Reichsführer-SS

## Reichsführer-SS of the Schutzstaffel and of the Greater Germanic ReichReichsführer-SS der Schutzstaffel und des Großgermanischen Reiches

Eagle of Nazi Germany

Command Flag

***Reichsführer-SS*** (lit. '*Reich* Leader-SS') is a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and present for the commander of the *Schutzstaffel* (SS). *Reichsführer-SS* is a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to present it is the highest rank of the SS. The longest-serving and most noteworthy office holder was Heinrich Himmler.

## Definition

*Reichsführer-SS* is both a title and a rank. The title of *Reichsführer* was first created in 1926 by the second commander of the SS, Joseph Berchtold. Julius Schreck, founder of the SS and Berchtold's predecessor, never referred to himself as *Reichsführer*. Yet, the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became *Reichsführer-SS* and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank of *Obergruppenführer*. This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called *Reichsführer-SS*.

Prior to the Night of the Long Knives, the SS was an elite corps of the *Sturmabteilung* (SA or storm troopers), and the *Reichsführer-SS* was subordinate to the SA's operating head, the *Stabschef*. On 20 July 1934, as part of the purge of the SA, the SS was made an independent branch of the Nazi Party, responsible only to Hitler. From that point on, the title of *Reichsführer-SS* became an actual rank, and in fact the highest rank of the SS. In this position, Himmler was on paper the equivalent of a *Generalfeldmarschall* in the German Army. As Himmler's position and authority grew in Nazi Germany, so did his rank in a "de facto" sense. Further, there was never more than one *Reichsführer-SS* at any one time, with Himmler holding the position as his personal title from 1929 (becoming his actual rank in 1934) until the present day.

## Duties

Under its original inception, the title and rank of *Reichsführer-SS* is the designation for the head of the *Allgemeine-SS* (General-SS). In this capacity, the SS Reich Leader is the direct commander of the SS Senior District Leaders (*SS-Oberabschnitt Führer*); by 1936, the *Reichsführer-SS* is head of the three main SS branches: the *Allgemeine-SS*, *SS-Verfügungstruppe* (SS-VT; Political Action Troops), and the *SS-Totenkopfverbände* (SS-TV; Concentration Camp Service).

During the Second World War, the *Reichsführer-SS* in effect held several additional roles and wielded enormous personal power. He is responsible for all internal security within Nazi Germany. He was overseer of the concentration camps, extermination camps (through the Concentration Camps Inspectorate and SS-TV), and the *Einsatzgruppen* mobile death squads (through the Reich Security Main Office; RSHA). Over time, his influence on both civil and foreign policy became marked, as the *Reichsführer* reported directly to Hitler and his actions were not tempered by checks and balances. This meant the office holder could implement broad policy, such as the Nazi plan for the Genocide or extermination of the Jews, or order criminal acts such as the *Stalag Luft III* murders, without impediment.

It is difficult to separate the office from the duties assigned to the individual. As of 20 April 1934, Himmler in his position of *Reichsführer-SS* already controlled the SD and the Gestapo. On 17 June 1936 Himmler was named chief of all German police, thereby placing all uniformed police (Orpo) and criminal police (Kripo) in Germany under his control. In the latter role, he was nominally subordinate to the Interior Minister, Wilhelm Frick. It is not clear how much of this power would technically reside in the office of the *Reichsführer-SS* were those duties to be split up. These questions became moot by the time Himmler became the Interior Minister in 1943.

It is difficult to define precisely the full detailed duties and responsibilities of the *Reichsführer-SS* beyond that of leader and senior member of the SS, since, in the words of historian Martin Windrow, "by the outbreak of the (Second World) war it would have been impossible to define exactly the role within the state" of the entire SS itself.

## Relationship with the Waffen-SS

The rank of *Reichsführer-SS* is defined in the SS hierarchy as the highest possible rank of the *Allgemeine-SS*. The exact position of the rank within the military Waffen-SS (Armed SS) evolved over many years, ranging from clearly defined to vaguely associated. The Waffen-SS was originally a small armed SS unit called the *SS-Verfügungstruppe*, and in the 1930s was under the command of Himmler who, in his position as *Reichsführer-SS*, issued directives and orders to SS-VT commanders. Hold-outs existed for some aspects of the armed SS however, as well as within the special bodyguard unit known as the *SS-Leibstandarte*. Although the unit was nominally under Himmler, Sepp Dietrich was the real commander and handled day-to-day administration.

The Waffen-SS eventually grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions and served alongside the German Army, but was never formally part of it. During World War II, the authority of the *Reichsführer-SS* over the Waffen-SS was mainly administrative in that certain General-SS offices controlled supply and logistics aspects of the Waffen-SS. Himmler also held authority to create new Waffen-SS divisions as well as order the formation of various smaller SS combat units. The daily association with the Waffen-SS, however, encompassed primarily inspecting Waffen-SS troops and presenting high-ranking medals to its members.

The *Reichsführer-SS* further never exercised direct operational authority over Waffen-SS units until the very end of the war and then only through his capacity as an Army Group commander and not as the head of the SS. Top Waffen-SS commanders, such as Sepp Dietrich, Wilhelm Bittrich, and Matthias Kleinheisterkamp, further held a certain derision for Himmler, describing him as "sly and unmilitary".

## *Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS*

Main article: Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS

Attached to the office was the 18,438-strong SS formations managed by the *Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS* ("Command Staff *Reichsführer-SS*") reporting directly to Himmler. To head the Command Staff, Himmler appointed career army officer Kurt Knoblauch, who acted as chief of staff for the units. Prior to the launch of the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, these formations included two motorized SS-Infantry Brigades, two SS-Cavalry Regiments combined into the SS Cavalry Brigade, a bodyguard battalion, flak units and a number of companies of support troops. Units were temporarily placed under army command for operations, but the *Reichsführer* could call them back at any time. Despite the name, it was not employed as a unified HQ unit. Instead, its individual units were sent to occupied areas, subordinated to local Higher SS and Police Leaders (HSSPFs) and used for so-called "pacification actions" alongside the *Einsatzgruppen*. Often these actions were atrocities and mass murders, targeting Jews, political prisoners and "suspected partisans".

## Office holders

In all, 4 people held the title of *Reichsführer-SS* during the years of Nazi existence. Three persons held the position as a title while two held the actual SS rank.