11th SS-Standarte
Encyclopedia
The 11th SS-Standarte was a large regimental formation of the Allgemeine-SS and the principal mustering SS unit in Austria
. First formed in 1932, the Standarte was headquartered in Vienna
and during its first years of existence served as a base for members of the Austrian SS who were attempting to influence Austrian politics towards an Anschluss
with Germany.
By 1936, the SS had been declared illegal in Austria, and the 11th SS-Standarte went completely underground, although still participated in several covert actions against the government of Austria
. When Nazi Germany
absorbed Austria in 1938, the Standarte "came out in the open" and became the largest regiment command of the SS in Austria, under the authority of the SS-Oberabschnitt Donau
.
During this period in the 1930s, one notable member of the 11th SS-Standarate was Amon Göth
who would later join the German Concentration Camp service
and be immortalized in the film Schindler's List
.
When World War II
began, most members of the 11th SS-Standarte transferred into the Waffen-SS. A small core of Allgemeine-SS personnel remained in Austria, but as the war progressed there were less and less formal functions performed by the 11th SS-Standarte. The unit effectively existed on paper only after 1944, but was listed as having a posted commander until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. First formed in 1932, the Standarte was headquartered in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and during its first years of existence served as a base for members of the Austrian SS who were attempting to influence Austrian politics towards an Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
with Germany.
By 1936, the SS had been declared illegal in Austria, and the 11th SS-Standarte went completely underground, although still participated in several covert actions against the government of Austria
Politics of Austria
The Politics of Austria take place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, with a Federal Chancellor as the head of government, and a Federal President as head of state. Executive power is exercised by the governments, both local and federal...
. When Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
absorbed Austria in 1938, the Standarte "came out in the open" and became the largest regiment command of the SS in Austria, under the authority of the SS-Oberabschnitt Donau
SS-Oberabschnitt Donau
SS-Oberabschnitt Donau was the primary division command of the Allgemeine-SS in the country of Austria. The Oberabschnitt was formed in 1934 under Alfred Rodenbücher as an early attempt to influence the Anschluss with Nazi Germany...
.
During this period in the 1930s, one notable member of the 11th SS-Standarate was Amon Göth
Amon Göth
Amon Leopold Göth was an Austrian Nazi and the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Płaszów, General Government...
who would later join the German Concentration Camp service
SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände , meaning "Death's-Head Units", was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich....
and be immortalized in the film Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began, most members of the 11th SS-Standarte transferred into the Waffen-SS. A small core of Allgemeine-SS personnel remained in Austria, but as the war progressed there were less and less formal functions performed by the 11th SS-Standarte. The unit effectively existed on paper only after 1944, but was listed as having a posted commander until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Commanders
- SS-SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
Walter Turza (June 11, 1931 - November 12, 1931) - SS-Sturmbannführer Anton Ziegler (November 12, 1931 - September 9, 1932)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Josef Fitzthum (September 9, 1932 - March 30, 1933)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Anton Ziegler (March 30, 1933 - August 1, 1933)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Hubert Köblinger (August 1, 1933 -August 23, 1933)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Georg Hof (March 23, 1933 - August 1, 1934)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Musil (August 1, 1934 - February 7, 1935)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Karl Urban (February 7, 1935 - March 17, 1937)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Max Plobner (March 17, 1937 - July 8, 1938)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Leopold Koberl (July 8, 1938 - October 1, 1938)
- SS-Sturmbannführer Helmuth Breymann (October 1, 1938 - January 9, 1944)
- SS-Standartenführer Walter Turza (January 9, 1944 - May 8, 1945)