All Topics  
Obergruppenführer

 
Obergruppenführer

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Obergruppenführer
 
 
  Topics Obergruppenführer Topic Home

Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA
Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung

The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung were the first Nazi party paramilitary ranks to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. The titles and phrases used by the SA were eventually adopted by several other Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Schutzstaffel ....
 and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS

was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsf?hrer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, became the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel ....
 (Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was a Nazi Germany German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel. He was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, competing with Hermann G?ring, Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels....
). Translated as "Senior Group Leader", the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer was held by members of the Oberste SA-Führung (Supreme SA Command) and also by veteran commanders of certain SA-Gruppen (SA Groups). The rank of Obergruppenführer was considered senior to the older title of Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer

Gruppenf?hrer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung....
.

As an SS rank, Obergruppenführer was created due to the growth and expansion of the SS
Schutzstaffel

The , abbreviated SS- or - was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the F?hrer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men, managed to exert as much political influence as th...
 under Heinrich Himmler.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Obergruppenführer'
Start a new discussion about 'Obergruppenführer'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA
Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung

The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung were the first Nazi party paramilitary ranks to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. The titles and phrases used by the SA were eventually adopted by several other Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Schutzstaffel ....
 and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS

was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsf?hrer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, became the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel ....
 (Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was a Nazi Germany German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel. He was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, competing with Hermann G?ring, Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels....
). Translated as "Senior Group Leader", the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer was held by members of the Oberste SA-Führung (Supreme SA Command) and also by veteran commanders of certain SA-Gruppen (SA Groups). The rank of Obergruppenführer was considered senior to the older title of Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer

Gruppenf?hrer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung....
.

As an SS rank, Obergruppenführer was created due to the growth and expansion of the SS
Schutzstaffel

The , abbreviated SS- or - was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the F?hrer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men, managed to exert as much political influence as th...
 under Heinrich Himmler. Himmler was one of the first SS officers appointed to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, and held the rank while simultaneously serving as the Reichsführer-SS. At the time Himmler held the rank of Obergruppenführer, Reichsführer was simply a title and not yet an actual rank.

In the early days of the SS, the rank of Obergruppenführer was occasionally used to make two SS leaders equal in seniority, so as to prevent a power struggle within the Nazi Party. Such was the case with Kurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege

Kurt Daluege was an SS-Oberstgruppenf?hrer and Generaloberst der Ordnungspolizei, officer of the Central Reich Security Office and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector....
, who commanded most of the SS in the Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 region between 1930 and 1934. To avoid having the SS split into two separate entities, one based in Northern Germany and the other in Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born Germany politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party....
 promoted Daluege to the new rank of Obergruppenführer making him equal in rank to Himmler.

After the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives

The Night of the Long Knives or "Operation Hummingbird", was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi Party regime carried out a series of political executions, most of those killed being members of the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary Brownshirts....
, the SS and the SA became two completely separate organizations. The SA continued to use the rank of Obergruppenführer, but the title gained predominance mainly in the SS. With the Nazi Party in power, and the SS a state agency of Germany, SS-Obergruppenführer was considered the highest rank of the SS, with the exception of Himmler’s special rank of Reichsführer-SS. Within the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel or SS. It was founded in Germany in 1939 after the SS was split into two units but the title of Waffen-SS only became official on 2 March, 1940....
, the rank came to be considered the equivalent of a full General
General

A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general....
.

Ninety-eight men were to hold SS-Obergruppenführer rank, 21 of whom served in the Waffen SS. The rank would remain the highest SS-General rank until 1942, when the SS created the rank of SS-Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer

Oberstgruppenf?hrer was the highest commissioned officer SS rank with the exception of Reichsf?hrer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler....
.

The rank of Obergruppenführer was held by some of the most notorious figures in the SS, with Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was an Schutzstaffel-Obergruppenf?hrer und General der Polizei, chief of the RSHA and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia....
 and Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner

Ernst Kaltenbrunner was a senior Germany official during World War II, holding the offices of Chief of the RSHA, and President of Interpol. He was the highest-ranking Schutzstaffel leader to face trial, having the full rank of Obergruppenf?hrer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS....
 both bearing the rank. Karl Wolff
Karl Wolff

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-171-29, Karl Wolff.jpgKarl Friedrich Otto Wolff was a high-ranking member of the Nazism SS. He held the rank of SS-Obergruppenf?hrer and General of the Waffen-SS....
 was another holder of the rank who was taken alive by the Allies after the close of Second World War. SS-Obergruppenführer was also the standard rank for SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader

SS and Police Leader was a title for senior National Socialist German Workers Party officials that commanded large units of the Schutzstaffel during and prior to World War II....
s as well as Division commanders of the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel or SS. It was founded in Germany in 1939 after the SS was split into two units but the title of Waffen-SS only became official on 2 March, 1940....
.