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The Waffen-SS was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands.
The uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel served to distinguish the Nazi paramilitary ranks of the Schutzstaffel (SS) between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the Wehrmacht, the German state, and the Nazi Party.
The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding the Führer's person, offices, and residences. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into an elite division-sized unit during World War II.
SS-Verfügungstruppe was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). On 17 August 1938 Adolf Hitler decreed that the SS-VT was neither a part of the Ordnungspolizei nor the Wehrmacht, but military-trained men at the disposal of the Führer. At the time of war, the SS-VT were to be placed at the disposal of the army.
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served in the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS, and commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Together with Paul Hausser, he contributed significantly to the development and transformation of the Waffen-SS into a combat force made up of volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and un-occupied lands.
Wilhelm Bittrich was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations in the Soviet Union. From July 1944 until the end of the war Bittrich commanded the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in Normandy, during Market Garden and in Hungary.
SS-Totenkopfverbände was the Schutzstaffel (SS) organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps for Nazi Germany, among similar duties. While the Totenkopf was the universal cap badge of the SS, the SS-TV also wore this insignia on the right collar tab to distinguish itself from other SS formations.
The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich or SS Division Das Reich was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the regiments of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT). The division served during the invasion of France and took part in several major battles on the Eastern Front, including in the Battle of Prokhorovka against the 5th Guards Tank Army at the Battle of Kursk. It was then transferred to the West and took part in the fighting in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, ending the war fighting the Soviets in Hungary and Austria. The division committed the Oradour-sur-Glane and Tulle massacres along with others on the Eastern Front.
The 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking or SS Division Wiking was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. It was recruited from foreign volunteers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belgium under the command of German officers. During World War II, the division served on the Eastern Front. It surrendered on 9 May 1945 to the American forces in Austria.
Eduard Deisenhofer was a German commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany. He was an early member in the SS, and served with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and at the Dachau concentration camp in 1930s. During World War II, Deisenhofer served with several combat divisions on both the Eastern and Western fronts, earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He held a PhD in political economy.
Fritz Witt was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served with the SS Division Leibstandarte before taking command of the SS Division Hitlerjugend. He was killed in action in June 1944.
Georg Keppler was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Das Reich, SS Division Totenkopf, I SS Panzer Corps, III SS Panzer Corps and the XVIII SS Army Corps.
Sylvester Stadler was a high-ranking Austrian commander of the Waffen-SS, a commander of the SS Division Hohenstaufen, previously having been the commander of the SS regiment whose 3rd Company was responsible for the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre. Only 34 years old at the end of the war, he held the rank of SS-Brigadeführer and generalmajor of the Waffen SS and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
Matthias Kleinheisterkamp was an SS-Obergruppenführer during World War II. He commanded the SS Division Totenkopf, SS Division Nord, SS Division Das Reich, III SS Panzer Corps, VII SS Panzer Corps, IV SS Panzer Corps, XII SS Army Corps and the XI SS Army Corps. He killed himself after being captured by the Soviets.
Heinz Harmel was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. He commanded the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg during World War II. Harmel was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.
Werner Ostendorff was a German SS-general during World War II who served as chief of staff of the II SS Panzer Corps and divisional commander of the SS Division Das Reich. He died of wounds in May 1945.
Johannes-Rudolf Mühlenkamp was a German SS officer and divisional commander during World War II who led SS Division Wiking. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945.
German World War II camouflage patterns formed a family of disruptively patterned military camouflage designs for clothing, used and in the main designed during the Second World War. The first pattern, Splittertarnmuster, was designed in 1931 and was initially intended for Zeltbahn shelter halves. The clothing patterns developed from it combined a pattern of interlocking irregular green, brown, and buff polygons with vertical "rain" streaks. Later patterns, all said to have been designed for the Waffen-SS by Johann Georg Otto Schick, evolved into more leaf-like forms with rounded dots or irregular shapes. Camouflage smocks were designed to be reversible, providing camouflage for two seasons, whether summer and autumn, or summer and winter (snow). Distribution was limited to the Waffen-SS, ostensibly because of a patent, though variants were used by other units, including the Luftwaffe. Production was limited by shortage of materials, especially of high quality waterproof cotton duck.
In Nazi Germany, the Standarte was a paramilitary unit of Nazi Party (NSDAP), Sturmabteilung, NSKK, NSFK, and Schutzstaffel (SS). Translated literally as "Regimental standard", the name refers to the flag paramilitary formations carried in formations and parades.
References
- ↑ Norbert Számvéber (2012). Waffen-SS Armour in Normandy: The Combat History of SS Panzer Regiment 12 and SS Panzerjäger Abteilung 12, Normandy 1944, based on their original war diaries. Helion and Company. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-1-907677-24-3.
- ↑ David T. Zabecki Ph.D. (2014). Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 331–. ISBN 978-1-59884-981-3.
- ↑ Alejandro Quesada (2011). The Chaco War 1932-35: South America's Greatest Modern Conflict. Osprey Publishing. pp. 34, 42. ISBN 978-1-84908-416-1.