SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz
Encyclopedia
SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz was the officers' training school for the Waffen-SS
. It was the SS equivalent of Britain's Sandhurst and the USA's West Point
. The school was established in 1937, in the town of Bad Tölz
which is about 30 miles south of Munich
and the location was seemingly chosen because it had both good transport links and was in an inspiring location. The design and construction of the school was intended to impress the staff, students, visitors and passers-by. A sub camp of the Dachau concentration camp was located in the town of Bad Tölz
which provided labour for the SS-Junkerschule and the Zentralbauleitung (Central Administration Building). The School operated until the end of World War II
in 1945 and after the war the former SS-Junkerschule was the base of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group until 1991.
(SS) then known as the SS-VT, started to recruit officers into its ranks. The German Army
and its Prussian heritage, looked for officers of good breeding, who had at least graduated from secondary school. By contrast the SS-VT offered men the chance to become an officer no matter what education they had received or their social standing.
In 1936 Himmler selected former Lieutenant General Paul Hausser
to be appointed Inspector of the SS-VT with the rank of Brigadefuhrer
, he set about transforming the SS-VT into a creditable military force that was a match for the regular army and transformed the officer selection system. The school was opened in 1936 by Adolf Hitler and would use the regular army training methods and used former Army officers as instructors to train their potential officers to be combat effective. Because of their backgrounds some of the cadets required basic training in non military matters. The cadets were issued books on etiquette
that contained instructions on table manners "Cutlery is held only in the fingers and not with the whole hand" and even the correct way to close a letter "Heil Hitler! yours sincerely XXXX". Instruction was also given on Nazi ideology during lectures, but most instruction was a mixture of athletics and military field exercises.
The SS spared no expense in building the School, the facilities included a football stadium surrounded by an athletics rack; building dedicated to boxing
, gymnastics
, indoor ball games, a heated swimming pool
and a sauna
. The instructors matched the facilities and at one time eight of the twelve coaches were the German National champions in their fields.
could choose either to embark on the career path of an SS-non-commissioned officer
or could apply to join the officer corps of the Waffen-SS
. If choosing the latter, he was required to obtain a written recommendation from their commander and undergo a racial and political screening process to determine eligibility for commission as an SS officer. If accepted into the SS officer program, an SS member would be assigned to the SS-Junkerschule and would be appointed to the rank of SS-Junker
upon arrival. Situations did exist, however, where SS members would hold their previous enlisted rank while at the SS-Junkerschule and only be appointed to the rank of SS-Junker after a probationary period had passed. This officer candidate system was to ensure that future SS officers had prior enlisted experience and that there were no "direct appointments" in the Waffen-SS officer corps as was often the case in other SS branches such as the Gestapo
and Sicherheitsdienst
.
in sand boxes to studying Hitler's
Mein Kampf
. Many Cadets had already served in the Hitler Youth
and brought up under the Nazi propaganda machine. Nazi ideology was an important part of the curriculum and one Cadet in every three was eliminated from the five month course during examinations. One of the goals of the school was to produce fighting officers, and classes were given in assault tactics, which built on the mobile tactics introduced to the German Army at the end of World War I
.
The School adjutant
Felix Steiner
is reported to have said "We require a supple adaptable type of soldier, athletic of bearing and capable of more than the average endurance."
The timetable of the School was as follows: tactics, terrain and map reading, combat training and weapons training, General practical service (weapons technology, shooting training, war exercises), religious education, military, SS and police, administration, physical training, weapons doctrine, pioneer teaching, current events, tank tactics, vehicle maintenance, sanitary engineering, Air Force doctrine.
The Division never achieved anything near full division status, but did actually see some combat, although nearly all written accounts of the division don't seem to mention this. The 38th SS Division was at first named Junkerschule because of its formation from the members of the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tolz. It was then renamed to Nibelungen from the medieval poem of the name Nibelungenlied
made famous by Richard Wagner
in his opera Ring des Nibelungen.
The division first saw action in the Landshut
area of Upper Bavaria. The engagement was against American troops with the 38th actually overrunning a few American positions. The 38th then saw brief action in the Alpen
and Danube
areas before surrendering to the Americans on 8 May 1945, in the area of the Bavarian Alps.
16.07.1935 - 01.11.1938 Bernhard Voss
22.11.1937 - 31.01.1938 Arnold Altvater-Mackensen (was an acting deputy commander during Voss' absence)
01.11.1938 - 23.04.1940 Werner Freiherr von Schele
23.04.1940 - 11.07.1940 Julian Scherner
25.07.1940 - 08.11.1940 Cassius Freiherr von Montigny
12.11.1940 - 10.08.1942 Werner Dörffler-Schuband
10.08.1942 - 15.02.1943 Lothar Debes
26.01.1943 - 01.08.1943 Gottfried Klingemann
01.08.1943 - 15.03.1944 Werner Dörffler-Schuband
15.03.1944 - 12.01.1945 Fritz Klingenberg
12.01.1945 - 03.1945 Richard Schulze-Kossens
03.1945 - 04.1945 Karl-Heinz Anlauft
04.1945 - 08.05.1945 Bernhard Dietsche
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...
. It was the SS equivalent of Britain's Sandhurst and the USA's West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
. The school was established in 1937, in the town of Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
which is about 30 miles south of 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...
and the location was seemingly chosen because it had both good transport links and was in an inspiring location. The design and construction of the school was intended to impress the staff, students, visitors and passers-by. A sub camp of the Dachau concentration camp was located in the town of Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
which provided labour for the SS-Junkerschule and the Zentralbauleitung (Central Administration Building). The School operated until the end 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...
in 1945 and after the war the former SS-Junkerschule was the base of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group until 1991.
Early history
In 1934, the armed branch of the SchutzstaffelSchutzstaffel
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) then known as the SS-VT, started to recruit officers into its ranks. The German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
and its Prussian heritage, looked for officers of good breeding, who had at least graduated from secondary school. By contrast the SS-VT offered men the chance to become an officer no matter what education they had received or their social standing.
In 1936 Himmler selected former Lieutenant General Paul Hausser
Paul Hausser
Paul "Papa" Hausser was an officer in the German Army, achieving the high rank of lieutenant-general in the inter-war Reichswehr. After retirement from the regular Army he became the "father" of the Waffen-SS and one of its most eminent leaders...
to be appointed Inspector of the SS-VT with the rank of Brigadefuhrer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
, he set about transforming the SS-VT into a creditable military force that was a match for the regular army and transformed the officer selection system. The school was opened in 1936 by Adolf Hitler and would use the regular army training methods and used former Army officers as instructors to train their potential officers to be combat effective. Because of their backgrounds some of the cadets required basic training in non military matters. The cadets were issued books on etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
that contained instructions on table manners "Cutlery is held only in the fingers and not with the whole hand" and even the correct way to close a letter "Heil Hitler! yours sincerely XXXX". Instruction was also given on Nazi ideology during lectures, but most instruction was a mixture of athletics and military field exercises.
The SS spared no expense in building the School, the facilities included a football stadium surrounded by an athletics rack; building dedicated to boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, indoor ball games, a heated swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and a sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
. The instructors matched the facilities and at one time eight of the twelve coaches were the German National champions in their fields.
Selection
The officer candidates had to meet stringent requirements before being allowed into the officer schools; All SS officer's had to be a minimum height of 5 foot 10 inches (5 ft 11" for the Leibstandarte) and had to serve in the ranks prior to being considered for a place at the SS-Junkerschule, and had to serve for at least six months to a year before being considered. Typically, a Waffen-SS member reaching the rank of RottenführerRottenführer
Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...
could choose either to embark on the career path of an SS-non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
or could apply to join the officer corps of 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...
. If choosing the latter, he was required to obtain a written recommendation from their commander and undergo a racial and political screening process to determine eligibility for commission as an SS officer. If accepted into the SS officer program, an SS member would be assigned to the SS-Junkerschule and would be appointed to the rank of SS-Junker
Junker (SS rank)
Junker was a paramilitary Nazi rank that was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1933 and 1945. The rank was a special position held by those aspiring for officer commissions in the armed wing of the SS, first known as the SS-Verfügungstruppe and later as the Waffen-SS.The SS rank of...
upon arrival. Situations did exist, however, where SS members would hold their previous enlisted rank while at the SS-Junkerschule and only be appointed to the rank of SS-Junker after a probationary period had passed. This officer candidate system was to ensure that future SS officers had prior enlisted experience and that there were no "direct appointments" in the Waffen-SS officer corps as was often the case in other SS branches such as the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
.
Curriculum
Instruction at the school ranged from the playing of war gamesMilitary simulation
Military simulations, also known informally as war games, are simulations in which theories of warfare can be tested and refined without the need for actual hostilities. Many professional contemporary analysts object to the term wargames as this is generally taken to be referring to the civilian...
in sand boxes to studying Hitler's
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...
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
. Many Cadets had already served in the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
and brought up under the Nazi propaganda machine. Nazi ideology was an important part of the curriculum and one Cadet in every three was eliminated from the five month course during examinations. One of the goals of the school was to produce fighting officers, and classes were given in assault tactics, which built on the mobile tactics introduced to the German Army at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The School adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
Felix Steiner
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
is reported to have said "We require a supple adaptable type of soldier, athletic of bearing and capable of more than the average endurance."
The timetable of the School was as follows: tactics, terrain and map reading, combat training and weapons training, General practical service (weapons technology, shooting training, war exercises), religious education, military, SS and police, administration, physical training, weapons doctrine, pioneer teaching, current events, tank tactics, vehicle maintenance, sanitary engineering, Air Force doctrine.
38th SS Division
In March 1945, staff and students from the school were used to form the 38th SS Division NibelungenThe Division never achieved anything near full division status, but did actually see some combat, although nearly all written accounts of the division don't seem to mention this. The 38th SS Division was at first named Junkerschule because of its formation from the members of the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tolz. It was then renamed to Nibelungen from the medieval poem of the name Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
made famous by Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
in his opera Ring des Nibelungen.
The division first saw action in the Landshut
Landshut
Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...
area of Upper Bavaria. The engagement was against American troops with the 38th actually overrunning a few American positions. The 38th then saw brief action in the Alpen
Alpen, Germany
Alpen is a municipality in the district of Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Division of the town :The municipality consists 4 districts:* Alpen* Menzelen* Veen* Bönninghardt- Transportation :...
and Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
areas before surrendering to the Americans on 8 May 1945, in the area of the Bavarian Alps.
Commanders
12.06.1934 - 16.07.1935 Paul Lettow16.07.1935 - 01.11.1938 Bernhard Voss
22.11.1937 - 31.01.1938 Arnold Altvater-Mackensen (was an acting deputy commander during Voss' absence)
01.11.1938 - 23.04.1940 Werner Freiherr von Schele
23.04.1940 - 11.07.1940 Julian Scherner
Julian Scherner
Julian Scherner was a Nazi Party official who served in the SS as an SS-Oberführer...
25.07.1940 - 08.11.1940 Cassius Freiherr von Montigny
12.11.1940 - 10.08.1942 Werner Dörffler-Schuband
10.08.1942 - 15.02.1943 Lothar Debes
Lothar Debes
SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Lothar Debes was German, Heer and Waffen-SS, officer who served in both World War I and World War II. In World War II, Debes commanded the 6...
26.01.1943 - 01.08.1943 Gottfried Klingemann
01.08.1943 - 15.03.1944 Werner Dörffler-Schuband
15.03.1944 - 12.01.1945 Fritz Klingenberg
Fritz Klingenberg
SS-Standartenführer Fritz Klingenberg was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 2.SS-Division Das Reich and was a commander of the 17.SS- Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen...
12.01.1945 - 03.1945 Richard Schulze-Kossens
03.1945 - 04.1945 Karl-Heinz Anlauft
04.1945 - 08.05.1945 Bernhard Dietsche
Bernhard Dietsche
Bernhard Dietsche was a Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen SS during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early life:Bernhard Dietsche was...