Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel

Early SS commands

1920–1925

• Saal-Schutz : Formed at the end of 1920. It was a small permanent guard unit made up of NSDAP volunteers to provide security for Nazi Party meetings in Munich. It was disband after Hitler was sentenced to prison in 1924.
• Stabswache : Used by several units of the Freikorps, and then adopted by the forerunner of the SS.
• Stosstrupp : A carry over from World War I, early bodyguard unit of the fledgling Nazi Party. A forerunner of the SS bodyguard dedicated to Hitler's protection.
• Schutzkommando : Also a title of the Freikorps, this was one of the early names for the SS before the unit adopted its final name of the Schutzstaffel, and was officially recognized in November 1925.

  1925–1929

• Oberleitung : This was the headquarters staff of the SS and was headquartered in Munich.
• SS-Gau : There were five SS-Regions established throughout Germany, headed by an SS leader known as an SS-Gauführer.
• SS-Staffel : These was the standard unit of the early SS in the late 1920s. An SS-Squadron contained a company of ten men, headed by an officer known as an SS-Staffelführer.

  1929–1931

• Oberstab : This was the name of the SS headquarters, which was under Himmler's command as of January, 1929.
• Abteilung : The term Abteilung was used to describe the earliest form of the SS Main Offices and were considered subordinate offices attached to the Oberstab. The SS offices of 1929 encompassed administration, personnel, finance, security, and racial matters.
• SS-Oberführerbereiche : By 1930, the old SS-Gaus had been consolidated into three senior leadership areas encompassing east and west Germany and a region encompassing southern Germany which was considered the most important since this was the location of the main Nazi Party offices. Each Oberführerbereich was commanded by an Oberführer.

  1931–1933

• SS-Amt : Originally in 1931 there were three SS offices; the Headquarters Office, the Race Office and the Security Office. By 1933, these offices would be renamed under the title of Hauptamt which would remain the standard name for an SS main office for the duration of the group's existence.
• SS-Gruppen : These were the earliest division commands of what would become the Allgemeine SS. There were five SS-Groups originally established: North, South, East, West, and Southwest. Each SS-Group was commanded by a Gruppenführer.
• SS-Brigaden : The SS brigades were intermediary commands between the SS-Groups and lower SS regiment commands known as Standarte. Each SS-Brigade was commanded by a Brigadeführer.

  ''Allgemeine SS'' commands

• SS-Oberabschnitt. The Oberabschnitt commander was known by the title of "Führer" and was assisted by a staff which typically comprised departments encompassing training, medical affairs, as well as specialty commands such as SS-signals battalions and engineer units.
• SS-Abschnitt : The Abschnitt commands were formed in the early 1930s from the old SS-Brigades. The function and operation was essentially the same as with the Oberabschnitt, but the units were usually commanded by an SS-Brigadeführer or Oberführer. SS-Abschnitt's were annotated in correspondence with Roman numerals while the Oberabschnitt commands were given proper names. As with the Oberabschnitt commanders, once World War II began many Abschnitt leaders became corresponding SS and Police Leaders for their areas.
• SS-Standarte : The Standarten was the primary unit of the General-SS, named after the term for a "Regimental Standard", or flag. The Standarte were organized into regimental-sized formations each with its own number, but also were referred to by other names, such as location, a popular name, or an honorary title; generally SS or NSDAP members killed before the Nazis obtained national power. For example, the 18th SS-Standarte in Königsberg was named "Ostpreußen" while the 6th SS-Standarte of Berlin was named "Graham Kämmer". There were 127 SS-Standarte. The standard rank for the Standarte Leader was that of Standartenführer.
• SS-Sturmbann : The Sturmbann commands were battalion formations within a Standarte, usually three or four in number. These units were commanded by either a Sturmbannführer or Obersturmbannführer.
• SS-Sturm : The Sturm was the company-level formation of the General-SS and the most typical in which an average SS member would associate. Each Sturmbann had 3 to 5 of them. Company commanders usually rated a rank between Untersturmführer and Hauptsturmführer.
• SS-Trupp : SS-Troops were platoon-sized formations. Each Sturm had 3 to 4 of them. They were commanded by an SS non-commissioned officer initially known as a Truppführer. After the Night of the Long Knives, the SS renamed its rank structure and each Trupp then fell under the command of one with the rank of Oberscharführer and Hauptscharführer.
• SS-Schar : SS-Squads were eight to ten man formations that served as the primary mustering unit within each SS-Company. There were 3 for each Trupp. Such units were commanded by an SS-Scharführer with an Assistant Squad Leader rated as an Unterscharführer.
• SS-Rotte : This was the smallest unit of the General-SS. It usually consisted of four to five SS members. The SS-Section was commanded by an SS-Rottenführer and consisted of SS troopers holding the rank of Mann or Sturmmann.

  Cavalry commands

• SS-Reiterabschnitt : Modeled in the same manner as the SS-Abschnitt commands, only nine of these commands were ever established. They commanded one or more SS-Reiterstandarte. This command level ended in 1936. Thereafter, the SS-Reiterstandarte were under each SS-Oberabschnitt.
• SS-Reiterstandarte : There were twenty-four cavalry regiments established by the Allgemeine SS. These units wore a special crossed lances unit insignia. in comparison to the regular Standarte which displayed a unit patch bearing the Standarten number.

  Waffen-SS commands

• Army: Only two SS armies were ever established and contained primarily subordinate Regular Army commands
• Corps: Several SS Corps existed; these commands were usually the highest operational position in the Waffen-SS
• Division: There were 38 full divisions established in the Waffen-SS. Many late war SS divisions never reached full strength, some no larger in reality than a battalion.
• Brigades: SS brigades were independently formed at the start of World War II, eventually merged into the higher divisions
• Regiments: The main-stay combat unit of the Waffen-SS, typically commanded by an SS-Standartenführer
• Battalions: Subordinate to a regiment and the first of the "front line" operational combat units
• Companies: Referred to as Kompanie
• Platoons: Referred to as Zug
• Squads: Referred to as Gruppe. This created an oddity in that a Waffen-SS squad leader was referred to as a Gruppenführer when this title was also a rank equivalent to a lieutenant general.
• Teams: Basic fire team formations of five to seven soldiers

  Senior SS commands

SS and Police Leaders

• Supreme SS and Police Leader : These SS and Police Leaders had command over all SS units in a conquered country. There were only two such commands established, one in the Ukraine and the other in Italy.
• Higher SS and Police Leader : These commands held authority over a region, district, or state. They were "de facto" equal in power inside Germany to their "often nominal superior", the NSDAP regional Gauleiter.
• SS and Police Leader : These SS commands were in charge or specific cities, usually important or significant ones. They were subordinate to the HSSPF.

  Main office commands

• Persönlicher Stab Reichsführer-SS Hauptamt
• SS-Hauptamt
• SS-Führungshauptamt
• Reichssicherheitshauptamt
• Ordnungspolizei Hauptamt
• Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungshauptamt
• Hauptamt SS-Gericht
• SS-Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt
• SS-Personalhauptamt
• Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle
• SS-Schulungsamt
• Hauptamt Reichskommissar für die Festigung Deutschen Volkstums

• Office Chief : The Chief of a Main Office was referred to by the title of Chef followed by the office code. For instance, Reinhard Heydrich was known by the title Chef der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD or CSSD, while serving as the overall office commander of the Reich Main Security Office.
• Department Chief : The title of department chief was the most commonly used and held by countless SS officers and could be extended to sub-department heads, as well. For example, Heinrich Müller was department chief of the RSHA "Amt IV" : the Gestapo. Adolf Eichmann was the commander of or Sub-Department IV B4 that was the Gestapo's inner department of Jewish Affairs. He was known as the Amtschef, RSHA , and was Müller's subordinate.
• Chief of Staff : Each department typically had a Chief of Staff, known by the title "Chief of the Staff" to avoid confusion with the title "Stabschef", which was a rank of the Nazi stormtroopers.

Security police commands

Death's Head commands

• Kommandant
• Lagerführer
• Rapportführer
• Blockführer

  Special Unit commands

Citations