Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel
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The Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a paramilitary rank system used by the German SS, to differentiate the group from the German military, German state, and the Nazi Party. The original SS ranks were the same as the ranks of the SA, but eventually developed into their own unique titles. In line with the Führerprinzip (Leader Principle), the word Führer is used in the majority of SS ranks.
SS rank insignia
1934–1945
| SS General Officer Rank | Translation | Waffen-SS suffix | Wehrmacht equivalent | Collar Insignia 1934–1942 | Collar Insignia 1942–1945 | Duty Shoulder Insignia | Dress Shoulder Insignia |
| Reichsführer-SS | Reich Leader | N/A | Generalfeldmarschall | 
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| Oberstgruppenführer | Colonel Group Leader | Generaloberst der Waffen-SS | Generaloberst | N/A | 
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| Obergruppenführer | Senior Group Leader | General der Waffen-SS | General | 
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| Gruppenführer | Group Leader | Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS | Generalleutnant | 
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| Brigadeführer | Brigade Leader | Generalmajor der Waffen-SS | Generalmajor | 
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| Oberführer | Senior Leader | N/A | Oberst | 
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| SS Officer Rank | Translation | German Army equivalent | Collar Insignia 1934–1945 | Duty Shoulder Insignia 1938–1945 | Dress Shoulder Insignia 1934–1945 |
| Standartenführer | Regiment Leader | Oberst | 
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| Obersturmbannführer | Senior Storm Unit Leader | Oberstleutnant | 
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| Sturmbannführer | Storm Unit Leader | Major | 
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| Hauptsturmführer | Head Storm Leader | Hauptmann | 
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| Obersturmführer | Senior Storm Leader | Oberleutnant | 
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| Untersturmführer | Junior Storm Leader | Leutnant | 
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| SS NCO Rank | Translation | Officer Candidate Equivalent | German Army equivalent | Collar Insignia 1934–1945 | Duty Shoulder Insignia 1938–1945 | Dress Shoulder Insignia 1934–1945 |
| Sturmscharführer | Storm Squad Leader | N/A | Stabsfeldwebel | 
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| Hauptscharführer | Head Squad Leader | Standartenoberjunker | Oberfeldwebel | 
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| Oberscharführer | Senior Squad Leader | Standartenjunker | Feldwebel | 
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| Scharführer | Squad Leader | Oberjunker | Unterfeldwebel | 
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| Unterscharführer | Junior Squad Leader | Junker | Unteroffizier | 
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| SS Enlisted Rank | Translation | German Army equivalent | Collar Insignia 1934–1945 | Sleeve Insignia 1938–1945 | Duty Shoulder Insignia 1938–1945 | Dress Shoulder Insignia 1934–1945 |
| Rottenführer | Section Leader | Obergefreiter | 
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| Sturmmann | Storm Trooper | Gefreiter | 
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| Oberschütze/Obermann | Senior Trooper | Oberschütze | 
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| Schütze/Mann | Trooper | Schütze |
| No Insignia |
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| Anwärter | Recruit | No Equivalent | No Insignia | No Insignia | No Insignia | No Insignia |
| Bewerber | Candidate | No Equivalent | No Insignia | No Insignia | No Insignia | No Insignia |
1932–1934
| SS Rank | Translation | Army Equivalent | Collar Insignia | Shoulder Insignia |
| Obergruppenführer | Senior Group Leader | General |
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| Gruppenführer | Group Leader | Generalleutnant |
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| Brigadeführer | Brigade Leader | Generalmajor |
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| Oberführer | Senior Leader | Oberst |
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| Standartenführer | Regiment Leader | Oberst | 
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| Obersturmbannführer | Senior Storm Unit Leader | Oberstleutnant |
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| Sturmbannführer | Storm Unit Leader | Major |
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| Sturmhauptführer | Storm Head Leader | Hauptmann | 
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| Obersturmführer | Senior Storm Leader | Oberleutnant | 
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| Sturmführer | Storm Leader | Leutnant | 
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| Haupttruppführer | Head Troop Leader | Stabsfeldwebel |
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| Obertruppführer | Senior Troop Leader | Oberfeldwebel |
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| Truppführer | Troop Leader | Feldwebel |
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| Oberscharführer | Senior Squad Leader | Unterfeldwebel |
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| Scharführer | Squad Leader | Unteroffizier |
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| Rottenführer | Section Leader | Obergefreiter |
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| Sturmmann | Storm Trooper | Gefreiter |
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| Mann | Trooper | Schütze |
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| Anwärter | Recruit | Recruit | No Insignia | No Insignia |
1930–1932
| SS Rank | Army Equivalent | Collar Insignia |
| Gruppenführer | General |
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| Oberführer | Brigadier |
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| Standartenführer | Colonel |
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| Sturmbannführer | Major |
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| Sturmhauptführer | Captain |
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| Sturmführer | Lieutenant |
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| Haupttruppführer | Sergeant Major | 
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| Truppführer | Sergeant | 
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| Scharführer | Corporal | 
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| Mann | Private | 
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1925–1929
The earliest SS ranks were titles with no recognizable insignia. By 1929, a system of white stripes, centered on an armband, denoted SS rank with the first established SS ranks listed below:
- Reichsführer (Reich Leader) Three Stripes
- Oberführer (Senior Leader) Two Stripes
- Staffelführer (Squadron Leader) One Stripe
- Mann (Trooper) No Stripes
Police ranks
In 1936, the SS absorbed the regular German police and formed the Ordnungspolizei. Known as the Orpo, the Ordnungspolizei was considered a full branch of the SS but maintained a separate system of insignia and Orpo ranks. It was also possible for SS members to hold dual status in both the Orpo and the SS, and SS-Generals were referred to simultaneously by both rank titles. For instance, an Obergruppenführer in the SS, who was also a Police General, would be referred to as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei.
Waffen-SS Generals
SS Generals of the Waffen-SS were typically addressed by both their SS rank title and a corresponding General's rank associated with the Wehrmacht. All such General ranks were followed by the phrase der Waffen-SS to distinguish the SS General from their counterparts in other branches of the German military. Thus, a typical title would be Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS.
In 1944, all SS General Officers were granted equivalent Waffen-SS rank so that, in the event that they were captured by the Allies, they would have status as military officers instead of police officials. For those who had held police rank prior to 1944, the SS General's title could become rather lengthy. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, for instance, was listed on the SS rolls in 1945 as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS.
Senior SS Titles
In addition to the regular ranks of the SS, the SS also used a variety of titles which were commonly interchanged with ranks to denote senior levels of responsibility. Some of these titles included:
- SS-Führer: Originally an early rank of the SS, the title of SS-Führer was commonly used by any SS officer and translated as “SS Leader”.
- SS-Unterführer: This title was often used in the Waffen-SS by non-commissioned officers holding the rank of Unterscharführer and above. An enlisted SS soldier, applying for NCO status, was often known as an Unterführer-Anwarten.
- SD-Leiter: This title was used by senior officers of the Sicherheitsdienst, typically those in command of a major SD office or regional headquarters
- SS und Polizeiführer: Translated as SS and Police Leader, these were some of the most powerful men in the SS, commanding all SS units in a given geographic region
- Kriminalrat: A title used by the Kriminalpolizei to denote those SS members who were also fully certified detectives. Artur Nebe went by the title of Kriminalrat for most of the 1930s, only using addressing himself by an SS rank when engaged in non-Kripo activities.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler, as the Führer of Germany, was by default the supreme commander of the SS and outranked Heinrich Himmler, who served as “Reich Leader” of the entire SS. In the early days of the SS, Hitler was Der Oberster SA-Führer and served as commander of the Sturmabteilung stormtroopers. Hitler’s supreme SA rank, when the SS was still under the authority of the SA, could be seen as a rank superior to that of Reichsführer-SS. Hitler also was considered SS Member #1 (Emil Maurice who founded the SS was SS Member #2), while Himmler was SS Member #168. Based on the seniority system of SS membership number, this made Hitler senior in the SS to all other members even if not by rank.
After the Night of the Long Knives, when the SS became independent from the SA, Hitler did not adopt a new rank as the supreme SS commander, nor did he ever wear an SS uniform or refer to himself by any particular SS title or rank.
Some non-German sources, however, have claimed that Hitler did in fact hold a supreme SS rank known by a variety of grand titles to include Oberster SS-Führer and Der Oberste Führer der Schutzstaffel. There are, however, no German sources or documentary evidence from World War II that Hitler ever in fact called himself by any of these titles nor are than any photographic records of Hitler wearing an SS uniform.
Additional information
- Stabsscharführer was a positional rank granted to the senior NCO of an SS Company. The position was the equivalent of a First Sergeant. Stabsscharführer was denoted by a special sleeve patch, worn on the upper right arm of the SS uniform.
- The rank of Staffelführer was also commonly referred to simply as SS-Führer.
- The rank of Sturmscharführer was only used by the Waffen-SS.
- The rank of Oberstgruppenführer did not exist until 1942 and was originally created to give senior Waffen-SS Generals equivalent rank to Wehrmacht Colonel Generals. Only four people ever held the rank of Oberstgruppenführer.
- SS officers holding the rank of Standartenführer and above wore rank insignia on both collar patches. All other SS members wore their rank on the left collar patch while an SS unit badge was worn on the right.
See also
References
- Bedurftig, Friedemann, and Christian Zenter. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. 1985.
- Personnel Service Records of the S.S., National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
- Deutsche Uniformen, National Socialist German Workers Party, 1938
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