The 17th SS-Standarte was a regimental formation of the Allgemeine-SS first founded in the year 1931. The unit was one of the early SS formations in Germany, and was first headquartered in the city of Harburg-Wilhelmsburg

Harburg-Wilhelmsburg

Harburg-Wilhelmsburg was a city in the Prussian Province of Hanover briefly in existence from 1927 and 1937, resulting from the merger of the cities of Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. In 1937, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, along with the cities from the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Altona and...

.

The original commander of the 17th Standarte, who supervised the regiment's formation, was Friedrich Jeckeln

Friedrich Jeckeln

Friedrich Jeckeln was an SS-Obergruppenführer who served as an SS and Police Leader in the occupied Soviet Union during World War II...

 who would later become infamous as an SS and Police Leader

SS and Police Leader

SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...

 in Eastern Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 during 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...

. Jecklen assumed command of the Standarte as a Sturmbannführer

Sturmbannführer

Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

 when the unit was only at battalion level strength. It was not until after the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, in 1933, that the Standarte had enough of a membership to be considered as a regimental command. Even so, the command was never led by a full Standartenführer

Standartenführer

Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...

, with all of the later commanders holding the rank of Obersturmbannführer

Obersturmbannführer

Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...

.

In April of 1936, the 17th Standarte shifted its headquarters to the city of Celle

Celle

Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...

. Three years later, when World War II began, the Standarte began losing its members to either the general draft or to service in the Waffen-SS

Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...

 (General-SS units were considered "part time" and their members were not draft exempt).

By 1942, the 17th Standarte had ceased to actively function but was listed with a posted commander until the fall of 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...

 in May of 1945.

Commanders

• SS-Sturmbannführer Friedrich Jeckeln (March 31, 1931 - June 22, 1931)
• SS-Sturmhauptführer
  Sturmhauptführer
  Sturmhauptführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank used by both the Sturmabteilung and the SS. It was the equivalent of a Hauptmann in the German Army. This is the equivalent of Captain in western militaries....
  
  Klaus Sieh (June 23, 1931 - October 1, 1932)
• SS-Sturmhauptführer Wilhelm Koppe (October 2, 1932 - December 1, 1933)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Willy Tensfeld (December 1, 1933 - March 16, 1935)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Friedrich Graf von Pfeil-Burghauss (March 15, 1935 - October 1, 1935)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Johann von Feil (October 1, 1935 - March 20, 1938)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Johann Schlechl (March 20, 1938 - May 8, 1945)