Service record of Reinhard Heydrich
Encyclopedia
The service record of Reinhard Heydrich was a collection of official SS documents maintained at the SS Personalhauptamt
in Berlin
from 1934 until the fall of Nazi Germany
in 1945. Most of Reinhard Heydrich
's record was captured by the Allies and used for subsequent investigation into Heydrich's duties as head of the RSHA
and overall performance in the SS in general.
Today, Reinhard Heydrich's original paper service record
is maintained at the German Federal Archives
. A microfilm copy of the record is also available at the National Archives and Records Administration
in College Park, Maryland
.
When Heydrich joined the SS, it was with the understanding that he would be a primary assistant to Heinrich Himmler and also Himmler's "right hand man" when it came to SS activities in southern Germany. The SS in 1931 was divided by shifting loyalties and geographical divisions, with two SS power bases building up in northern and southern Germany respectively. Two years before the Nazis were in power, this stage of the SS did not encompass the state police forces that Heydrich would eventually be put in command of by Himmler, and his task in 1931 was to develop an internal security group and help Heinrich Himmler to gain more power within the Nazi Party and the SS.
Heydrich was enlisted into the SS in the summer of 1931. After three weeks, Heydrich was given a commission as an SS-Sturmführer and began working out of a Munich apartment to establish his Ic-Dienst which would later become the Sicherheitsdienst
. By Christmas, Heydrich was an SS-Captain which, in those days, was known as Sturmhauptführer (prior to 1934, SS officer ranks were the same as the SA. This rank would eventually become Hauptsturmführer
). Just two weeks later, Heydrich was made an SS-Major as he continued to build his security service. Six months later, in the summer of 1932, he became an SS-Colonel (Standartenführer
) as the SS at this point had no Lieutenant Colonel rank. An important point of Heydrich at this point in his career is that senior SS leaders considered him rather unimportant and he was referred to by one SS Group Leader in northern Germany as a "mere" Standartenführer
.
The event which catapulted Heydrich into the ranks of the SS Generals was the Nazi Party's assumption to power in January 1933. Two months later, in March, Heydrich was promoted to Oberführer and it is in this capacity that the first official photographs of him were taken. Some private photographs exist showing him as an Standartenführer from 1932, but there are no known pictures of Heydrich wearing a junior SS rank from before this time.
The year of 1933 was occupied by Heydrich and Himmler attempting to consolidate SS power and eliminate the divisions which had developed between regional SS leaders. The effort was begun to take over control of the state police forces and also to transfer SS headquarters from Munich
to Berlin
. Thus, by the end of 1933, Heydrich had been promoted to Brigadeführer
, basically the equivalent of a Major General
and had moved his office to Berlin from where he commanded the SD. On 20 April 1934, Göring and Himmler agreed to put aside their differences (largely because of their mutual hatred and growing dread of the Sturmabteilung
). Göring transferred full authority over the Gestapo
to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police forces outside of Prussia. Himmler on 22 April 1934 named Heydrich the head of the Gestapo. With the Gestapo under their control, the two men plotted as to its use along with the SS to crush the SA
.
The Night of the Long Knives
(30 June to 2 July 1934) was another event which significantly helped Heydrich's career as Heydrich's SD apparatus (along with other branches of the SS such as the Totenkopfverbande) and the Gestapo were used to destroy the leadership of the Sturmabteilung (SA). This established the SS as the dominant paramilitary group within the Nazi Party. For Heydrich's role, he was made an SS-Gruppenführer which was the second highest rank of the time. However, at this stage in his career, Heydrich was still mainly regarded as the commander of the SD but had already begun to exert himself into other police forces including the Gestapo.
For the next five years, Heydrich became feared throughout Germany. Himmler, after being named the chief of all German police in 1936, incorporated together the Gestapo and the Kripo or Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police) into the Sicherheitspolizei
or SiPo (Security Police). They were considered a complementary organisation to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). Reinhard Heydrich
was given control of the SiPo (Gestapo & Kripo) and remained head of the SD. Although Heydrich was chief of the Gestapo, Heinrich Müller ran this unit's day to day operations. During this time, Heydrich had also begun to focus on anti-Jewish measure throughout Germany and he was also tasked with overseeing security at the 1936 Olympic Games
.
The start of the Second World War propelled Heydrich to even further power as his Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) and his SD were merged into the Reichssicherheitshauptamt over which he was given command. The RSHA was further tasked to create and manage the Einsatzgruppen
sent into Poland
(and later Russia
) to round up and exterminate Jews, Communists, and other "undesirables".
In September 1941, Heydrich was given his first political posting as he became the Deputy Reichsprotector of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
. Promoted to Obergruppenführer (a full SS-General
), just a few months later Heydrich was tasked by Göring to chair the Wannsee Conference
at which he presented to heads of a number of German Government departments a plan for the deportation and transporting of Jewish people from every country in Europe to be worked to death or outright killed in the East.
Heydrich's position in the spring of 1942 was one of great power, but his career was cut short. In May, Heydrich was attacked
by British Special Operations Executive (SOE) trained soldiers of the Czechoslovakia’s army-in-exile, Jozef Gabčík
and Jan Kubiš
in Prague
. Heydrich died in early June 1942 of his wounds.
Reinhard Heydrich served as Reserve Hauptmann
, then Major
in the Luftwaffe
. He served in the Invasion of Poland
as a turret gunner. Then, despite his advanced age, he completed a fighter pilot course in 1940, probably due to his ambition. Heydrich wanted to set an example and show that the SS were not "asphalt" soldiers behind the front lines, but the elite of the Third Reich. In April 1940 he flew a Bf 110 in the Fighter Group II./JG 77 "Herz As" in Norway. The planes flown by Heydrich had an ancient Germanic runic character S for Sieg -- "victory" painted on the side of the fuselage. On May 13, 1940 he crashed his plane during take-off and was injured. For a short time in May, he flew patrol flights over North Germany and the Netherlands. Then, after another accident, he returned to Berlin. In mid-June 1941, before the German attack on the USSR, he resumed flying, ignoring Himmler's orders. He flew his personal Bf 109 again with Group II./JG 77 from Bălţi
, Romania
on the southern Eastern Front
, which put the wing commander under pressure due to Heydrich's position and lack of experience. On 22 July 1941, while on a mission, his plane was badly damaged over Yampil by Soviet AA artillery. Heydrich crash-landed in no-man's land, evaded a Soviet patrol and made his way back to German lines. After this, he was forbidden to fly in combat, as it was realized that his capture as a POW would be a major security breach for Germany. He never flew another operational sortie.
Heydrich was decorated with the Iron Cross
Second (1940) and First (1941) Classes. The number of missions he flew is not known, but he was awarded the Frontflugspange (Front Pilot Badge) in silver
, which usually was awarded after 60 combat missions. According to Ballantine Books
' Illustrated History of the Violent Century (1973), Heydrich flew 97 missions in a Me-110 twin engine fighter.
SS Personalhauptamt
The SS Personalhauptamt was the central recording office for all officers and potential officers for the SS in Nazi Germany.-Formation:The Personalhauptamt was responsible maintaining the service records for all commissioned Waffen-SS and Allgemeine-SS personnel. However it did not keep extensive...
in 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...
from 1934 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 1945. Most of Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard 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...
's record was captured by the Allies and used for subsequent investigation into Heydrich's duties as head of 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...
and overall performance in the SS in general.
Today, Reinhard Heydrich's original paper service record
Service record
A service record is a collection of either electronic or printed material which provides a documentary history of a person's activities and accomplishments while serving as a member of a given organization...
is maintained at the German Federal Archives
German Federal Archives
The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952....
. A microfilm copy of the record is also available at the National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
in College Park, Maryland
College Park, Maryland
College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA. The population was 30,413 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of the University of Maryland, College Park, and since 1994 the city has also been home to the "Archives II" facility of the U.S...
.
The early years
| Years | Age | Positions | Ranks held | Responsibilities |
| 1931-1933 | 27-29 | Chief of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) | Mann through Standartenführer | Create an internal Nazi Party security service, assist Heinrich Himmler in gaining complete control of the SS, help the Nazis gain power in Germany |
When Heydrich joined the SS, it was with the understanding that he would be a primary assistant to Heinrich Himmler and also Himmler's "right hand man" when it came to SS activities in southern Germany. The SS in 1931 was divided by shifting loyalties and geographical divisions, with two SS power bases building up in northern and southern Germany respectively. Two years before the Nazis were in power, this stage of the SS did not encompass the state police forces that Heydrich would eventually be put in command of by Himmler, and his task in 1931 was to develop an internal security group and help Heinrich Himmler to gain more power within the Nazi Party and the SS.
Heydrich was enlisted into the SS in the summer of 1931. After three weeks, Heydrich was given a commission as an SS-Sturmführer and began working out of a Munich apartment to establish his Ic-Dienst which would later become the 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...
. By Christmas, Heydrich was an SS-Captain which, in those days, was known as Sturmhauptführer (prior to 1934, SS officer ranks were the same as the SA. This rank would eventually become Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
). Just two weeks later, Heydrich was made an SS-Major as he continued to build his security service. Six months later, in the summer of 1932, he became an SS-Colonel (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...
) as the SS at this point had no Lieutenant Colonel rank. An important point of Heydrich at this point in his career is that senior SS leaders considered him rather unimportant and he was referred to by one SS Group Leader in northern Germany as a "mere" 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...
.
Nazi Germany
| Years | Age | Positions | Ranks held | Responsibilities |
| 1933-1934 | 29-30 | Chief of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) | Oberführer, Brigadeführer | Establish the SS and SD as state security organizations throughout all of Germany, crush and destroy the Sturmabteiluing |
The event which catapulted Heydrich into the ranks of the SS Generals was the Nazi Party's assumption to power in January 1933. Two months later, in March, Heydrich was promoted to Oberführer and it is in this capacity that the first official photographs of him were taken. Some private photographs exist showing him as an Standartenführer from 1932, but there are no known pictures of Heydrich wearing a junior SS rank from before this time.
The year of 1933 was occupied by Heydrich and Himmler attempting to consolidate SS power and eliminate the divisions which had developed between regional SS leaders. The effort was begun to take over control of the state police forces and also to transfer SS headquarters from 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...
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...
. Thus, by the end of 1933, Heydrich had been promoted to Brigadeführer
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....
, basically the equivalent of a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
and had moved his office to Berlin from where he commanded the SD. On 20 April 1934, Göring and Himmler agreed to put aside their differences (largely because of their mutual hatred and growing dread of the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
). Göring transferred full authority over 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...
to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police forces outside of Prussia. Himmler on 22 April 1934 named Heydrich the head of the Gestapo. With the Gestapo under their control, the two men plotted as to its use along with the SS to crush the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
.
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...
(30 June to 2 July 1934) was another event which significantly helped Heydrich's career as Heydrich's SD apparatus (along with other branches of the SS such as the Totenkopfverbande) and the Gestapo were used to destroy the leadership of the Sturmabteilung (SA). This established the SS as the dominant paramilitary group within the Nazi Party. For Heydrich's role, he was made an SS-Gruppenführer which was the second highest rank of the time. However, at this stage in his career, Heydrich was still mainly regarded as the commander of the SD but had already begun to exert himself into other police forces including the Gestapo.
The peacetime Heydrich
| Years | Age | Positions | Ranks held | Responsibilities |
| 1934-1939 | 30-35 | Chief of the SD, Gestapo & Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) | Gruppenführer | Run the security forces and secret police forces of Germany, enforce anti-Jewish measures, oversee security at the 1936 Olympics |
For the next five years, Heydrich became feared throughout Germany. Himmler, after being named the chief of all German police in 1936, incorporated together the Gestapo and the Kripo or Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police) into the Sicherheitspolizei
Sicherheitspolizei
The Sicherheitspolizei , often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo and the Kripo between 1936 and 1939...
or SiPo (Security Police). They were considered a complementary organisation to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard 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...
was given control of the SiPo (Gestapo & Kripo) and remained head of the SD. Although Heydrich was chief of the Gestapo, Heinrich Müller ran this unit's day to day operations. During this time, Heydrich had also begun to focus on anti-Jewish measure throughout Germany and he was also tasked with overseeing security at the 1936 Olympic Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
.
The wartime Heydrich
| Years | Age | Positions | Ranks held | Responsibilities |
| 1939-1941 | 35-37 | Chief of the Reichsicherheitshaumptamt (RSHA) | Gruppenführer | Director of security forces and secret police forces within Germany and occupied territories, oversee the Einsatzgruppen, continue anti-Jewish measures within Germany |
The start of the Second World War propelled Heydrich to even further power as his Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) and his SD were merged into the Reichssicherheitshauptamt over which he was given command. The RSHA was further tasked to create and manage the 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...
sent into Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(and later 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...
) to round up and exterminate Jews, Communists, and other "undesirables".
Career's end
| Years | Age | Positions | Ranks held | Responsibilities |
| 1941-1942 | 37-38 | Deputy Reichsprotector of Bohemia and Moravia, Chief of the Reichsicherheitshaumptamt (RSHA) | Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei | Conduct the extermination of the Jewish race, subjugate Czech population under Nazi rule. Chief of the Reich Main Security Office which included the security forces and secret police forces within Germany and occupied territories. |
In September 1941, Heydrich was given his first political posting as he became the Deputy Reichsprotector of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic...
. Promoted to Obergruppenführer (a full SS-General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
), just a few months later Heydrich was tasked by Göring to chair the Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
at which he presented to heads of a number of German Government departments a plan for the deportation and transporting of Jewish people from every country in Europe to be worked to death or outright killed in the East.
Heydrich's position in the spring of 1942 was one of great power, but his career was cut short. In May, Heydrich was attacked
Operation Anthropoid
Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the targeted killing of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the...
by British Special Operations Executive (SOE) trained soldiers of the Czechoslovakia’s army-in-exile, Jozef Gabčík
Jozef Gabcík
Jozef Gabčík was a Slovak soldier of Czechoslovak army involved in Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of acting Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich....
and Jan Kubiš
Jan Kubiš
Jan Kubiš was a Czech soldier, one of a team of Czechoslovak British-trained soldiers sent to assassinate acting Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, in 1942 as part of Operation Anthropoid.- Biography :Jan Kubiš was born in 1913 in Dolní Vilémovice,...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. Heydrich died in early June 1942 of his wounds.
Service as fighter pilot
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
, then Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. He served in the Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
as a turret gunner. Then, despite his advanced age, he completed a fighter pilot course in 1940, probably due to his ambition. Heydrich wanted to set an example and show that the SS were not "asphalt" soldiers behind the front lines, but the elite of the Third Reich. In April 1940 he flew a Bf 110 in the Fighter Group II./JG 77 "Herz As" in Norway. The planes flown by Heydrich had an ancient Germanic runic character S for Sieg -- "victory" painted on the side of the fuselage. On May 13, 1940 he crashed his plane during take-off and was injured. For a short time in May, he flew patrol flights over North Germany and the Netherlands. Then, after another accident, he returned to Berlin. In mid-June 1941, before the German attack on the USSR, he resumed flying, ignoring Himmler's orders. He flew his personal Bf 109 again with Group II./JG 77 from Bălţi
Balti
Balti can refer to:* Balti language, a language spoken in Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir* Balti people, Muslims of Ladakhi/Tibetan origin from Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
on the southern Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, which put the wing commander under pressure due to Heydrich's position and lack of experience. On 22 July 1941, while on a mission, his plane was badly damaged over Yampil by Soviet AA artillery. Heydrich crash-landed in no-man's land, evaded a Soviet patrol and made his way back to German lines. After this, he was forbidden to fly in combat, as it was realized that his capture as a POW would be a major security breach for Germany. He never flew another operational sortie.
Heydrich was decorated with the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second (1940) and First (1941) Classes. The number of missions he flew is not known, but he was awarded the Frontflugspange (Front Pilot Badge) in silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, which usually was awarded after 60 combat missions. According to Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
' Illustrated History of the Violent Century (1973), Heydrich flew 97 missions in a Me-110 twin engine fighter.
Dates of rank
- SS-MannMann (military rank)Mann , was a paramilitary rank used by several Nazi Party paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the SS, and also as a rank of the SA where Mann was the lowest enlisted rank and was the equivalent of a Private.In 1938, with the rise of the...
: 14 July 1931 - 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...
: 10 August 1931 - SS-SturmhauptführerSturmhauptführerSturmhauptführer 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....
: 1 December 1931 - SS-SturmbannführerSturmbannführerSturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
: 25 December 1931 - SS-StandartenführerStandartenführerStandartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
: 29 July 1932 - SS-OberführerOberführerOberführer 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...
: 21 March 1933 - SS-BrigadeführerBrigadeführerSS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
: 9 November 1933 - SS-GruppenführerGruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
: 30 June 1934 - SS-ObergruppenführerObergruppenführerObergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
und GeneralGeneral (Germany)General is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to the rank of Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
der PolizeiOrdnungspolizeiThe Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...
: 27 September 1941
Nazi and Axis awards/decorations
- German OrderGerman Order (decoration)The German Order was the most important award that the Nazi Party could bestow on an individual for "duties of the highest order to the state and party". This award was first made by Adolf Hitler posthumously to Reichsminister Fritz Todt at his funeral in February, 1942...
(Posthumous) - Blood OrderBlood OrderThe Blood Order , officially known as the Decoration of 9 November 1923 , was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party...
(Posthumous) - Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in Gold (Posthumous) - Golden Party BadgeGolden Party BadgeThe Golden Party Badge was a special badge of the Nazi Party. The first 100,000 members who had joined and had uninterrupted service in the Party were given the right to wear it...
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second (1940) and First (1941) Classes - Luftwaffe Pilot's BadgeAviator BadgeAn Aviator Badge is an insignia used in most of the world’s militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation...
(Flugzeugführerabzeichen) - Combatclasp for ReconnaissanceFront Flying Clasp of the LuftwaffeThe Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe was awarded in Bronze, Silver, and Gold with upgrade possible to include diamonds. Pennants suspended from the clasp indicated the number of missions obtained in a given type of aircraft...
(Frontflugspange für Aufklärer) in Bronze (1940) and in Silver (1941) - Danzig CrossDanzig CrossThe Danzig Cross was a Nazi decoration of the Free City of Danzig.The Danzig Cross was instituted in 31 August 1939 as two grade decoration by Danzig Gauleiter Albert Forster...
First Class (1939) - Anschluss MedalAnschluss MedalThe Anschluss Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:Instituted on May 1, 1938, the medal commemorated the return of Austria to the German Reich...
(1938) - Sudetenland MedalSudetenland MedalThe The Sudetenland Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:...
with Prague Castle Bar (1938) - Memel MedalMemel MedalThe Return of Memel Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period, and the last of the series of Occupation Medals.-Description:...
(1939) - West Wall MedalWest Wall MedalThe West Wall Medal was a military decoration of Nazi Germany. It was instituted on 2 August 1939 and was given to those who designed and built the fortifications on Germany's western borders, known as the West Wall or, in English, the Siegfried Line, and to the troops who served there prior to...
(1940) - Olympic Games DecorationOlympic Games DecorationThe German Olympic Games Decoration was a civil decoration of Nazi Germany awarded to administrators of the 1936 Olympics...
First Class (1936) - Social Welfare DecorationSocial Welfare DecorationThe Social Welfare Decoration was a German Civil Service Award which was issued in the 1930s and the 1940s under the authority of Nazi Germany. The decoration was issued in three classes and was awarded for a wide variety of services to the German state...
First Class - Long Service Award of the NSDAP in Bronze For 10 Years Service
- Police Long Service Award Second Class For 18 Years Service
- SS-Honour Ring
- Honour Sword of the Reichsführers-SSReichsführer-SSwas a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...
- Honour Chevron for the Old GuardHonour Chevron for the Old GuardThe Honour Chevron for the Old Guard, or in German Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer, was a political decoration of the Nazi Party in Germany. It was authorised in February 1934, as a silver chevron to be worn on the upper right arm, by all members of the SS, who had joined the SS, NSDAP or any other...
- German Sports BadgeGerman Sports BadgeThe German Sports Badge is a decoration of the German Olympic Sports Federation DOSB, of the Federal Republic of Germany...
in Silver - German Equestrian Badge in Silver
- SA Sports BadgeSA Sports BadgeThe SA Sports Badge was a decoration of Nazi Germany that was issued between the years 1933 and 1945. It was a political version of the much more generic German Sports Badge which was also issued in great numbers by the Nazis....
in Gold - SS Long Service AwardSS Long Service AwardSS Long Service Awards were given in grades of four years, eight years, twelve years, twenty-five years, and forty years. On its reverse side, each award had emblazoned the inscription, in German: "Für treue Dienste in der SS"...
For 12 Years Service - Order of Saints Maurice and LazarusOrder of Saints Maurice and LazarusThe Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is an order of chivalry awarded by the House of Savoy, the heads of which were formerly Kings of Italy...
Commander (1937) and Grand Officer - Order of the Crown of ItalyOrder of the Crown of ItalyThe Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
Grand Officer (1937) and Knight of the Grand Cross (1938)