Waffen SS http : / / images1 . wikia . nocookie . net / _ _ cb20100711183122 / military / images / 8 / 87 / Logo - WaffenSS . jpg The Waffen - SS has derived from its foundation called Schutzstaffel ( SS ) at the beginning of the Nazi Party as a way of protecting the Adolf Hitler in a politically turbulent period ( the decades of 20 and 30 of the twentieth century ) . Hitler demanded that his elite was composed of citizens with proven Germanic origin , an exceptional mental and physical condition and complied with the standards of Nazi ideology . To put it ahead of the special troop Heinrich Himmler , Which in some years , more exactly in 1933 , managed to attract no fewer than 52 , 000 men for his army . With the rise of the organization , Himmler could attach to their fields the Ordnungspolizei ( regular police ) and Sicherheitspolizei ( security police ) . The Sicherheitspolizei was further divided into the Kriminalpolizei or Kripo ( Criminal police ) and the Geheime Staatspolizei or Gestapo ( secret police ) , all subordinate to the office of General Security of the Reich . Its implications were as follows : War crimes and atrocities In Campaign 1944 the 2nd SS Panzer Division " Das Reich " has committed one of the most atrocities on European soil , destruction of the French village of Oradour - sur - Glane , Where over 600 people were brutally murdered . Men by firing squad , and women and children , huddled inside the village church which was then burned . The 12th SS Panzer Division " Hitlerjugend ( Hitler Youth ) Has been blamed for the execution of 134 prisoners Canadians during conflicts in Normandy . On the Offensive Ardennes in December , elements of the Leibstandarte SS under the command of Joachim Peiper , Performed more than 90 American prisoners of war in Malmedy . Front Italian troops from the 16th Panzer Division " SS Reichsführer " operating in anti - guerrilla mission , carried out acts of savagery even more terrible than the destruction of Oradour . On August 12 , 1944 , burned the village of Sant ' Anna di Stazzema , Exterminating 560 people . On October 18 , annihilated the commune of Marzabotto province of Bologna . To withdraw the troops of the Waffen - SS in 1604 left behind corpses of men , women and children . In addition to these civilians , 226 " Partisan " Italians have been executed . Quality of the Divisions Many divisions are seen by historians as the elite , especially those with larger numbers of Germans . These divisions were characterized by having a very high morale and fighting ability , and commitment to the ideals of Crusade against Bolshevism . These divisions included LSSAH , Das Reich , Totenkopf , The multi - national Wiking , the Hohenstaufen the Frundsberg and the HitlerjugendDespite the high casualty rate , these units maintained their fame to the end of guerra . Já units formed during the end of the war had lower quality , and some of the troops Freiwillige were accused of revolt against their commanders and the Nazi regime ( see , for example , 13 . Waffen - Gebirgs - Division der SS Handschar ( Kroatisch Nr . 1 ) Divisions Equipment The equipment of the Waffen SS was the same of the Wermatch they were : External Links