SS Führungshauptamt


The SS-Führungshauptamt was the operational headquarters of the SS.
It was responsible for the administration of SS-Junkerschulen, medical services, logistics, and rates of pay. It was also the administrative and operational headquarters for the Waffen-SS that was responsible for its organisation and equipment and Order of battle of SS combat units.

Formation

The SS-Führungshauptamt, which was under the command of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, was formed in August 1940 from certain departments of the SS-Hauptamt and the Allgemeine SS. Its main duty was the operational and administrative control of the Waffen-SS, including developing general policy on recruiting and handling special personnel requirements. It also oversaw the Kommandoamt der Allgemeine SS. Hans Jüttner was promoted to the position of chief-of-staff of the SS-FHA and handled the day-to-day operations. When Himmler stepped down as SS-FHA chief in 1943, Jüttner took over as chief of the department till the end of the war.
Recruiting members for the Waffen-SS was handled through the SS-HA and its chief, Gottlob Berger. This caused overlapping jurisdiction and friction between the two SS branches. Berger's SS-HA had a problematic relationship with the SS-FHA, which was responsible for organising, training and equipping the Waffen-SS. Jüttner's initial efforts at integrating the recruits from western Europe and Scandinavia were inadequate with insufficient emphasis on training and appointing officers and non-commissioned officers from the ranks of the new recruits. The SS-FHA also wanted the Waffen-SS to be a small elite corps, but Berger and Himmler knew that Adolf Hitler needed as many divisions as possible, even if that meant some Waffen-SS formations would be of lesser quality. During the war years, to meet the high casualty rates and expansion needs of the Waffen-SS, members of the Allgemeine SS and other personnel working for SS organisations were used for compulsory recruitment drives by the SS-HA to meet the manpower needs of the Waffen-SS.

Organisation

Departmental Group A
Organisation, Personnel and Supply
Departmental Group B
Training
Departmental Group C
Inspection

Departmental Group D
Medical Arm of the Waffen-SS