1st SS-Standarte
Encyclopedia
Allgemeine-SS Order of Battle
The Allgemeine-SS Order of Battle refers to the mustering formations of SS units in Nazi Germany and Austria that existed prior to and during World War II....
. The unit was formed on August 1, 1928 as the SS reorganized from previous units known as SS-Gaus. Based in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, the 1st SS Standarte was charged with protection of top Nazi Party leaders, including 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...
. Its first commander was Josef "Sepp" Dietrich
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German SS General. He was one of Nazi Germany's most decorated soldiers and commanded formations up to Army level during World War II. Prior to 1929 he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard but received rapid promotion after his participation in the murder of...
. For most of its existence, the command was known by the honor title "Julius Schreck
Julius Schreck
Julius Schreck was an early Nazi Party member and also the first commander of the Schutzstaffel .-Biography:...
".
By 1929, Hitler had formed a personal bodyguard unit known as the Stabswache which would eventually become the nucleus of the future Leibstandarte-SS
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
. At this stage, the Stabswache and the 1st SS Standarte were seen practically as one and the same. By 1930, however, Josef Dietrich began to be seen strictly as the commander of the Stabswache with the day-to-day running of the 1st Standarte handled by 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...
(later 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...
) Heinrich Höflich.
When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
in 1933, Dietrich traveled with the Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in order to set up a new SS-Guard for the German leader. It is at this point that the association of the 1st SS Standarte as Hitler's personal guard effectively came to an end. Dietrich went on to form the "SS-Stabswache Berlin" that later became known as the SS-Sonderkommando Berlin. In November 1933, the Sonderkommando received the title, Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (LAH). Finally, Himmler modified that title to Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) on 13 April 1934.
In the summer of 1933, leadership of what remained of 1st Standarte in Munich was taken over by SS-Standartenführer Emil Wäckerle. After the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
in 1934, by which time the SS had solidified itself from headquarters offices in Berlin, the 1st SS Standarte lost most of its operational importance and became a ceremonial unit attached to the Munich Nazi Party headquarters, known as the "Brown House
Brown House, Munich, Germany
The Brown House was the national headquarters of the Nazi Party in Germany.A large impressive stone structure, it was located at 45 Brienner Straße in Munich, Bavaria...
".
The next commander of the 1st SS-Standarte, after the Night of the Long Knives, was Julian Scherner
Julian Scherner
Julian Scherner was a Nazi Party official who served in the SS as an SS-Oberführer...
, later known as the 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:...
of Krakau who was immortalized in the Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
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...
. After Scherner's tour as the Standarte commander, leadership passed through two more leaders until eventually command was assumed by SS-Standartenführer Erich Buchmann who held the command until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Order of Battle
- SS-Oberabschnitt SüdSS-Oberabschnitt SüdSS-Oberabschnitt Süd, often translated as "SS-District South" or "SS-Group South", was a division strength command of the Allgemeine-SS and the oldest SS-division in continuous existence from the inception of the SS in the late 1920s to the downfall of Nazi Germany in 1945.-Reference:* Yerger, Mark C...
(SS Division South) - First SS-AbschnittFirst SS-AbschnittThe First SS-Abschnitt was a brigade formation of the Allgemeine-SS and the first such unit ever established in the SS. The First Abschnitt was originally known as the SS-Brigaden 1, and was founded due to an expansion of the SS between 1929 and 1930 causing the need for SS-regiments to be...
(1st SS District) - 1st-SS Standarte (1st SS Regiment)
Commanders
- SS-SturmführerSturmführerSturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the Sturmabteilung in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928...
Josef Dietrich (August 1, 1928 - September 18, 1929) - SS-Oberführer Heinrich Höflich (September 18, 1929 - February 10, 1933)
- SS-Standartenführer Emil Wäckerle (February 10, 1933 - November 9, 1933)
- SS-Standartenführer Johann Maier (November 9, 1933 - January 1, 1934)
- SS-ObersturmführerObersturmführerObersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
Julian Scherner (January 1, 1934 - January 9, 1935) - SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Butchner (January 9, 1935 - November 9, 1936)
- SS-Obersturmbannführer Willibald Fleichmann (November 9, 1936 - October 1, 1937)
- SS-Standartenführer Erich Buchmann (October 1, 1937 - May 8, 1945)
Reference
- Yerger, Mark C. Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units, and Leaders of the General SS, Schiffer Publishing (1997). ISBN 0-7643-0145-4