Standartenführer
Encyclopedia
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: 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...
, SS
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...
, NSKK
National Socialist Motor Corps
The National Socialist Motor Corps , also known as the National Socialist Drivers Corps, was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that existed from 1931 to 1945. The group was a successor organization to the older National Socialist Automobile Corps, which had existed since the beginning...
and the NSFK
National Socialist Flyers Corps
The National Socialist Flyers Corps was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party that was founded in 1937 as a successor to the German Air Sports Association, during the years when a German Air Force was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles...
. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 the rank became one of the first commissioned Nazi ranks and was bestowed upon those SA and SS officers who commanded units known as Standarten which were regiment-sized formations of between three hundred and five hundred men.
In 1929 the rank of Standartenführer was divided into two separate ranks known as Standartenführer (I) and Standartenführer (II). This concept was abandoned in 1930 when both the SA and SS expanded their rank systems to allow for more officer positions and thus the need for only a single Standartenführer rank.
In 1933, when 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...
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...
, the rank of Standartenführer had been established as the greatest field-officer rank, lesser than that of 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...
which was considered the first General's rank
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....
of the SS and SA. By the start of the 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...
, Standartenführer was widely spread as both an SS rank and a rank of the SA
Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung
The uniforms and insignia of the Sturmabteilung were Nazi party paramilitary ranks and uniforms used by SA stormtroopers from 1921 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. The titles and phrases used by the SA were the basis for paramilitary titles used by several other Nazi paramilitary groups,...
. In 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...
, the rank was considered the equivalent of an Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
, a full colonel.
The insignia for Standartenführer consisted of a single oak leaf displayed on both collars. Standartenführer was the first of the SS and SA ranks to display rank insignia on both collars, without the display of unit insignia. From 1938, newer SS uniforms featured the shoulder boards of a German Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
in addition to the oak leaf collar patches.
Fictional portrayals
- Standartenführer StirlitzStirlitzMax Otto von Stierlitz is the lead character in a popular Russian book series written in the 1960s by novelist Julian Semyonov and of the television adaptation Seventeen Moments of Spring, starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov, as well as in feature films, produced in the Soviet era, and in a number of...
, the alias of Soviet spy Colonel Isayev - a hero of popular Russian books and a famous miniseries, one of the most famous characters of Russian jokes. - Ernst Vogel, SS-Standartenführer from Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
. He is shown to be an SS Colonel by the collar patches on his dove grey Allgemeine-SS service uniform. - Hans LandaHans LandaColonel Hans Landa is the primary antagonist of the 2009 Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds. He is portrayed by Austrian actor Christoph Waltz.- Character :...
, aka "The Jew Hunter" portrayed by Christoph WaltzChristoph WaltzChristoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and...
in the film Inglourious Basterds, held the rank of Standartenführer in the SchutzstaffelSchutzstaffelThe 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...
. - Standartenführer HerzogStandartenführer (Oberst) HerzogStandartenführer Herzog is a fictional character from Dead Snow, a Norwegian independent zomedy. Portrayed by Ørjan Gamst, he is the chief antagonist...
, played by Ørjan Gamst, who occupied the area near Øksfjord, Norway in the film Dead SnowDead SnowDead Snow is a 2009 Norwegian horror film directed by Tommy Wirkola, starring Charlotte Frogner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Bjørn Sundquist, Ane Dahl Torp and Jenny Skavlan.- Plot :A woman, Sara, is being chased through the snows of Norway...
. After the citizens stage an uprising and ambush the Nazis, a few survivors, including Herzog, were chased into the mountains, where it was assumed that they all froze to death. Herzog later returns as a zombie in 2009, along with several of his soldiers. - Ranulf Vogel, commander of a unit stationed at Auschwitz in the novel "RequiemRequiemA Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
" authored by Erin Sinnott. - Oskar Huth, a top investigator under 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...
's direct supervision in 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....
's alternative historyAlternative historyAlternative history may refer to a number of subjects relating to history, the chronology and study of the past. It may mean:* Alternate history, a subgenre of speculative fiction dealing with divergences from the world's actual history...
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:...
.