Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel

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The ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were a paramilitary rank system used by the SS to differentiate that organization from the regular German armed forces, the German state, and the Nazi Party. The original SS ranks were initially the same as the ranks of the SA but eventually developed their own unique titles. In line with the Führerprinzip (Leadership Principle) of the Nazi party's ideology, the word Führer was incorporated into all ranks except those for enlisted men.

SS rank insignia

1934–1945

SS General Officer Rank	Translation	Waffen-SS suffix	Wehrmacht equivalent	Collar Insignia 1934–1942	Collar Insignia 1942–1945	Duty Shoulder Insignia	Dress Shoulder Insignia
Reichsführer-SS	Reich Leader SS	N/A	Generalfeldmarschall
Oberstgruppenführer	Supreme Group Leader	Generaloberst der Waffen-SS	Generaloberst	N/A	'
Obergruppenführer	Senior Group Leader	General der Waffen-SS	General		'
Gruppenführer	Group Leader	Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS	Generalleutnant
Brigadeführer	Brigade Leader	Generalmajor der Waffen-SS	Generalmajor	Picture Missing
Oberführer	Senior Leader	N/A	N/A		Picture Missing

SS Officer Rank	Translation	German Army equivalent	Collar Insignia 1934–1945	Duty Shoulder Insignia 1938–1945	Dress Shoulder Insignia 1934–1945
Standartenführer	Regiment Leader	Oberst			Picture Missing
Obersturmbannführer	Senior Storm Unit Leader	Oberstleutnant			Picture Missing
Sturmbannführer	Storm Unit Leader	Major			Picture Missing
Hauptsturmführer	Head Storm Leader	Hauptmann			Picture Missing
Obersturmführer	Senior Storm Leader	Oberleutnant			Picture Missing
Untersturmführer	Junior Storm Leader	Leutnant			Picture Missing

SS NCO Rank	Translation	Officer Candidate Equivalent	German Army equivalent	Collar Insignia 1934–1945	Duty Shoulder Insignia 1938–1945	Dress Shoulder Insignia 1934–1945
Sturmscharführer	Storm Squad Leader	N/A	Stabsfeldwebel			Picture Missing
Hauptscharführer	Head Squad Leader	Standartenoberjunker	Oberfeldwebel			Picture Missing
Oberscharführer	Senior Squad Leader	Standartenjunker	Feldwebel			Picture Missing
Scharführer	Squad Leader	Oberjunker	Unterfeldwebel	Picture Missing		Picture Missing
Unterscharführer	Junior Squad Leader	Junker	Unteroffizier			Picture Missing

SS Enlisted Rank	Translation	German Army equivalent	Collar Insignia 1934–1945	Sleeve Insignia 1938–1945	Duty Shoulder Insignia 1938–1945	Dress Shoulder Insignia 1934–1945
Rottenführer	Section Leader	Obergefreiter				Picture Missing
Sturmmann	Storm Trooper	Gefreiter				Picture Missing
Oberschütze/Obermann	Senior Shooter / Senior Trooper	Oberschütze				Picture Missing
Schütze/Mann	Shooter / Trooper	Schütze		No Insignia		Picture Missing
Anwärter	Recruit	No Equivalent	No Insignia	No Insignia	No Insignia	No Insignia
Bewerber	Candidate	No Equivalent	No Insignia	No Insignia	No Insignia	No Insignia

1932–1934

SS Rank	Translation	Army Equivalent	Collar Insignia	Shoulder Insignia
Obergruppenführer	Senior Group Leader	General
Gruppenführer	Group Leader	Generalleutnant
Brigadeführer	Brigade Leader	Generalmajor	Picture Missing
Oberführer	Senior Leader	Brigadier
Standartenführer	Regiment Leader	Oberst		Picture Missing
Obersturmbannführer	Senior Storm Unit Leader	Oberstleutnant		Picture Missing
Sturmbannführer	Storm Unit Leader	Major		Picture Missing
Sturmhauptführer	Storm Head Leader	Hauptmann		Picture Missing
Obersturmführer	Senior Storm Leader	Oberleutnant	Picture Missing	Picture Missing
Sturmführer	Storm Leader	Leutnant		Picture Missing
Haupttruppführer	Head Troop Leader	Stabsfeldwebel		Picture Missing
Obertruppführer	Senior Troop Leader	Oberfeldwebel		Picture Missing
Truppführer	Troop Leader	Feldwebel		Picture Missing
Oberscharführer	Senior Squad Leader	Unterfeldwebel	Picture Missing	Picture Missing
Scharführer	Squad Leader	Unteroffizier		Picture Missing
Rottenführer	Section Leader	Obergefreiter		Picture Missing
Sturmmann	Storm Trooper	Gefreiter		Picture Missing
Mann	Trooper	Schütze		Picture Missing
Anwärter	Recruit	Rekrut	No Insignia	No Insignia

1930–1932

SS Rank	Army Equivalent	Collar Insignia
Gruppenführer	General
Oberführer	Brigadier
Standartenführer	Colonel
Sturmbannführer	Major
Sturmhauptführer	Captain	Picture Missing
Sturmführer	Lieutenant
Haupttruppführer	Sergeant Major
Truppführer	Sergeant
Scharführer	Corporal
Mann	Private

1925–1929

Early SS armband

The earliest SS ranks were titles with no recognizable insignia. By 1929, a system of white stripes, centered on an armband, denoted SS rank with the first established SS ranks listed below:

• Reichsführer (Reich Leader) Three Stripes
• Oberführer (Senior Leader) Two Stripes
• Staffelführer (Squadron Leader) One Stripe
• Mann (Trooper) No Stripes

Police ranks

In 1936, the SS absorbed the regular German police and formed the Ordnungspolizei. Known as the Orpo, the Ordnungspolizei was considered a full branch of the SS but maintained a separate system of insignia and Orpo ranks. It was also possible for SS members to hold dual status in both the Orpo and the SS, and SS-Generals were referred to simultaneously by both rank titles. For instance, an Obergruppenführer in the SS, who was also a Police General, would be referred to as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei.

Waffen-SS Generals

SS Generals of the Waffen-SS were typically addressed by both their SS rank title and a corresponding General's rank associated with the Wehrmacht. All such General ranks were followed by the phrase der Waffen-SS to distinguish the SS General from their counterparts in other branches of the German military. Thus, a typical title would be Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS.

In 1944, all SS General Officers were granted equivalent Waffen-SS rank so that, in the event that they were captured by the Allies, they would have status as military officers instead of police officials. For those who had held police rank prior to 1944, the SS General's title could become rather lengthy. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, for instance, was listed on the SS rolls in 1945 as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS.

Senior SS Titles

In addition to the regular ranks of the SS, the SS also used a variety of titles which were commonly interchanged with ranks to denote senior levels of responsibility. Some of these titles included:

• SS-Führer: Originally an early rank of the SS, the title of SS-Führer was commonly used by any SS officer and translated as “SS Leader”.
• SS-Unterführer: This title was often used in the Waffen-SS by non-commissioned officers holding the rank of Unterscharführer and above. An enlisted SS soldier, applying for NCO status, was often known as an Unterführer-Anwärter.
• SD-Leiter: This title was used by senior officers of the Sicherheitsdienst, typically those in command of a major SD office or regional headquarters
• Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer: Translated as Higher SS and Police Leader, these were some of the most powerful men in the SS, commanding all SS units in a given geographic region
• Kriminalrat: A title used by the Kriminalpolizei to denote those SS members who were also fully certified detectives. Artur Nebe went by the title of Kriminalrat for most of the 1930s, only using addressing himself by an SS rank when engaged in non-Kripo activities.

Foreign Volunteers

As with the senior SS titles, volunteers of non-Germanic countries had the title "Waffen" prefixed to their rank. For instance, an Untersturmführer in the foreign legions would be referred to as Waffen-Untersturmführer whereas a regular SS member would be addressed as SS-Untersturmführer. This helped to indicate non-native volunteers, or to separate Germanic individuals in the divisions comprised primarily of non Germans.

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, as the Führer of Germany, was by default the supreme commander of the SS and outranked Heinrich Himmler, who served as “Reich Leader” of the entire SS. In the early days of the SS, Hitler was Oberster SA-Führer and supreme commander of the Sturmabteilung stormtroopers. Hitler’s supreme SA rank, when the SS was still under the authority of the SA, could be seen as a rank superior to that of Reichsführer-SS. Hitler also was considered SS Member #1, Emil Maurice (considered the founder the SS) was Member #2, while Himmler was SS Member #168. Based on the seniority system of SS membership number, this made Hitler senior in the SS to all other members even if not by rank.

After the Night of the Long Knives, when the SS became independent from the SA, Hitler was listed on SS officer rolls as Member #1 and considered supreme commander of the entire SS by virture of his position as the Führer of Germany. There is no photographic record of Hitler ever wearing an actual SS uniform nor was there a special SS insignia for Hitler above that worn by Himmler.

Additional information

• Stabsscharführer was a positional rank granted to the senior NCO of an SS Company. The position was the equivalent of a First Sergeant. Stabsscharführer was denoted by a special sleeve patch, worn on the upper right arm of the SS uniform.

• The rank of Staffelführer was also commonly referred to simply as SS-Führer.

• The rank of Sturmscharführer was only used by the Waffen-SS.

• The rank of Oberstgruppenführer did not exist until 1942 and was originally created to give senior Waffen-SS Generals equivalent rank to Wehrmacht Colonel Generals. Only four people ever held the rank of Oberstgruppenführer.

• SS officers holding the rank of Standartenführer and above wore rank insignia on both collar patches. All other SS members wore their rank on the left collar patch while an SS unit badge was worn on the right.

• SS had no standard dress uniforms unlike the Heer, so some SS officers occasionally wore custom designed mess dress with pre-1939 Allgemeine-SS rank insignia.

In popular culture

• In Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series of alternate-history novels, the Confederate Freedom Party guards have rank names imitating those of the SS.
• In the Ian McKellen adaptation of Richard III, King Richard wears a paramilitary black uniform with the insignia of an SS-Oberstgruppenführer.
• In the manga and OVA series Hellsing, the main antagonists are a group of SS soldiers, and they are referred to by German rank in the OVA IV liner notes.

See also

• Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung
• SS uniform
• Comparative military ranks of World War II
• List of SS personnel

v • d • e SS organizations — SS Branches Allgemeine SS · Waffen-SS · Ahnenerbe SS Leadership Reichsführer-SS · Regional leaders · Personnel Headquarters Office of the Reichsführer-SS · Head Administrative Office · Head Operational Office · Reich Central Security Office · Police Office · Economics and Administration Office · Office of Race and Settlement · Main Office for Ethnic Germans · Office of the Reich Commissioner for Germanic Resettlement · SS Courts Office · Personnel Office · Education Office Special services SS-Totenkopfverbände · Einsatzgruppen · Reichssicherheitsdienst · Begleitkommando-SS · SS-Begleitkommando des Führers · Intelligence service (SD) · Ahnenerbe · Das Schwarze Korps Police units Regular police (Orpo) · Criminal police (Kripo) · Secret police (Gestapo) · Security police (Sipo) Waffen-SS units Waffen-SS divisions · Leibstandarte (SS-LAH) · Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) · Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) SS-controlled businesses Ostindustrie · Deutsche Wirtschaftsbetriebe · Deutsche Ausrüstungswerke · Allach porcelain · Apollinaris · Mattoni · Sudetenquell

References

• Bedurftig, Friedemann, and Christian Zenter. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. 1985.
• Personnel Service Records of the S.S., National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
• Deutsche Uniformen, National Socialist German Workers Party, 1938

Notes