Reichsführer-SS
Encyclopedia
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...
Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
(SS).
Definition
Reichsführer-SS was both a title and a rank. The title of Reichsführer was first created in 1926 by Joseph BerchtoldJoseph Berchtold
Joseph Berchtold , a former stationery salesman, succeeded Julius Schreck as Reichsführer SS in 1926. He was the last surviving person to hold that position and the only one to survive World War II....
. Berchtold's predecessor, Julius Schreck
Julius Schreck
Julius Schreck was an early Nazi Party member and also the first commander of the Schutzstaffel .-Biography:...
, never referred to himself as Reichsführer but the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
became Reichsführer-SS and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank. This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called Reichsführer-SS.
In 1934, Himmler's title became an actual rank 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...
. From that point on, Reichsführer-SS became the highest rank of the SS and was considered the equivalent of a Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
in the German army
Heer (1935-1945)
The Heer was the Army land forces component of the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945, the latter also included the Navy and the Air Force...
. There was never more than one Reichsführer-SS at any one time, with Himmler holding the position as his personal title from 1929 (becoming his actual rank in 1934) until 1945.
Duties
As highest ranking officer of the SS, the holder of this position in effect held several roles and wielded an enormous amount of personal power. The Reichsführer-SS was responsible for all internal security within the Third Reich. He also had at his command the military force of the Waffen-SSWaffen-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...
which grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions and served alongside the German army, but was never formally part of it. Further, the Reichsführer-SS was overseer of the concentration camps, extermination camps (through the Concentration Camps Inspectorate
Concentration Camps Inspectorate
The Concentration Camps Inspectorate was the central SS administrative and managerial authority for the concentration camps of the Third Reich. Created by Theodor Eicke, it was originally known as the "General Inspection of the Enhanced SS-Totenkopfstandarten, after Eicke's position in the SS...
and SS-TV), and Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
(through the RSHA
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
). Because Nazi Germany developed into a dictatorship, his influence on both civil and foreign policy became marked, as the Reichsführer reported directly to Hitler and his actions were not tempered by democratic means. This meant the office holder could implement broad policy such as the Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
, or order criminal acts such as the Stalag Luft III murders
Stalag Luft III murders
The Stalag Luft III murders was a war crime perpetrated by members of the Gestapo following the "Great Escape" of Allied prisoners of war from the German Air Force prison camp known as Stalag Luft III on March 25, 1944. Of a total of 76 successful escapees, 73 were recaptured, mostly within days of...
, without impediment.
It is difficult to define precisely the full detailed duties and responsibilities of the Reichsführer-SS beyond that of leader and senior member of the SS, since, in the words of one historian, "(b)y the outbreak of the (Second World) war it would have been impossible to define exactly the role within the state" of the entire SS itself.
Office holders
In all, five people held the title of Reichsführer-SS during the twenty years of its existence. Three persons held the position as a title while two held the actual SS rank.- Julius SchreckJulius SchreckJulius Schreck was an early Nazi Party member and also the first commander of the Schutzstaffel .-Biography:...
(1925–1926) - Joseph BerchtoldJoseph BerchtoldJoseph Berchtold , a former stationery salesman, succeeded Julius Schreck as Reichsführer SS in 1926. He was the last surviving person to hold that position and the only one to survive World War II....
(1926–1927) - Erhard HeidenErhard HeidenErhard Heiden was an early member of the Nazi Party and the third commander of the Schutzstaffel . Heiden was a Nazi stormtrooper who, in 1925, joined a small stormtrooper bodyguard unit known as the Schutzstaffel...
(1927–1929) - Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
(1929–1945) - Karl HankeKarl HankeKarl August Hanke was an official of the National Socialist German Workers Party . He served as governor of Lower Silesia from 1941 to 1945 and as the final Reichsführer-SS for a few days in 1945.- Early life :Hanke was born in Lauban in Silesia, on 24 August 1903, the son of a locomotive...
(1945)
Hanke was appointed SS leader in April 1945, but not informed until early May. He was killed June 8, 1945, while attempting to escape a Czech POW camp.
In popular culture
The rank of Reichsführer-SS has also appeared in fiction with the following some of the more notable examples:- In the Robert Harris novel FatherlandFatherland (novel)Fatherland is a bestselling 1992 thriller by the English writer and journalist Robert Harris. It takes the form of a high concept alternative history set in a world in which Nazi Germany won World War II.The novel was an immediate bestseller in Britain...
, set in a parallel history where Germany won the Second World War, Reinhard HeydrichReinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
is depicted as having been promoted to the rank of Reichsführer-SS, after Himmler was mysteriously killed in a plane crash in 1962. While the novel dealt with Heydrich's assumption of the rank at some length, the HBOHome Box OfficeHBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
film adaptation gives little reference to this. In the film, the only indication of Heydrich as the Reichsführer-SS is a quick three-second shot of a non-speaking extra (intended to be Heydrich), seen wearing a grey SS uniform standing on a VIP platform with several German generals. - The Star TrekStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "Patterns of ForcePatterns of Force (TOS episode)"Patterns of Force" is a second season episode of the science fiction television program Star Trek: The Original Series, and was broadcast on February 16, 1968...
" depicts an alien planet where a historian has recreated Nazi GermanyNazi GermanyNazi 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 an attempt to form a benign fascist government marked by efficiency without sadism. In the episode, during a speech given by John Gill, the Federation historian turned FührerFührerFührer , 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...
, a top SS general is seen wearing the complete uniform and insignia of Reichsführer-SS. This character is not given a name in the episode, nor does he speak any dialogue. The Star Trek Reichsführer was portrayed by actor Frank da Vinci. - Himmler appears as Reichsführer-SS, visiting a conquered Britain in November 1941, in the Len DeightonLen DeightonLeonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
alternate historyAlternate history (fiction)Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
novel SS-GBSS-GBSS-GB is an alternate history novel by Len Deighton, set in a United Kingdom fictionally conquered and occupied by Germany during World War II. The novel's title refers to the branch of the Nazi SS that controls Britain.-Plot summary:...
. - In Harry TurtledoveHarry TurtledoveHarry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
's novel Colonization: Second ContactColonization: Second ContactColonization: Second Contact is an alternate history and science fiction novel by Harry Turtledove. It is the first novel of the Colonization series, as well as the fifth installment in the Worldwar series.-Plot:...
Himmler is depicted as succeeding Hitler as Führer, and continuing to rule Nazi Germany in the 1960s. - In another of Harry Turtledove's novels In the Presence of Mine EnemiesIn the Presence of Mine EnemiesIn the Presence of Mine Enemies is an alternate history novel by American author Harry Turtledove, expanded from the eponymous short story. The novel depicts a world where the United States remained isolationist and did not participate in the Second World War, thus allowing victory to the Axis...
, one of the antagonists is the Reichsführer-SS Lothar Prützmann, who attempts to overthrow the new FührerFührerFührer , 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...
, Heinz Buckliger.