
Nahverteidigungswaffe -- Close Defense Weapon; an attachment to panzers to combat close assaulting infantry
Nashorn -- rhinoceros, nickname for a tank destroyer
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) -- National Socialist German Worker's Party -- Nazi Party.
Nationalsozialistische Führungsoffiziere (NSFO) -- National Socialist Leadership Officers.
Nationalsolzialistische Volksfürsorge (NSV) -- National Socialist People's Welfare centers.
Naxos radar detector -- "Naxos Z" was developed for night fighters, "Naxos U", was provided to U-boats
Nebelwerfer (Nb.W) -- fog thrower; rocket artillery, multi-barrel rocket launchers that could be used for smoke or high explosive projectiles.
Norden -- north
Nummer (Nr.) -- Number; used to describe some divisional organizations with a unit number but no combat assets, often converted to ordinary divisions later on. (E.g. Division Nr. 157.)

O

Ober-* -- higher; part of several military ranks like Oberleutnant
Oberst* -- German equivalent of a colonel
Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres (Ob.d.H.) -- Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) -- Army High Command; Army General Staff.
Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine -- Navy High Command
Oberkommando der Luftwaffe -- Supreme Command of the Air Force
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht -- Armed Forces High Command
Offizier-Lager (Oflag) -- officer camp; German prisoner of war camp for Allied officers.
Ordnungspolizei (Orpo) -- order police
Ortskampf -- combat in towns
Osten -- east
Ostjuden -- eastern Jews in Poland
Ostmark -- post-Anschlus Austria
Ostpreußen -- Province of East Prussia

P

Panje -- horse-cart wagon
Panzer -- armor; German word is derived from Old French pancier, meaning "armor for the belly". It can refer to a tank (see panzerkampfwagen below), or to an armored formation (Panzer Division is literally "Tank Division"; the adjective for "armored" is gepanzert)
Panzerabwehrkanone (PaK) -- anti-tank gun
Panzerbefehlswagen (Pz.Bef.Wg) -- the commanding tank of any panzer detachment.
Panzerfaust -- A light disposable infantry anti-tank weapon firing a rocket propelled shaped charge grenade.
Panzerschreck -- A heavy re-usable infantry anti-tank weapon firing a rocket propelled shaped charge grenade. Modelled on the US bazooka. Also called Offenrohr (stovepipe), for its appearance.
Panzergrenadier -- mechanized infantry
Panzerjäger -- armor or tank hunter, anti-tank weapon
Panzerkampfwagen (Pzkpfw.) -- armored fighting vehicle; usually a reference to a type of tank.
Panzerschiffe -- armored ships, i.e. "pocket battleships".
Panzerzerstörer -- tank destroyer; name was sometimes also given to units in an attempt to boost morale.
Pionier (pl. pioniere) -- combat engineer
Porsche (P) -- company that designed and produced tanks and other military vehicles. They now produce cars.

Q

Quist -- one of several manufacturers of German helmets both during and after WWII.

R

Radikale Niederwerfung -- ruthless suppression
Rasputitsa -- slang for watery, mud-filled trenches or landscape in Russia.
Räumboote (R-boats) -- small motor minesweepers
Reich -- realm, empire
Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) -- compulsory labor service in Nazi Germany
Reichsbahn -- railway system
Reichsführer-SS -- Reich Leader of the SS, an office held by Heinrich Himmler.
Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) -- Reich Security Main Office or Reich Security Central Office; orgainisation created by Himmler to coordinate all German security and police departments, including the Gestapo, Kripo and SD (Sicherheitsdienst der SS).
Reichswehr -- name for the German Armed Forces under the Weimar Republic, from 1919 to 1935.
Reissen und scheissen -- slang for aches and bowel runs.
Reiter -- cavalry
Ritterkreuz -- Knight's Cross (of the Iron Cross); award for valorious service for those who had already received the Iron Cross. 7318 of these were awarded during the war.
Ritterkreuzträger - a holder of the Knight's Cross.
Rollkommando -- small unit
Rommelspargel -- Rommel's Asparagus; slanted and barb-wired poles placed in key places behind the Atlantic Wall with the intention of preventing paratroop and glider landings.
Rotes Kreuz -- Red Cross

S

SA -- see Sturmabteilung
S-Mine -- a common type of anti-personnel landmine
Sanität -- (1) medical unit; (2) medical personnel
Sanka -- acronym for Sanitätskraftfahrtzeug, a term for German field ambulances
Saukopf -- pig's head, used to refer to the shape of a gun mantlet or mount
Schanzzeug -- entrenching tool; slang term for fork and knife
Scharfschütze -- sharpshooter, sniper, marksman
Schatten -- shadow; used to describe division headquarters that controlled just a few combat assets, usually for the purpose of misleading enemy intelligence
Schlacht -- battle
Schlachtschiff -- battleship
schnell -- fast
Schnellboot (S-boot) -- motor torpedo boat (British term, E-boat, for "enemy")
Schnelltruppen -- mechanized troops (whether armor or infantry)
Schrecklichkeit -- using terror against civilians.
Schutzhaft -- protective custody
Schutzpolizei -- uniformed police
Schutzstaffel (SS) -- protection squad; basically, Hitler's praetorian guard (bodyguard)
Schürze -- skirting, armor skirting added to tanks to give additional protection
Schütze -- rifleman; see also Scharfschütze
Schützenpanzerwagen (SPW) -- armored half-track
Schutzhaft -- protective custody; a euphemism for the power to imprison people without judicial proceedings, typically in concentration camps
Schutzhaftbefehl -- detention order; document declaring that a detained person desired to be imprisoned; normally this signature was forced by torture
Schutzstaffel (SS) -- protective squads; operated the concentration camps; (1) elite "Black Shirts" guard of the Nazi Party; (2) Shock Troops on battlefields. Had a tri-force structure: original Allgemeine SS, later organized as SS-Totenkopf, then finally reorganized as the SS-Verfügungstruppen.
Schwadron (pl. Schwadrone) -- squadron; Used in the cavalry, squadron was basically company-sized.
Schwarze Kapelle -- Black Orchestra; a term used to describe a group of conspirators within the German Army who plotted to overthrow Hitler and came near to assassinating him on July 20, 1944.
Schweinereien -- "scandalous acts" -- crimes against civilians
schwer -- (1) adjective meaning "heavy", the word "gross" (large) can mean the same; (2) hard/difficult
Schwerer Kreuzer -- heavy cruiser
Schwimmpanzer -- amphibious or swimming tank
SD -- see Sicherheitsdienst
Seekriegsleitung (SKL) -- directorate of the Naval War
Seitengewehr -- bayonet
Selbstfahrlafette -- self-propelled
Selbstschutz -- ethnic German civilian militia
Sicherheitsdienst (SD) -- security department; the Nazi Party security service, intelligence gathering and counter-espionage wings of the RSHA headed by Reinhard Heydrich.
Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo) -- secret security police, namely the Kripo and Gestapo; the Nazi Party's own internal intelligence and security service.
Sicherungsflottillen -- (1) escort ships, (2) paramilitary organization of unemployed ex-soldiers, who were recruited to protect Nazi speakers, and because of their clothing were called "Brown Shirts"
Sigrunen -- the name of the double "S" runes used by the SS
Sipo -- see Sicherheitspolizei
Sippenverhaftung -- the practice of arresting members of a person's family for political crimes or treason committed by that person
Soldat -- soldier/enlisted man
Soldbuch -- pay book carried by every member of the German armed forces. Unit information, a record of all equipment issued,and other details were entered into this book.
Sonderbehandlung -- special treatment; a Nazi euphemism meaning torture or killing of people in detention
Sonderfahndungslisten -- wanted-persons list
Sonderkommando - special unit; an official term that applied to certain German and foreign SS units that operated in German-occupied areas. They were responsible for the liquidation of persons not desirable to the Nazi government.
Sonderkraftfahrzeug (Sd.Kfz.) -- special purpose motor vehicle, usually abbreviated and referring to an Ordinance Inventory Number.
Sonderreferat -- special administrative section
Späher -- scout
Spähwagen -- Scout/reconnaissance vehicle
Sperrschule -- Mine Warfare School at Kiel-Wik
Spieß -- colloquial name for the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in a company, usually a Hauptfeldwebel. He exercised more authority than his American counterpart (Sergeant-Major).
SS -- see Schutzstaffel
SSTV -- SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS Death's Head Units)
SS-Verfügungstruppen -- "units available" or military formations of the SS, renamed Waffen-SS in early 1940
Stab (pl. Stäbe) -- staff, sometimes HQ
Stabsfeldwebel -- staff sergeant
Stacheldraht -- barbed wire
Stadtkommandant -- military commander of a city
Staffel -- squadron; the smallest operational air unit
Stahlhelm -- (1) (lit.) steel helmet; (2) nationalist organization.
Stalag -- acronym for Stammlager, German prisoner-of-war camp for ranks other than officers.
Standarte -- SS unit equivalent to a regiment.
Stielhandgranate -- stick hand grenade: the "potato masher" Model 24 grenade.
Stellung -- position
Stoßtruppen -- shock or attack troops
Stuka -- acronym for Sturzkampfflugzeug, lit. dive-bombing aircraft. Used to designate German JU-87 dive bombers prevalent early in the war.
Stukageschwader -- a Ju-87 air wing
Sturm -- assault
Sturmabteilung (SA) -- storm troopers, not part of the army, basically, in the beginning Hitler's praetorian guard (bodyguard) of "brown shirts" as faction of the Nazi party, later dismissed by the Schutzstaffel (SS)
Sturmbann [plural: Sturmbanne] -- a battalion; used by SA and SS units until 1940
Sturmgeschütz (StuG) -- self-propelled assault gun, such as the Sturmgeschütz III
Sturmgewehr -- assault rifle
Süden -- south
Swastika -- see Hakenkreuz

T

Tauchpanzer -- submersible tank
Teilkommando -- a small, section command group
Tiger -- nickname given to the PzKW Panzer VI "Tiger I" and "Tiger II" series of tanks, as well as the Jagdtiger and Sturmtiger built on the same chassis.
Tommy -- German slang for a British soldier (similar to "Kraut", the American slang term for Germans).
Tropenhelm -- pith helmet; a wide rimmed helmet used in tropical areas, most notably by the Afrika Korps.
tot -- dead
Totenkopf -- death's head
Totenkopfverbände -- Death's Head units, employed earlier as guards in concentration camps, they later became the first unit of the Waffen-SS, the Totenkopf division.
Totenkopfwachsturmbanne -- Death's head Guard battalions; units of the SS that guarded concentration camps during the war.
Truppenamt -- "Troop Office" the disguised Army General Staff after the Versailles Treaty abolished the German Army General Staff.

U

UAA -- see U-Fahrausbildungslehrgang
U-bootjäger (UJ-boats) -- steam trawlers equipped for anti-submarine operations.
U-Fahrausbildungslehrgang -- where submarine personnel learned to operate u-boats.
U-Lehrdivision (ULD) -- U-boat Training Division (see Kommandanten-Schießlehrgang).
Untermenschen -- those peoples the Nazi's derided as subhuman (see entmenscht).
Unteroffizier -- non-commissioned officer
Unterführer -- non-commissioned officer
Unterseeboot (U-Boat) -- submarine
Urlaub -- furlough; also: vacation

V

V1 -- The first of the operational German weapons of vengeance, or "Vergeltungswaffen" - the V-1 was a pilotless flying bomb powered by a pulse-jet engine and carried an 850 kg (1875 lb) high-explosive warhead. They had a range of up to 200 km. Nicknamed "buzz bombs" by Allied troops ("doodlebug" by Australians) due to the sound they made.
V2 Rocket -- Also known as the A4, the successor to the V-1 was a long range rocket powered by liquid oxygen and alcohol, it had a 975 kg (2150 lb) high-explosive warhead and a range of 320 km.
V3 -- Long-range, smooth-bore gun designed to fire shells carrying up to a 10 kg (22 lb) high-explosive warhead at a range of 93 km. It was never very successful as most installations were destroyed by bombing before they could be used.
Verband -- formation (from a battalion to a brigade).
verdächtige Elemente/Personen -- suspicious elements/persons.
Verfügungs Truppen-SS -- units-available brankch; developed from various counter-revolutionary or counter-terrorist units.
Vergeltungsmaßnahmen -- reprisals; retaliatory punitiive measures.
Vernichtungskrieg -- (1)"war of annihilation" against (1) USSR civilians, (2) dogmatic offensive.
Vernichtungslager -- Extermination camp
Versuchskonstruktion -- prototype
Vichy France -- French regime set up in the city of Vichy under Marshal Petain in collaboration with the Germans following the fall of France in 1940. It governed the southern half of France until its dissolution in 1944.
völkisch -- an adjective used to describe the racist, nationalist ideology which divided people into "pure" Aryans and inferior Untermenschen.
Volksdeutsche -- ethnic Germans
Volksgemeinschaft -- national community or civilian population; public support (see Kameradschaft).
Volksgrenadier -- "People's Infantryman", a morale-building honorific given to low-grade infantry divisions raised or reconstituted in the last months of the war
Volkskrieg -- "People's War"
Volkssturm -- People's semi-military defense force, made up mostly of boys and older men.
Volkstumskampf -- ethnic struggle
Vorpostenboote (VP-boats) -- coastal escort work, with anti-submarine and minesweeeping gear. Also called Küstenfischkutter (KFK), as they were patrol vessels constructed to a fishing-vessel design.

W

Wabos -- in U-boat terminology, the nickname for wasserbomben, lit. depth charges.
Wach- -- guard (in conjunction)
Waffe (pl. Waffen) -- weapon, or can be an adjective meaning "armed".
Waffen-SS -- militarized combat branch of the SS.
Wagen -- vehicle, car
Wehrkraftzersetzung -- undermining the fighting spirt of the troops.
Wehrkreis -- Geman military district centered on an important city.
Wehrmacht -- German armed forced under the Third Reich consisting of three branches: the Heer (Army), the Luftwaffe (Air Force), and the Kriegsmarine (Navy).
Wehrmachtsführungsstab -- Armed Forces Operations Staff
Wehrmachtsadler -- the Wehrmacht's eagle insignia
Wehrmachtsgefolge -- Armed Forces Auxiliaries. These include those organizations that were not a part of the armed forces but which served such an important support role that they were given protection under the Geneva Convention and/or militarizied. The armed forces auxiliaries consisted in part of the Reicharbeitsdienst, NSKK, Organization Todt, and the Volkssturm.
Werwolf -- German guerrilla fighters dedicated to harass Allied rear areas. Initially conceived as an adjunct to the Jagd-Kommando units and placed under the command of Otto Skorzeny, the idea was later appropriated by Joseph Goebbels to represent the general rising up of the German people to defend against foreign invasion. It was not widely effective or organized, and there were only a few known instances of involvement, mainly after the war ended and mostly in the Eastern regions.
Wespe -- wasp, a self-propelled 105mm artillery piece mounted on the PzKpfw II chassis.
Widerstandskräfte -- insurgents (see Freischärler).
Wolfsschanze -- Wolf's Lair; code name for Hitler's headquarters near Rastenburg in East-Prussia.
Wotan (navigation) -- alternative name for Y-Gerät radio radio navigation system.
Würzburg radar -- German radar went into service in 1940 and over 3,000 of all variants were built.

X

X-Gerät -- "X-device" or "X-equipment"; equipment using "X" guidance on German aircraft.

Y

Y-Beam -- German aircraft navigational system which utilized a single station that radiated a directional beam plus a ranging signal which the bomber picked up and re-transmitted to enable the ground controllers to compute the range and know when to order the bombs to be dropped.
Y-Gerät -- equipment for using "Y" guidance on German aircraft.

Z

Z3 -- pioneering computer developed by Konrad Zuse in 1941, it was destroyed by bombardment in 1944
z.b.V. -- see Zur besonderen Verwendung.
Zeltbahn -- a triangular or square shelter quarter made of closely-woven water-repellent cotton duck. It could be used on its own as a poncho or put together with others to create shelters and tents. Also called Zeltplane.
Zentralstelle II P -- Central office II P (Poland)
Ziel -- target, objective
Zimmerit -- an anti-magnetic mine paste applied on the armor of German tanks to prevent magnetic mines from being attached. It was similar to cement, and was applied on the tanks with rake, giving the vehicle a rough appearance. From the summer of the 1943 to mid-1944 zimmerit became a standard characteristic on many German panzers.
Zur besonderen Verwendung (z.b.V.) -- for special use/employment. Sometimes a killing squad/unit, but also used for divisions raised for special reasons (e.g. the Division zbV Afrika).
Zyklon-B -- commercial name for the prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid) gas used in German extermination camps.

List of German military ranks

Approximate ranks relative to US ranks:

Generalfeldmarschall – General of the Army
Generaloberst – General
General der Infanterie, Kavallerie, etc. – Lieutenant-General
General-Leutnant – Major-General
Generalmajor – Brigadier-General
Oberst – Colonel
Oberstleutnant – Lieutenant Colonel
Major – Major
Hauptmann – Captain
Oberleutnant – First Lieutenant
Leutnant – Second Lieutenant
Hauptfeldwebel – Sergeant-Major
Stabsfeldwebel – Master Sergeant
Oberfeldwebel – Technical Sergeant
Feldwebel – Staff Sergeant
Unterfeldwebel – no equivalent
Unteroffizier – Sergeant
Obergefreiter – Corporal
Gefreiter – Private First Class
Obergrenadier/Oberschütze – Private
Grenadier/Schütze – Private

For additional comparisons, see Comparative military ranks of World War II.

List of code names for major German operations

The German term for Operation is Unternehmen, lit. undertaking.

Adlertag -- Eagle day; one day of intense air attack on Britain, 15th August 1940. Also called Adlerangriffe (Eagle Attack).
Anton -- occupation of Vichy France, November 1942; later known as Atilla.
Atilla -- occupation of Vichy France, November 1942 (previously, Anton).
Aufbau Ost -- Eastern buildup; build-up of arms prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Barbarossa -- invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Barbarossa, or "Red Beard" was the nickname for Emperor Frederick I, who attempted to unify Germanic states in the 12th century.
Bernhard -- scheme to counterfeit British bank notes and put them into circulation; began in 1942.
Bestrafung -- "punishment" air attacks on Belgrade, April 1941.
Bodenplatte -- Base plate; air offensive against Allied airfields in north-western Europe, January 1945.
Eiche -- Oak; mission to rescue Mussolini by the fallschirmjäger (led by Skorzeny).
Fall Gelb -- Case yellow; invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Fall Grün -- Case green; intended invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Fall Rot -- Case red; counterstrike against France in the event of an attack from the West.
Fall Weiß -- Case white; invasion of Poland.
Felix -- plan to capture Gibraltar in 1941. It never took place.
Fischfang -- Fish trap; counterattack on the Allied beachead at Anzio in February 1944.
Greif -- Griffin; dropping of English-speaking troops wearing American uniforms behind the Allied lines in the Ardennes, prior to the Battle of the Bulge.
Herbstnebel -- Autumn mist; offensive in the Ardennes, December 1944. Better known as the Battle of the Ardennes.
Herkules -- projected invasion of Malta by fallschirmjäger and Navy. Never executed.
Kathrin -- Plan to help the Irish Republican Army to commit terroism and disrupt British internal security.
Nordlicht -- Northern lights; attack on Leningrad in 1942.
Paukenschlag -- Drumroll or Drumbeat; offensive against Allied shipping in US and Caribbean waters in the first half of 1942.
Pastorius -- U-boat operation involving U-202 and U-548 setting 8 agents ashore in the USA in June 1942.
Reinhard -- covername for the entire process of building extermination camps, deportation of Jews first to ghettos, then to the concentration camps for extermination and incineration. Named for SD chief Reinhard Heydrich.
Seelöwe -- Sea Lion; projected amphibious assault on Great Britain in 1940/41. It never took place.
Taifun -- Typhoon; push towards Moscow in September 1941.
Tiger -- advance through the Maginot Line on the French border in June 1940.
Weserübung -- Weser Exercise (commonly, "water exercise''); invasion of Denmark and Norway, 9 April 1940
Wintergewitter -- Winter gale; unsuccessful attempt to relieve the 6th Army at Stalingrad in December 1942.
Zitadelle -- Citadel; attack on Soviet salient at Kursk, July 1943.

References

Andrew, Stephen; Thomas, Nigel; The German Army 1939-45: Blitzkrieg. Osprey Publishing Lt., 1999.
Bidermann, Gottlob Herbert. In Deadly Combat: A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front. Kansas, University Press of Kansas. (2001): ISBN 0700611223.
Sajer, Guy; The Forgotten Soldier. Brassey's Inc. (2001): ISBN 1574882864. Excellent, personal telling of a regular German soldier's experience of the Eastern Front in WWII.
Shirer, William; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Simon & Schuster. (1990): ISBN 0671728687.

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