Pronunciation: (shoots'shtä"ful)
—n. German.
an elite military unit of the Nazi party that served as Hitler's bodyguard and as a special police force.
Abbr.: SS
I would like to hear people’s thoughts on these guys. Some people say that these were the real monsters and not the regular German foot soldiers. There were a few branches of SS but I don't want to get into much detail... I just want to hear opinions on what people think about these guys.
I think these guys were bad ass and meant serious business. The translation of Schutzstaffeln is "protection squadron."
The Schutzstaffeln were the elite soldier's in Germany's army. The SS and the Gestapo have been historically proven to be the major perpretrators of many of the war crimes and horrific acts committed during World War 2. For the majority of the war, the SS administered and managed the concentration and 'relocation' camps.
I agree with you Chodder, these guys were bad ass. Definitely not the standard German soldier.
Neo
"Ah, my favorite book. Chapter twelve, paragraph eight, verse three: the universe hates you. Deal with it."
-Harper
"We are here. On your left would be a black hole we'll call, say, uh, 'rock'. And on your right: one we'll call 'hard place'."
-Harper
The SS were Hitler's private Army. They were considered the elite weren't they? My knowledge of the SS is very limited. Any info either of ya'll have on them would be appreciated.
Love is a very powerful force, especially when its formed into a coherent beam of death.
They were considered very elite, yes. The SS and the Gestapo were not so much soldiers as police: a secret, powerful, menacing police force controlled, dispatched, and regulated by Hitler and his high officials.
My knowledge of the SS is equally limited, Shadow, but I will attempt to impart as much knowledge as I can.
The SS was the principle elite organisation of the Nazi party. It consisted of two seperate and yet overlapping groups, the Allgemaine or General SS and the Waffen or Armed SS. The Waffen SS formed military divisions as part of the Wehrmacht. Himmler was Head of the Allgemaine SS, the Waffen SS, the Gestapo in general, and was also Minister for Interior.
The SS was originally created in November 1925, I believe, originally forming Hitler's personal bodyguard. However, it was soon developed into an elite military and fighting unit.
The Oath of the SS:
"I swear to thee Adolf Hitler
As Fuhrer and Chancellor of the German Reich
Loyalty and Bravery.
I vow to thee and to the superiors whom thou shall appoint
Obedience until death
So help me God"
The Motto of the SS:
SS MOTTO
Meine Ehre heist Treue - "Loyalty is my Honour"
Okay, without getting into dates and facts about the various divisions, leaders and events, that's about the limit of my factual knowledge.
Neo
"Ah, my favorite book. Chapter twelve, paragraph eight, verse three: the universe hates you. Deal with it."
-Harper
"We are here. On your left would be a black hole we'll call, say, uh, 'rock'. And on your right: one we'll call 'hard place'."
-Harper
"Ah, my favorite book. Chapter twelve, paragraph eight, verse three: the universe hates you. Deal with it."
-Harper
"We are here. On your left would be a black hole we'll call, say, uh, 'rock'. And on your right: one we'll call 'hard place'."
-Harper
I found an excellent site with information relating to the SS.
In 1921 Adolf Hitler created his own private army called Sturm Abteilung (Storm Section). The SA (also known as stormtroopers or brownshirts) were to disrupt the meetings of political opponents and to protect Hitler from attacks. Captain Ernst Roehm recruited these men, and became the SA's first leader. By 1925 Adolf Hitler formed his own personal bodyguard called the Schutzstaffel (SS). And by January 6 1929 Heinrich Himmler was appointed as the leader of the SS. By the time of Himmler's appointment the SS had only 280 members. They wore the same uniform as the SA except for a black cap with a silver death's head badge and a black tie.
Within the next year Himmler spilt the SS from the SA and split the SS again. Sepp Dietrich was put in charge of the original role of the SS as Hitler's bodyguards while Himmler himself focused on expanding the size of the SS. One requirement of the SS is that all its members were to fit into the good 'Aryan' perimeters. In 1932 the SS received it's all black uniforms which would be used until the downfall of Nazi Germany. One year later the SS had grown to 52,000 members. By now the SA posed a threat to the regime and Himmler organized the Night of the Long Knives, dissembling the SA and killing Roehm. Now only SS remained.
The SS was in reality a complex political and military organization made up of three separate branches, all related but however unique in their roles. The Allgemeine-SS (General SS) was the main branch of this complex organization and it served a politicial and administrative role. The SS-Totenkopfverbande and later, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS), were the other two branches that made up the structure of the SS. The Waffen-SS was formed in 1940 as an individual part of the army. It quickly grew to over 150,000 men within six months. The SS-Totenkopfverbande (SS Deaths Head Organization) was formed prior to the Waffen-SS,.
These were the units in charge of the concentration camps, they also followed the Heer (Army) into the Soviet Union murdering Jews, gypsies, communists and partisans left behind. At the height of its power the SS had over 800,000 men. The Death Head Units had 24,000 men, Hitler's Body Guard had 200,000 men and the army group known as the Waffen-SS had 594,000 men.
Many questions have been raised about the SS and the autocitites comitted by the organization. How could men do such things, why just because they were told to. Who was really in control of Nazi Germany and the practices used. Was it with Hitler's orders that these crimes were committed or were they done by Himmler acting alone.
SS-Totenkopfverbande:
The Totenkopfverbande were SS units formed to guard concentration camps. The Totenkopfverbande developed from the Dachau guard unit. They were formed in 1934. They got their name because on the right collar of the guards' uniforms was the Totenkopf (death's head) symbol. Himmler wanted the Totenkopfverbande to be an elite unit within the elite SS. By using strict discipline, Himmler taught them to maintain strict distance between themselves and the camp inmates.
They were taught to view them as enemies of the state who should be destroyed if possible. In March 1936, Himmler authorized an expansion from 1,800 to 3,500 men, and on March 29 the formation was officially separated from the Allgemeine SS (General SS) they were given dark brown uniforms. They also were Himmler's personal bodyguards.
On August 17, 1938, Hitler declared that the Totenkopfverbande; were to become to be expanded into military units. Later, Himmler ordered that in case of mobilization, Allgemeine SS men over the age of forty would be called up to replace the Totenkopfverbande men as concentration camp guards. By the outbreak of World War II the Totenkopfverbande and their reserves numbered some 24,000 men.
The Totenkopfverbande was responsible for many of the war crimes committed during the Nazi era of occupied Europe. By the end of the war there were 40,000 men guarding 714,211 camp inmates.
The Waffen-SS:
The Waffen-SS was formed in 1940, it was the military formation of the larger SS. It was formed from the SS-Verfungstruppe after the Campaign in France in 1940. The Waffen-SS was Nazi Germanys elite fighting force. They were the fiercest, most motivated, and best equipped combat troops to fight in the European theater in World War II. The Waffen-SS or armed SS was an independent organization within the SS.
On September 1,1939 the Waffen-SS went into action for the first time attacking across the Polish-German border. This was the start of six years of continuous warfare that would bring victories and ultimately defeat. The Waffen-SS saw hard fighting in Poland, France in 1940, the Balkans in 1941, Russia from 1941-1945, and again in France in 1944-45. There were a total of 39 divisions officially created but only about 20 reached full divisional status. Of these less than half were panzer (tank) divisions.
Some units never participated in the great field battles and were only Waffen-SS on paper. It was the heavy panzer divisions that saw the most action and had the greatest impact on the outcome of events.The Waffen-SS would become an elite military formation of nearly 600,000 men by the time WWII was over. During WWII the SS lead some of the most crucial battles of WWII. Though the Waffen-SS was a branch of the German military it was not part of the German Wehrmacht (Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegmairine)
Neo
"Ah, my favorite book. Chapter twelve, paragraph eight, verse three: the universe hates you. Deal with it."
-Harper
"We are here. On your left would be a black hole we'll call, say, uh, 'rock'. And on your right: one we'll call 'hard place'."
-Harper
The Luftwaffe was the Air Force. Couldn't really work out from your post, Chodder, whether you were saying that the Wehrmacht was the Air Force, which is the way it reads...
The Wehrmacht was the Armed Forces, comprising the Heer (Army), the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and the Kriegsmarine (Navy).
Neo
"Ah, my favorite book. Chapter twelve, paragraph eight, verse three: the universe hates you. Deal with it."
-Harper
"We are here. On your left would be a black hole we'll call, say, uh, 'rock'. And on your right: one we'll call 'hard place'."
-Harper
"Ah, my favorite book. Chapter twelve, paragraph eight, verse three: the universe hates you. Deal with it."
-Harper
"We are here. On your left would be a black hole we'll call, say, uh, 'rock'. And on your right: one we'll call 'hard place'."
-Harper
06-01-2004 04:50 AM
