The 18th SS-Standarte was a regimental formation of the Allgemeine-SS located in the city of Köningsberg. The Standarte was one of the earlier General-SS formations and had been founded in 1932, a year before Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Throughout the 1930s, the 18th Standarte performed mustering drills of General-SS members and also participated in Nazi functions and parades in and around Köningsberg. During this time period, the Standarte was given the honorary regimental title of "Ostpreußen". Hans-Adolf Prützmann

Hans-Adolf Prützmann

Hans-Adolf Prützmann was a Superior SS and Police Leader, as well as an SS Obergruppenführer...

, who later became involved in the Holocaust while serving 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 Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, was an early commander of the Standarate.

In 1939, with the outbreak of 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...

, the 18th Standarte began losing most of its membership to either the general draft or to transfer into 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...

. By 1943, the regiment had ceased to exist except on paper, yet had a posted commander until the collapse of Nazi Germany in May 1945.

Commanders

• 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....
  
   Heinz Österreich (February 1, 1932 - August 31, 1932)
• SS-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...
  
   Hans-Adolf Prützmann (August 31, 1932 - December 12, 1933)
  • SS-Sturmbannführer
    Sturmbannführer
    Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
    
     Wilhelm Ihle [Acting Deputy] (April 20, 1933 - December 31, 1933)
• SS-Sturmbannführer Kurt Benson (December 16, 1933 - May 7, 1934)
• SS-Sturmbannführer Karl Schäfer (May 7, 1934 - April 1, 1936)
• SS-Oberführer
  Oberführer
  Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
  
   Heinz Roch (April 1, 1936 - March 1, 1937)
• SS-Standartenführer Johannes Schäfer (March 1, 1937 - March 31, 1938)
• SS-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...
  
  Friedrich Schlums (April 1, 1938 - May 20, 1939)
• SS-Sturmbannführer Erich Raake (May 20, 1939 - May 8, 1945)