SS - Oberst - Gruppenführer SS - Oberst - Gruppenführer was ( from 1942 to 1945 ) the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of " Reichsführer - SS " , which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler . Correctly the rank was spelled " Oberst - Gruppenführer " to avoid confusion with the " Obergruppenführer " rank junior to it . Overview . " Oberst - Gruppenführer " was considered the equivalent of a colonel general ( " Generaloberst " ) in the " Wehrmacht " , which , in turn , is generally seen as the equivalent of four - star rank or army general in other armed forces . First created in the spring of 1942 , the " Oberst - Gruppenführer " rank was held by four men during the three years of its existence , of which only two held " Waffen - SS " field commands . The rank of " Oberst - Gruppenführer " was conceived originally as a " Waffen - SS " rank , with the intent being to appoint its holders to be the SS commanders of certain " panzer " armies . However , appointments were delayed by the General Staff of the " Wehrmacht " , who did not want an SS general to hold that much power . In April 1942 , the first two appointments were at last issued on Adolf Hitler ' s personal authority . Both were political SS appointments with the second one being a dual promotion within the " Ordnungspolizei " , making Kurt Daluege a " Generaloberst der Polizei " at the same time . Daluege ' s rank was the only police promotion to this rank ; the other promotion was for party treasurer and RZM chief Franz Xaver Schwarz . The last two of the four " Oberst - Gruppenführer " promotions were made in 1944 , this time to " Waffen - SS " generals . The " Oberst - Gruppenführer " rank was only ever worn on the field - grey " Waffen - SS " tunic or the grey SS service tunic ( or , in Daluege ' s case , police uniform ) , and there are no photographic records of the insignia ever being worn on the black ceremonial uniform , which had largely fallen into disuse by the time the rank was created . In all , the following individuals held this highest of SS ranks : In 1944 , Himmler offered to appoint Albert Speer to the honorary rank of " Oberst - Gruppenführer " . Speer declined , not wishing to formally be subordinate to Himmler . Hermann Göring was also offered the rank in 1945 , but refused to accept the position due to his dislike of Himmler . Himmler ' s successor , Karl Hanke , never held the rank of " Oberst - Gruppenführer " , but was appointed " Reichsführer - SS " from the lower grade of " Obergruppenführer " . Karl Wolff furthermore claimed to have been promoted to the rank in April 1945 by personal decree of Adolf Hitler ; Wolff ' s claim is not supported by either documentary or photographic evidence , leading most history texts to list his final rank as " Obergruppenführer " . Those obtaining the rank of " Oberst - Gruppenführer " were also typically granted equivalent police or " Waffen - SS " general rank . Franz Xaver Schwarz , who held " Ehrenführer " ( honorary ) rank , was the only holder of the rank who was not granted equivalent police or " Waffen - SS " rank . The rank " Oberst - Gruppenführer " has also appeared in fiction , and was depicted in Robert Harris ' s novel " Fatherland " , set in the 1960s in a parallel history where Germany had won the Second World War . In the novel , Arthur Nebe makes an appearance as an " SS - Oberst - Gruppenführer " while serving as commander of the " Kriminalpolizei " . The insignia for " Oberst - Gruppenführer " is also worn by Ian McKellen as the dictator - king " Richard III " in the film adaptation of the play , set in 1930s Great Britain .