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Ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel

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The uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel were paramilitary ranks and uniforms
Nazi party paramilitary ranks
Nazi party paramilitary ranks were pseudo-military titles which were used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between the years of 1920 and 1945...

used by the 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...

between 1925 and 1945 to differentiate that organization from the regular German armed forces
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

, the German state, and the Nazi Party.

Uniform design and function

While a multitude of uniforms existed for the SS, often depending on the theatre of war where they were stationed, the all black SS uniform is the most well known. Black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...

, traditionally a German colour, was seen as somber and authoritative. The black-white-red color scheme was characteristic of the German Empire, and was later adopted by the Nazi Party. Further, black was popular with fascist movements: a black uniform was introduced by the blackshirts
Blackshirts
The Blackshirts were Fascist paramilitary groups in Italy during the period immediately following World War I and until the end of World War II...

in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

before the creation of the SS. There was a traditional reason, as well. Just as the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n kings' and emperors' life-guard cavalry (Leib-Husaren) had worn black uniforms with skull-and-crossbones badges, so would the Führers bodyguard unit. As with many more formal military uniforms, these SS uniforms were tailored to project authority, and foster fear and respect. As Himmler put it, "I know there are many people who fall ill when they see this black uniform; we understand that and don't expect that we will be loved by many people."

Many of the uniforms were produced by Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss
Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...

and some were produced under forced labor conditions and in concentration camps, especially later in the war.

Once the war began, however, the black uniform was seldom worn. The combat units of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT)
SS-Verfügungstruppe
The SS-Verfügungstruppe was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the NSDAP. By 1940 these military SS units had become the nucleus of the Waffen-SS....

and the later 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...

wore a variation of the field-grey (grey -green) (feldgrau) Army (Heer) uniform with SS insignia. The majority of SS personnel wore variations of the Waffen-SS uniform or the grey-green SS service tunic. Branches with personnel that normally would wear civilian attire in the Reich
Reich
Reich is a German word cognate with the English rich, but also used to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is " sovereign state." It is the word traditionally used for a variety of sovereign entities, including Germany in many periods of its history...

(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 Kripo) were issued grey-green SS uniforms in occupied territory to avoid being mistaken for civilians.

SS uniforms used a variety of insignia, the most standard of which were collar patches to denote rank and shoulder boards to denote rank and position, along with sleeve cuffbands and "sleeve diamond" patches to indicate membership in specific branches of the SS.

Early SS uniforms (1925-1928)

The SS can trace its origins to several early Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...

and Nazi Party formations, among them the Erhardt Naval Brigade
Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was a Free Corps group of around 6,000 men formed by Captain Hermann Ehrhardt in the aftermath of World War I, also known as II Marine Brigade or the Ehrhardt Brigade...

, Stahlhelm
Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten
The Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten also known in short form as Der Stahlhelm was one of the many paramilitary organizations that arose after the defeat of World War I in the Weimar Republic...

, and most significantly 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...

(SA), of which the SS was originally a subordinate organization.
The very first SA uniforms and insignia were paramilitary uniforms fashioned by early Nazis which incorporated parts from 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...

uniforms to include such features used by other Freikorps formation such as high boots, daggers, and the kepi
Kepi
The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor or peak . Etymologically, the word is a borrowing of the French képi, itself a respelling of the Alemannic Käppi: a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap"....

hat. The 8-man Stabswache
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...

("staff guard"), Hitler's bodyguard, soon renamed the Stosstrupp ("shock troop"), also adopted in May 1923 the death's head
Totenkopf
The Totenkopf is the German word for the death's head and an old symbol for death or the dead. It consists usually of the skull and the mandible of the human skeleton...

and oak leaf as a means of insignia, both of which were already deeply rooted in European military history
History of Europe
History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...

.

In 1924, while the Nazi Party was legally banned following the Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...

, Frontbann
Frontbann
The term Frontbann refers to a reorganized and renamed version of the Sturmabteilung or SA. It was created in April 1924 in an effort to rebuild the Nazi party in the aftermath of the failed Munich Putsch. The Nazi party including the SA was outlawed by the German government following the Putsch...

(underground SA) leader Gerhard Roßbach located a large store of war-surplus brown denim shirts in Austria, originally intended for tropical uniforms. When the SA (which included the nascent SS) was re-founded in 1925 following Hitler's release from prison, these brown shirts were issued as uniforms. The only insignia was the swastika armband, usually homemade, except for the handful of men constituting the Stosstrupp's successor, the Schutzkommando ("protection command"), who continued the use of the Totenkopf pinned to cap or collar.
In mid-1925, the Schutzkommando was renamed the Sturmstaffel ("storm squadron") and in December the Schutzstaffel ("protection squadron"), and in the following year adopted its first recognizable rank insignia system which was used mainly by senior SS personnel at major rallies, with the rank and file of the SS, like the rest of the SA, still wearing a variety of brown shirts or paramilitary uniforms with no recognizable insignia.

The early rank system of 1926 consisted of a swastika armband worn with white stripes, with the number of stripes determining the rank of the bearer. Thus, the very first SS rank system was as follows:

Reichsführer (National Leader) Three Stripes

Gauführer
Gauführer
Gauführer was an early paramilitary rank used by the Schutzstaffel between 1925 and 1929. Translated as "SS-Region Leader", the SS-Gauführer had command of several SS-Stafflen which were in turn commanded by an SS-Staffelführer....

(District Leader) Two Stripes

Staffelführer
Staffelführer
Staffelführer was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German Schutzstaffel in the early years of that group’s existence...

(Squadron Leader) One Stripe

Mann
Mann (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...

(Trooper) No Stripes

Under the above system, basic SS troopers were organized into 10-man Staffeln, each under the authority of a Staffelführer. SS districts, known as SS-Gaus, were under the authority of a Gauführer while all SS district leaders answered to a national leader of the SS called the Reichsführer, at this time Josef Berchtold. In line with the Führerprinzip
Führerprinzip
The Führerprinzip , German for "leader principle", prescribes the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich...

(Leader Principle) of the Nazi Party's ideology, the word Führer
Führer
Führer , 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...

was incorporated into all ranks except those for basic SS troopers.

By 1927, the Sturmabteilung had greatly increased its numbers and had standardized the "brown shirt" uniform which would thereafter be permanently associated with that group: shirt, tie, breeches, boots, and cylindrical kepi
Kepi
The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor or peak . Etymologically, the word is a borrowing of the French képi, itself a respelling of the Alemannic Käppi: a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap"....

, all brown. As the SS was at this time a small unit within the SA, SS personnel during this period likewise wore brown shirt uniforms but distinguished themselves as an elite among the SA by wearing black neckties and black kepis with Totenkopf and Party-eagle badges.
By this time, with influences from the Stahlhelm, the SA leadership adopted its first collar insignia and also added a new SA rank of 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...

, or "Standard
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...

Leader" in charge of regiment sized Standarten (incorporating the company sized Staffeln); the SS at this time adopted the same rank as well.

The 1927 ranks had no insignia for SA/SS troopers (still known by the title "Mann") and the previous rank of Staffelführer had become shortened to simply Führer or "Leader". The higher SS ranks of Standartenführer, Gauführer, and Reichsführer like their SA counterparts now used a system of oak leaves displayed on both collars of the brown SA shirt. One oak leaf signified a Standartenführer, two a Gauführer, and three oak leaves were worn by Reichsführer-SS Berchtold and his successor Erhard Heiden
Erhard Heiden
Erhard 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...

, who reported directly to the Oberste SA-Führer.

Over the course of the next year, the burgeoning SA saw the emergence of new units and ranks, and for the first time a comprehensive system of rank insignia. A basic squad unit, the 10-man Schar, was grouped into platoon-sized Truppen, and these into company-sized Stürme which in turn made up battalion-sized Sturmbanne. New ranks went with the new formations: Scharführer
Scharführer
Scharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...

, with one pip worn on the left collar patch, Truppführer
Truppführer
Truppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , or Nazi Stormtroopers...

, two pips, Sturmführer
Sturmführer
Sturmführer 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...

, three pips, and Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

, four pips. On the right collar of SA uniforms was worn a patch with two numbers indicating Standarte and Sturmbann affiliation. Because the SS numbered fewer than a thousand men, it did not adopt the Sturmbann unit at this time, and right-hand SS collar patches displayed the number of the Standarte only.

At the higher end of the organization, in 1928 the SA Gau-Stürme were restructured into regional Gruppen, each commanded by a leader with a new general-officer rank, Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...

; its insignia was the three oak leaf collar patch. At this time the former rank of Gauführer was renamed 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...

("senior leader").

The collar patches of the SA were color-coded: each Gruppe had its own distinctive color. The SS was considered to be a Gruppe unto itself; its color, naturally, was black, and Reichsführer-SS Heiden held the rank of Gruppenfuhrer and wore its three-oakleaf insignia.

SS Brownshirts (1929-1932)

In 1929, under new Reichsführer-SS 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...

, the SS codified its first uniform regulations: the signature black color was extended to breeches, boots, armband edges, and belt and crossbelt; the shirt collar was edged in black-and-white twist cord except for those of senior leaders, which were trimmed in silver.

The ability to produce and issue complete uniforms came about due both to the centralization of the Reichszeugmeisterei
Reichszeugmeisterei
The Reichszeugmeisterei , formally located in Munich, was the first and eventually the primary Zeugmeisterei , as well as the national material control office of Nazi Germany...

(RZM) or "national quartermaster office" under NSDAP Treasurer Franz Xaver Schwarz
Franz Xaver Schwarz
Franz Xaver Schwarz was a German politician who served as Reichsschatzmeister of the Nazi Party during most of the Party's existence.-Early life:...

, and to Himmler's expansion and reorganization of the fast-growing SS (from 280 members to 52,000 between 1929 and 1932) into several brigade sized Brigaden throughout Germany, each comprising three to five regiment-sized Standarten. Within the Standarten now existed two to three battalion-sized Sturmbanne ("storm units"), and beneath this level were the Stürme, Truppen, and Scharen.
For the lower ranks, the SS also specified that a patch showing the wearer's regiment
(Standarte) would be worn opposite the badge of rank while the higher SS leaders would continue to wear oakleaf insignia on both collars. Collar tabs below the rank of Sturmführer were edged in black-and-white twist cord; those of Sturm and Sturmbann leaders used black-and-silver while those of senior leaders were edged in solid silver cord.

In addition to the collar unit insignia, the SS now created a cuffband system which was worn on the lower left sleeve. These cuffbands were black and displayed the bearer's Sturm number together with color-coded edges indicating the Sturmbann, which in conjunction with the collar insignia showed regiment, battalion and company affiliation. Leaders above the company level did not at this time use the cuffband system.

The holder of the title of Reichsführer was still considered an SA-Gruppenführer, with Reichsführer itself not yet an actual rank. In addition, for a brief period in 1929, the rank of Standartenführer was divided into two separate grades, known as Standartenführer (I) and Standartenführer (II); the insignia of one oak leaf was used for both positions. This situation was another reflection of the SS' rapid expansion: Oberführers now commanded the three newly-created SS-Oberführerbereiche, East, West and South; and so a senior Standartenführer was promoted to command each SS-Brigade.

Hitler's personal guard, known at this stage by the SS' original name of Stabswache (later to be known as the "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...

"), was also expressing its independence and increasing its size under the leadership of Sepp Dietrich
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German SS General. He was one of Nazi Germany's most decorated soldiers and commanded formations up to Army level during World War II. Prior to 1929 he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard but received rapid promotion after his participation in the murder of...

.

The Stennes Revolt
Stennes Revolt
The Stennes Revolt, led by Walter Stennes , the Berlin commandant of the Sturmabteilung , erupted in the summer of 1930 and again in the spring of 1931...

of August 1930, in which members of the SA attacked the Berlin party Gau headquarters which was defended by the SS, had profound consequences for the SA and its relationship to its subordinate organization. In an open letter to Berlin SS leader Kurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege
Kurt Daluege was a German Nazi SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich's assassination.-Early life and career:Kurt Daluege, a son of a Prussian state official,...

, 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...

proclaimed "SS Mann, deine Ehre heißt Treue!" ("SS Soldier, your honour is called loyalty!"). Subsequently, Meine Ehre heißt Treue ("My honour is called loyalty") was adopted by the SS as its motto. More significantly, Hitler cashiered SA head Franz Pfeffer von Salomon
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon was the first commander of the SA after its 1925 restoration, which followed its temporary abolition in 1923 after the abortive Beer Hall Putsch....

and assumed the position of Oberste SA-Führer personally, and simultaneously promoted both 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...

and Daluege to the new rank of SS-Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer 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...

. Daluege was now the SS leader of Northern 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...

while Himmler controlled southern SS units out 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...

as well as serving as the National Leader for the SS as a whole; this move had the effect of rendering the loyal SS practically independent of the suspect SA, since Himmler and Daluege now outranked all SA commanders.
Another result of the Stennes Revolt was Hitler's recall of his old Putsch comrade Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...

from South America to take over the day-to-day running of the SA with the title of SA-Stabschef
Stabschef (SA)
For other uses of the term "Stabschef" please refer to Chief of StaffStabschef was an office and paramilitary rank in the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with the Nazi movement...

. While Hitler thought that this would bind the SA more firmly to him, Röhm had other ambitions, including the conversion of the paramilitary Sturmabteilung into an army. With his expansions, promotions, and changes to the SA, a revision of the SA rank system was required although the uniforms and titles essentially stayed the same. The first major change was the addition of new ranks modeled on the original titles created in 1928 but with the addition of "Senior" and "Head" designators (Ober and Haupt): these were Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...

, Obertruppführer
Obertruppführer
Obertruppführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party that was used between the years of 1932 and 1945. The rank is most closely associated with the Sturmabteilung , but also was an early rank of the Schutzstaffel in that group’s formative years.Translated as “Senior Troop Leader”,...

and Sturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer 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....

. The new rank insignia were created by adding a silver stripe to the collar pips of the next-lower rank.

SS Ranks 1931
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer 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...

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...

Obertruppführer
Obertruppführer
Obertruppführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party that was used between the years of 1932 and 1945. The rank is most closely associated with the Sturmabteilung , but also was an early rank of the Schutzstaffel in that group’s formative years.Translated as “Senior Troop Leader”,...

Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...

Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

Truppführer
Truppführer
Truppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , or Nazi Stormtroopers...

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....

Sturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer 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....

Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...

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...

Sturmführer
Sturmführer
Sturmführer 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...

Scharführer
Scharführer
Scharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...

Mann
Mann (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...

A 1930 change to the SS uniform was the addition of a single narrow shoulder strap worn on the right side. There were four grades of shoulder strap: until 1933 a black-and-white pattern was worn by SS troopers, an epaulette of parallel silver cords by Sturm and Sturmbann leaders, a twisted pattern in silver cord by Standarten-, Ober- and Gruppenführers, and a braided silver shoulderboard by the two Obergruppenführers.

By 1931, Himmler was secure (or independent) enough to reorganize the SS, formerly one SA-Gruppe, into five SS-Gruppen divided into several Brigaden led by officers with the new rank of 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....

; its insignia was the two oakleaves of an Oberführer with a pip.

SS black uniforms (1932-1934)

.

In 1932, the SS introduced its most notorious uniform, the black ensemble designed by Prof. Dr. Karl Diebitsch
Karl Diebitsch
Professor Karl Diebitsch was an artist and soldier responsible for much of the Third Reich SS regalia, including the Chained SS Officer's dagger scabbard. Diebitsch worked with graphic designer Walter Heck to design the all-black SS uniform...

(later to become an SS-Oberführer) and graphic designer SS-Sturmhauptführer Walter Heck. The shirt remained brown as a nod to the SA, of which the SS was still nominally a part, but all else was sable
Sable (disambiguation)
A sable is a mammal in the mustelid family.-Animals:* American Sable, an ARBA-recognised rabbit breed* Sable, a dog coat pattern* Sable, a ferret coat coloring* Sable antelope, an antelope which inhabits wooded Savannah in Africa...

from high boots to the new military-style peaked cap, aside from the blood-red armband. SS men were also issued black wool greatcoats for inclement weather, which similarly carried the armband, epaulette and collar patches. Around this time a belt buckle featuring the motto Meine Ehre heißt Treue in its design was produced by the Overhoff firm to replace the SA buckle.

Furthermore, several new ranks and insignia changes were introduced. The expanded rank system of 1932 still used the same collar pip method to denote position paired with a corresponding shoulder board, but added two new junior positions known as Sturmmann
Sturmmann
Sturmmann was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1921. The rank of Sturmmann was used by the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel ....

and Rottenführer
Rottenführer
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...

. By this time, Himmler had also increased scrutiny on SS membership with a particular focus on proof of "Aryan" ancestry, and created a "candidate" position known as SS-Anwärter
Anwärter
Anwärter is a German title which translates as “Candidate”. In modern day Germany, the title of Anwärter is typically used by those applying for employment and also as a designation for members of the Bundeswehr who are under consideration for a leadership assignment.During the Third Reich,...

, which prospective SS members were required to hold for at least six months before formally joining the SS as an SS-Mann; an Anwärter wore no rank insignia.

With membership continuing to increase, Röhm invented two new officer ranks known as Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...

and Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...

. SS (and SA) officers ranked 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...

(colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

) and above wore rank insignia on both collars without the use of unit insignia; all personnel Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...

(lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

) and below wore a unit insignia patch opposite the badge of rank.
In 1933, after Hitler had become Chancellor, the SS began to make more of a distinction between 'officers' and 'enlisted men;' an SS man could now only be promoted to Sturmführer with Himmler's approval, based upon the Reichsführers personal review of the candidate's application including his career resume or Lebenslauf and recommendations from current and former superior officers. Note however that this system presupposed enlisted SS membership; Himmler always detested the Army's class distinctions. It was forbidden for SS men to follow the Army custom of addressing superior officers by prefixing Herr to their rank, and Kamerad was an approved form of address under most circumstances.
At this time, the SS also began to revamp its unit collar insignia, shoulderboards, and sleeve cuffband system. These changes were introduced over a period of one year between 1933 and 1934 and began with the introduction of a new senior enlisted rank known as Haupttruppführer
Haupttruppführer
Haupttruppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1930 and 1945. Haupttruppführer was mainly used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , but was also used by the Schutzstaffel in the early days of that group’s existence.As an SA rank, Haupttruppführer was created...

. The black-and-white enlisted shoulderboard became black-and-silver, and officers were brought into parallel with Army practice: the twisted "cruller" board was assigned to the field-grade ranks (Sturmbannführer, Obersturmbannführer, and Standartenführer), and the braided boards to the general-equivalents of Oberführer through Obergruppenführer. In late 1934, enlisted collar patches changed from black-and-white to black-and-silver edging; all officers now wore silver-piped collar tabs.

Also in 1933, the
runes insignia was introduced which would eventually become known as the symbol for the entire SS. The first use of the SS runes was as a unit insignia limited only to members of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler which had transferred their headquarters from Munich 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...

and had replaced the Army Chancellery Guard to become Hitler’s main protectors. It was at this time that the Leibstandarte moved from being a "paramilitary" formation armed with pistols and truncheons to "military", equipped with rifles, bayonets, and steel helmets. Their SS runes unit collar patch was to be worn on the right side of the tunic collar. The adaptation of this particular unit insignia was largely the work of Sepp Dietrich who on 4 November 1933, declared the unit an independent formation and, although a part of the SS, answerable to Hitler alone. Dietrich even went so far as to forbid entrance of Himmler into the Berlin Leibstandarte barracks and, for a brief few months in 1933, ordered his Leibstandarte soldiers to wear the black uniform without a swastika armband in order to differentate the bodyguard unit from the rank and file of the Allgemeine-SS ("General SS") units throughout Germany.

At the same time Dietrich and his Leibstandarte adopted the SS runes as their unit insignia, the full time SS headquarters and command staffs began using a blank collar patch, without a unit number, to differentiate themselves from the "rank and file" SS units in Germany which were still using regiment Standarten numbers as their unit insignia. Thus, by the end of 1933, there were three unit collar insignia patches in existence: the SS runes used by the Leibstandarte, the blank collar patch used by the SS headquarters and command staff, and the numbered SS unit insignia worn by regular SS companies throughout Germany.

In 1934, with the rise of the SS-Verfügungstruppe
SS-Verfügungstruppe
The SS-Verfügungstruppe was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the NSDAP. By 1940 these military SS units had become the nucleus of the Waffen-SS....

(SS-VT), the SS runes unit insignia was expanded to these other formatations of the then fledgling military arm of the SS (later to become known as the "Waffen-SS"). To separate these new military formations from the main Leibstandarte regiment under Dietrich, the SS runes worn by the Verfügungstruppe displayed a small number corresponding to the particular SS-VT regiment of the bearer. In all, there were three possible numbers:
₁ for members of the Deutschland Regiment,
₂ for Germania personnel, and (from 1938)
₃ for members of the Der Führer Regiment. These insignia would survive throughout World War II and were kept in use after the three original regiments had expanded to brigade and division strength.
In addition to the expansion of the collar unit insignia system, the SS by 1934 had also greatly expanded the system of sleeve cuffbands which were now a standard part of the black uniform, worn on the lower left sleeve. Within the Allgemeine-SS (General-SS) companies, cuffbands were worn in conjunction with a unit collar patch to denote regiment, battalion, and company affiliation. While the unit collar patch displayed the wearer's Standarte (regiment) number, the number denoted on the cuffband indicated the Sturm, or company, while collared piping along the cuffband further denoted in which battalion (Sturmbann) a member served.

For those personnel serving above the regiment level, a bare cuffband was worn or a cuffband bearing a roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...

could be displayed. The roman numeral cuffband indicated membership on the staff of the SS-Brigade so numbered, which by the end of 1934 had become known as an SS-Abschnitt. For the even higher levels, such as Himmler or the senior SS-Gruppe leaders (later known by the title SS-Oberabschnitt
SS-Oberabschnitt
Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945....

Führer) a solid silver cuffband was worn.

Within the early military SS, which included the Leibstandarte and the formations of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, a series of cuffbands were introduced which bore the name of the regiment to which the bearer was assigned. The most coveted of these was the "Adolf Hitler" cuffband, carrying the Führers name in Sütterlin script, which was worn solely by members of the Leibstandarte.

SS pre-war uniforms (1934-1938)

An event which significantly altered the SS rank and insignia structure was 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...

which occurred in June 1934. As a result of SS participation in the purge and execution of the SA leadership, the SS was declared an independent formation of the Nazi Party and several of the rank titles were renamed to completely separate the SS from its SA origins.

The most significant rank change was the creation of an actual rank of Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS
was 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:...

(prior to 1934, Himmler had been regarded simply as an SS-Obergruppenführer). In addition to Himmler’s new rank, several of the original SS rank titles were renamed (although retained the same insignia), bringing about the final nomenclature of SS ranks which would be used until the conclusion of World War II and the fall of the SS in 1945.

SS rank (Pre-1934) SS rank (Post-1934)
SS-Scharführer SS-Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...

SS-Oberscharführer SS-Scharführer
SS-Truppführer SS-Oberscharführer
SS-Obertruppführer SS-Hauptscharführer
Hauptscharführer
Hauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank was the highest enlisted rank of the SS, with the exception of the special Waffen-SS rank of Sturmscharführer....

SS-Haupttruppführer SS-Sturmscharführer
Sturmscharführer
Sturmscharführer was a Nazi rank of the Waffen-SS that existed between 1934 and 1945. The rank was the most senior enlisted rank in the Waffen-SS, the equivalent of a Sergeant Major in other military organizations...

SS-Sturmführer SS-Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

SS-Sturmhauptführer SS-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...

The change in SS rank titles applied mainly to the 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...

ranks as well as the ranks of Sturmführer and Sturmhauptführer which received new names. The titles of the remaining ranks remained unchanged.
In the wake of the "Röhm-putsch"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...

, the SS officially took over the concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...

from the SA and police. Soon thereafter, camp guards began wearing the Totenkopf
Totenkopf
The Totenkopf is the German word for the death's head and an old symbol for death or the dead. It consists usually of the skull and the mandible of the human skeleton...

("death's head") on the right collar patch, to distinguish themselves from the numbered Allgemeine-SS Standarten. This was inconsistent in the early days; some guards instead wore tabs with the initial of their camp (e. g. "D" for Dachau), and some wore blank tabs. About 1935, the black uniform proving impractical for daily service wear, the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps adopted a working uniform in "earth-brown" (erdbraun), which was identical in cut to the black tunic except for shoulderboards on both sides. In March 1936, the camp "service" was formally established as the third branch of the SS, the Totenkopfverbände or Death's-head Units.

At about this same time, for similar reasons, the military SS formations (the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and the SS-Verfügungstruppe) adopted a service uniform in what was termed "earth-gray" (erdgrau). This also was based on the black uniform, but without the red Hakenkreuz armband, its place on the left sleeve being taken by an eagle-and-swastika patch, and worn with trousers and shoes or calf-high jackboots. In June 1938 this uniform was authorized for fulltime Allgemeine-SS cadres as well; the LSSAH and SS-VT then adopted Army-pattern shoulderboards to distinguish themselves from the general SS and emphasize their military role.
In February 1934, the Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer
Honour Chevron for the Old Guard
The 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...

(Honor Chevron for Old Campaigners) was introduced for all SS men who had joined the Nazi Party or a Party-affiliated organization prior to January 30, 1933; after the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

, it was also authorized for Austrians who had joined the DNSAP
Austrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism was a Pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...

prior to 18 February 1938. It took the form of a silver lace chevron worn on the right sleeve. During this period, the principal SS insignia also underwent design changes. The ancient jawless Danziger style of Totenkopf was gradually replaced by the 'classic' SS skull, a naturalistic design with grinning jaws; the old form was taken up by the Army's newly-formed Panzerwaffe
Panzerwaffe
Panzerwaffe refers to a command within the Heer of the German Wehrmacht, responsible for the affairs of panzer and motorized forces shortly before and during the Second World War...

. Additionally, in March 1936, Hitler approved a new Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

eagle with staggered wingtips for the SS, which was worn through the end of the war as a cap badge and on the sleeve.

By the end of 1938, the SS had also adopted a new insignia feature of sleeve diamonds worn on the bottom of the left sleeve. Between 1939 and 1940, the SS expanded its cuffband and sleeve diamond system into a vast array of over 30 cuffbands and more than 12 sleeve diamonds.

SS uniforms of World War II (1939–1945)

When World War II began in 1939, the Allgemeine-SS grey service uniforms took on a more military appearance with the somewhat ad-hoc adoption of Wehrmacht-style shoulderboards, except for SS generals, who — until 1942 — continued to wear the narrow braided silver SS shoulderboards to denote flag rank. It was also at this time that the rank of SS-Oberführer lost its status as a general officer rank and was instead now regarded as more of a Senior Colonel
Senior Colonel
Senior Colonel is a field grade officer rank placed between a regular Colonel and a Major General. The rank typically exists in militaries that do not maintain a rank of Brigadier General/Brigadier....

position. The black uniform was increasingly seldom seen, eventually being worn only by part-time Allgemeine-SS reservists. The last ceremonial event at which the black uniforms were worn en masse was the Berlin victory parade following the fall of France in June 1940. In 1942, Himmler ordered most all of the black uniforms recalled and stripped of insignia. They were sent east for use by the native auxiliary police units and sent west to be used by Germanic-SS units such as the ones in Holland and Denmark.

In 1937, the LSSAH and SS-VT had adopted a closed-collar feldgrau (grey-green)field uniform for combat wear, which with the outbreak of war became the standard uniform of what would soon be the Waffen-SS. This Feldanzug was very similar to the Model 1936 Army field uniform; however, the SS version had a somewhat wider collar in feldgrau(grey-green) rather than Heer bottle-green, the lower pockets were of the SS angled slash type, and the second button was placed lower to permit the collar optionally to be worn open with a necktie like the service-dress uniforms. The Totenkopf branch, which was designated the reserve for the Waffen-SS, also adopted this uniform. Waffen-SS Panzer troops wore a double-breasted black uniform similar to the Army model but somewhat different in cut; the SS also made extensive use of camouflage clothing as the war progressed. The full-time Allgemeine-SS cadres, especially Reichssicherheitshauptamt personnel, continued to wear the earth-grey service-dress uniform.

A unique situation developed during World War II with regards to SS ranks held by those who had served in Allgemeine-SS positions from before the outbreak of war and now wished to serve in combat conditions with the Waffen-SS. With such persons being SS members already, it was expected that they would join the Waffen-SS in order to serve in combat; some members in fact had no choice and were drafted for combat service due to their Allgemeine-SS billet being done away with or, in situations involving disciplinary actions, transferred into combat as the result of a hearing before an SS and Police Court (Wilhelm Höttl
Wilhelm Höttl
Wilhelm Höttl or Hoettl was an Austrian Nazi Party member, SS officer, secret agent, author and doctor of history....

was one such example).

As a result of Allgemeine-SS members transferring into the Waffen-SS, a situation arose where an SS member would actually hold two separate ranks - one in the Allgemeine-SS and another in the Waffen-SS; it was further possible to hold a reserve commission in the regular German military (Klaus Barbie
Klaus Barbie
Nikolaus 'Klaus' Barbie was an SS-Hauptsturmführer , Gestapo member and war criminal. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon.- Early life :...

, who was a Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...

der Reserve ("Sergeant of Reserves") is one such example). Waffen-SS officers could also hold a regular or reserve commission, with most Allgemeine-SS members being appointed to the Waffen-SS reserves (the intent was to easily be able to place such members on inactive duty once the war had ended). With this policy, it was very common for SS members in the Waffen-SS to hold drastically different titles from their Allgemeine-SS duties; a Standartenführer in the regular SS could, for instance, serve as a Rottenführer (Lance Corporal) in a front line Waffen-SS company.
The security forces of the SS, such as SD troops which were part of 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...

, were also all considered part of the Allgemeine-SS, even though many of these persons (especially in the field) wore uniforms nearly identical to the Waffen-SS; to further the confusion, many agents of the Security Police (SiPo) in such "field" roles wore Waffen-SS uniform even though they were not ex officio members of any branch of the SS. By 1943, the SS had made a determined effort that most field personnel (including Concentration Camp staffs) were granted Waffen-SS ranks and, in 1944, any Allgemeine-SS who served in an area that commanded SS combat troops, was granted a Waffen-SS general's commission.

To add to the confusion of multiple rank titles, uniform regulations of this time created a mixture of pre-1939 SS shoulder boards, Wehrmacht-pattern shoulder boards, and police shoulder boards depending on the duties of the SS person in question. It was not until late 1944 that regulations specified that all grey-green SS uniforms should only display Wehrmacht style shoulder boards, with the exception of SD
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...

and uniformed SiPo personnel who wore police-pattern shoulderboards with "poison green" (giftgrün) underlay.
Another uniform insignia change occurred in 1942 with the creation of the rank SS-Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberst-Gruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...

. This necessitated an insignia change for SS generals and all SS generals at this time began wearing Wehrmacht-style gold shoulder boards; Oberführers wore the shoulderboards of an Army Oberst ("Colonel") just as Standartenführers did. The sole exception was Heinrich Himmler who continued to wear the silver braided shoulderboard with oak leaves of his rank as Reichsführer-SS.

SS uniform suppliers could not keep up with wartime demand and, as a result, the Waffen-SS and Totenkopfverbande frequently wore uniforms drawn from Army stocks, with the addition of SS insignia. By the middle of World War II, a wide variety of uniforms could be observed, even within the same unit, and standardization was never complete as previous stocks were issued or recycled. Personnel in combat conditions, away from stable supply lines would combine uniform parts and insignia depending on what uniform parts were available.
Waffen-SS and SS-TV members during this period wore Army-style shoulderboards with SS collar patches; edging of enlisted collar tabs was discontinued in 1940 while SS officers' collar patches continued to be trimmed in silver. Enlisted shoulderboards were made of black fabric as opposed to Army dark green or field-grey(grey-green), and officers' had a black underlay; all shoulderboards were piped in Waffenfarbe
Waffenfarbe
Waffenfarbe is a means the German military uses to distinguish between different corps or troop functions in its armed services...

(branch-color). Junior leaders (Sturmmann and Rottenführer) wore sleeve chevrons corresponding to Army insignia (Gefreiter
Gefreiter
Gefreiter is the German, Swiss and Austrian equivalent for the military rank Private . Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an ordinary soldier could be promoted. As a military rank it has existed since at least the 16th century...

and Obergefreiter), but with black backing; SS NCOs wore army-style silver-grey braid around the collar.
The staffs of concentration camps had by now standardized the Death's Head collar patch, whereas between 1934 and 1938 the Totenkopf as well as various camp specific collar patches, displaying Germanic letters, had been used as unit insignia. Other unit insignia collar patches included a Standarte-number patch for most of the Allgemeine-SS, a blank collar patch worn by SS Main Office staffs 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...

(and some SiPo) personnel, the Sig-runes Waffen-SS patch (adopted after 1943 as the standard unit collar patch for most of the SS), and a numbered Death's Head patch which was used by personnel serving in field units of the Totenkopfverbaende; the three senior Totenkopfstandarten, formed into the Totenkopf Division
3rd SS Division Totenkopf
The SS Division Totenkopf , also known as 3. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf and 3. SS-Panzer-Division Totenkopf, was one of the 38 divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS during World War II. Prior to achieving division status, the formation was known as Kampfgruppe Eicke...

, would retain these collar patches throughout the war, but the remaining TK-Standarten were redesignated SS-Regimenter and switched to Sig-runes in February 1941. As the war went on, the Waffen-SS recruited heavily among conquered populations, creating 'ethnic' brigades and divisions. These formations wore, in place of the Sig-runes, distinctive unit collar patches identifying them as Freiwilligen (foreign volunteers). In the last days of World War II, the SS also created a twin swastika collar patch which was used by the "Auxiliary-SS" which were non-SS members conscripted to serve in concentration camp positions.

By 1943, a special staff non-commissioned officer position, known as Stabsscharführer
Stabsscharführer
Stabsscharführer was a non-commissioned officer title which was used by the Waffen-SS between the years of 1938 to 1945. Stabsscharführer was not an actual SS rank, but rather a positional title held by the senior SS-NCO of a company, battalion, or regiment...

had been adopted by the Waffen-SS. This position, equivalent to an Army Hauptfeldwebel
Hauptfeldwebel
In the German military, the appointment of Hauptfeldwebel was the German equivalent of a Commonwealth Company Sergeant Major or American Company First Sergeant. There was one such non-commissioned officer in every infantry company, artillery battery, cavalry squadron, etc...

, was denoted by a special sleeve insignia and was not an actual rank, but rather a title for the head SS-NCO of a particular combat unit. The rank of Sturmscharführer
Sturmscharführer
Sturmscharführer was a Nazi rank of the Waffen-SS that existed between 1934 and 1945. The rank was the most senior enlisted rank in the Waffen-SS, the equivalent of a Sergeant Major in other military organizations...

was also only used by the Waffen-SS as a type of regimen
Regimen
A regimen is a plan, a regulated course such as a diet, exercise or medical treatment, designed to give a positive result. A low-salt diet is a regimen. A course of penicillin is a regimen.- History :...

tal sergeant major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...

position. The SS also, by this time, had created a private first class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...

position known as Oberschütze
Oberschütze
Oberschütze is a German military rank which was first used in the Bavarian Army of the late 19th century.It was commonly introduced in the Reichswehr in 1920....

and Obermann
Obermann
Obermann was a rank of the German Schutzstaffel which was used between the years 1942 and 1945.The rank of Obermann was exclusive to the Allgemeine-SS. It is equivalent to the Waffen-SS rank of Oberschütze....

, denoted by a silver pip worn on the sleeve of the SS uniform. The SS continued to use the candidate rank of Anwärter
Anwärter
Anwärter is a German title which translates as “Candidate”. In modern day Germany, the title of Anwärter is typically used by those applying for employment and also as a designation for members of the Bundeswehr who are under consideration for a leadership assignment.During the Third Reich,...

during World War II, but in a much less formal way especially in the Waffen-SS where soldiers were typically enlisted directly as an SS-Schütze, which was the military equivalent of the Allgemeine-SS rank of SS-Mann. In 1943, the SS created still a further entry rank with the position of Bewerber
Bewerber
Bewerber was an SS rank used in Nazi Germany from 1942 to 1945. The rank of Bewerber was the lowest possible SS rank and was assigned to those personnel who were under consideration for candidacy in the SS...

("Applicant") which was the lowest possible position in the SS; it had no rank insignia.

SS Generals of the Waffen-SS were typically addressed by both their SS rank title and a corresponding General's rank associated with the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

. All such General ranks were followed by the phrase der Waffen-SS to distinguish the SS General from their counterparts in other branches of the German military. Thus, a typical title would be Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS. For those who had held police rank prior to 1944, the SS General's title could become rather lengthy. Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...

, for instance, was listed on the SS rolls in 1945 as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS.

Final SS Ranks 1934-1945

SS Rank SS Insignia Translation SA Equivalent Heer Equivalent US Equivalent British Equivalent
Generalführer
Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS
was 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:...

National Leader Stabschef-SA
Stabschef (SA)
For other uses of the term "Stabschef" please refer to Chief of StaffStabschef was an office and paramilitary rank in the Sturmabteilung , the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with the Nazi movement...

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...

General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....

Field Marshal
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberstgruppenführer
Oberst-Gruppenführer was the highest commissioned SS rank with the exception of Reichsführer-SS, which was a special rank held by Heinrich Himmler...

(from 1942) Supreme Group Leader (none) Generaloberst General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...

General
General (United Kingdom)
General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....

Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer 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...

Senior Group Leader Obergruppenführer 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....

Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...

Lieutenant-General
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...

Group Leader Gruppenführer Generalleutnant Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

Major-General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...

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....

Brigade Leader Brigadeführer Generalmajor Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

(none)
Stabsführer
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...

Senior Leader Oberführer (none) (none) Brigadier
Brigadier (United Kingdom)
Brigadier is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines.Brigadier is the superior rank to Colonel, but subordinate to Major-General....

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...

Regiment Leader Standartenführer 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...

Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...

Senior Assault Unit Leader Obersturmbannführer Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...

Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

Lieutenant-Colonel
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

Assault Unit Leader Sturmbannführer 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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

Truppenführer
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...

Chief Assault Leader Sturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer 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....

Hauptmann
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...

/Rittmeister
Rittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...

Captain Captain
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...

Senior Assault Leader Obersturmführer Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...

First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...

Junior Assault Leader Sturmführer
Sturmführer
Sturmführer 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...

Leutnant Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

Unterführer
Sturmscharführer
Sturmscharführer
Sturmscharführer was a Nazi rank of the Waffen-SS that existed between 1934 and 1945. The rank was the most senior enlisted rank in the Waffen-SS, the equivalent of a Sergeant Major in other military organizations...

(Waffen-SS) Assault Squad Leader Haupttruppführer
Haupttruppführer
Haupttruppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1930 and 1945. Haupttruppführer was mainly used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , but was also used by the Schutzstaffel in the early days of that group’s existence.As an SA rank, Haupttruppführer was created...

Stabsfeldwebel Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...

Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...

Hauptscharführer
Hauptscharführer
Hauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank was the highest enlisted rank of the SS, with the exception of the special Waffen-SS rank of Sturmscharführer....

Chief Squad Leader Obertruppführer
Obertruppführer
Obertruppführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party that was used between the years of 1932 and 1945. The rank is most closely associated with the Sturmabteilung , but also was an early rank of the Schutzstaffel in that group’s formative years.Translated as “Senior Troop Leader”,...

Oberfeldwebel Master Sergeant
Master Sergeant
A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...

Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...

Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer
Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...

Senior Squad Leader Truppführer
Truppführer
Truppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , or Nazi Stormtroopers...

Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...

Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class is the seventh enlisted rank in the U.S. Army, above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is the first senior non-commissioned officer rank...

Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...

Scharführer
Scharführer
Scharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...

Squad Leader Oberscharführer Unterfeldwebel Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...

Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...

Junior Squad Leader Scharführer Unteroffizier
Unteroffizier
Unteroffizier is both a specific military rank as well as a collective term for non-commissioned officers of the German military that has existed since the 19th century. The rank existed as a title as early as the 17th century with the first widespread usage occurring in the Bavarian Army of the...

Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

Mannschaften
Rottenführer
Rottenführer
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...

Section Leader Rottenführer Obergefreiter
Obergefreiter
Obergefreiter is a rank of the German and Swiss militaries which dates from the 19th century.The rank was only used in the German army's heavy artillery branch before 1919 and commonly established with the founding of the Reichswehr...

Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

Lance-corporal
Sturmmann
Sturmmann
Sturmmann was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1921. The rank of Sturmmann was used by the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel ....

Storm Trooper Sturmmann Gefreiter
Gefreiter
Gefreiter is the German, Swiss and Austrian equivalent for the military rank Private . Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an ordinary soldier could be promoted. As a military rank it has existed since at least the 16th century...

Private First Class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...

Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

Obermann
Obermann
Obermann was a rank of the German Schutzstaffel which was used between the years 1942 and 1945.The rank of Obermann was exclusive to the Allgemeine-SS. It is equivalent to the Waffen-SS rank of Oberschütze....

(from 1942)
Oberschütze
Oberschütze
Oberschütze is a German military rank which was first used in the Bavarian Army of the late 19th century.It was commonly introduced in the Reichswehr in 1920....

(Waffen-SS, from 1942) Senior Trooper
Senior Rifleman (none) Obersoldat (etc.) (none) (none)
Mann
Mann (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...

Schütze
Schütze
Schütze in German means "shooter" or "rifleman". It also occasionally occurs as a surname, as Schütz, as in the opera Der Freischütz. The word itself is derived from the German word schützen, meaning to protect, or to guard...

(Waffen-SS) Trooper
Rifleman Mann Soldat
Soldat
Soldat is a Polish 2D multiplayer game for Windows. It is a side-scroller inspired by Liero and Scorched Earth, combined with elements from Counter-Strike and Worms. The game is shareware...

(etc.) Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

Anwärter
Anwärter
Anwärter is a German title which translates as “Candidate”. In modern day Germany, the title of Anwärter is typically used by those applying for employment and also as a designation for members of the Bundeswehr who are under consideration for a leadership assignment.During the Third Reich,...

- Candidate (none) (none) (none) (none)
Bewerber
Bewerber
Bewerber was an SS rank used in Nazi Germany from 1942 to 1945. The rank of Bewerber was the lowest possible SS rank and was assigned to those personnel who were under consideration for candidacy in the SS...

(from 1943) - Applicant (none) (none) (none) (none)

Police ranks and insignia

In 1936, the regular German police, previously agencies of the Länder or states, were nationalized and placed under Himmler, who was named Chef der Deutschen Polizei. The ordinary uniformed police were called the Ordnungspolizei
Ordnungspolizei
The 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...

("order police"). Known as the Orpo, the Ordnungspolizei maintained a separate uniform, system of insignia and Orpo ranks. It was also possible for SS members to hold dual status in both the Orpo and the SS, and SS-Generals were referred to simultaneously by both rank titles. For instance, an Obergruppenführer in the SS, who was also a Police General, would be referred to as Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei. In late 1939, Orpo personnel were formed into a combat division, recognizable by its use of police insignia; in 1942, this formation was absorbed into the Waffen-SS to become the 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier division
4th SS Polizei Division
The SS Polizei Division was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II.The division was formed in 1939 as part of the Ordnungspolizei...

.

SS Foreign Legions

As with the senior SS titles, volunteers of non-Germanic countries had the title "Waffen" prefixed to their rank. For instance, an Untersturmführer in the foreign legions would be referred to as Waffen-Untersturmführer whereas a regular SS member would be addressed as SS-Untersturmführer. This helped to indicate non-native volunteers, or to separate Germanic individuals in the divisions composed primarily of non-Germans.

Germanic-SS uniforms

Germanic-SS uniforms were modified versions of the original black Allgemeine-SS uniforms and were used strictly by the Germanic-SS in occupied countries. Unlike the foreign legions of the Waffen-SS, who wore the standard field gray (grey-green) SS uniform to conform with the rest of the Waffen-SS, the Germanic-SS was concerned solely with homeland duties and therefore were provided with surplus black uniforms upon which were displayed country specific insignia. This led to a wide variety of insignia and rank titles depending on the country of origin, although standardized throughout the entire Germanic-SS were the rank insignia pips and oak leaves used by the SS proper.

The Germanic-SS also had a unique military award, known as the Germanic Proficiency Runes
Germanic Proficiency Runes
The Germanic Proficiency Runes was a decoration of the German SS, issued as a type of sports badge to members of the Germanic-SS...

, awarded for qualifying under certain physical tests, in much the same manner as the German Sports Badge
German Sports Badge
The German Sports Badge is a decoration of the German Olympic Sports Federation DOSB, of the Federal Republic of Germany...

and SA Sports Badge
SA Sports Badge
The 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....

were awarded to the regular SS.

The Germanic-SS effectively ceased to exist in late 1944, after which time most of its members were folded into the foreign legions of the Waffen-SS. Due to most Germanic-SS members being considered traitor
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

s to their countries, Germanic-SS uniforms were often destroyed by their owners to prevent identification as a German collaborator
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...

.

Special SS uniforms

SS officers had the option of purchasing formal-dress and mess-dress uniforms. The formal uniform was not unlike U.S. or UK dinner-dress uniforms, cut like a civilian tailcoat without the tails, and worn with white or black bowtie and waistcoat. This uniform also featured silk-faced lapels, SS shoulderboards and collar patches, a Totenkopf breast pin, and white piping (broad silver-grey trouser stripes for general officers). Mess dress resembled a double-breasted tuxedo, with collar tabs and white piping.

Officers could also wear a white cotton walking-out tunic, cut like the black service tunic, between April and September. Members were also permitted to wear a white SS visored service cap with the uniform.

A waist-length white "waiter's jacket" with collar tabs was issued to those SS men who served as Hitler's domestic staff.

For use in hot weather climates like Southern Europe and North Africa, a tropical uniform of tan cotton was developed. This consisted of a Sahariana-style tunic with shoulder yokes based on Italian tropical uniforms, long-sleeved field shirt, and trousers. Headgear could be a pith helmet
Pith helmet
The pith helmet is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of cork or pith...

, sidecap, or an M40 tropical cap based on that of the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...

. Insignia was similar to that of standard SS-uniforms but in tan thread on black backing. Police units deployed to tropical climates wore an identical uniform with Police insignia.

Waffen-SS troops were also pioneering among the German forces in the use of camouflage
Military camouflage
Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...

clothing and wore it extensively during the war. Waffen-SS used a variety of original summer and winter designs in dot and splinter patterns. Usually, camouflage was worn on overall parkas or helmet covers, and only late in the war were camouflaged tunics introduced.

SS Titles

In addition to the rank titles used by the SS, the following titles were frequently interchanged when addressing SS personnel in certain positions of authority.

SS-Führer: Originally an early rank of the SS, the title of SS-Führer was commonly used by any SS officer and translated as "SS Leader".

SS-Unterführer: This title was often used in the Waffen-SS by 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...

s holding the rank of Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...

and above. An enlisted SS soldier, applying for NCO status, was often known as an Unterführer-Anwärter.

SD-Leiter: This title was used by senior officers of 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...

, typically those in command of a major SD office or regional headquarters.

SS- und Polizeiführer: Translated as "SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi officials that commanded large units of the SS, of Gestapo and of the regular German police during and prior to World War II.Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:...

", these were some of the most powerful men in the SS, commanding all SS, Gestapo, Kripo and Orpo units in a given geographic region.

Kriminalrat: A police investigator's rank used by the Kriminalpolizei
Kriminalpolizei
is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich...

and 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...

, many of whom were also SS members, to denote fully certified detectives. Artur Nebe, a career policeman, went by the title of Kriminalrat for most of the 1930s, only using an SS rank when engaged in non-Kripo activities. See Gestapo ranks.

SS membership numbers

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...

, as the Führer of Germany, was by default the supreme commander of the SS and outranked 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...

, who served as "Reich Leader" of the entire SS. In the early days of the SS, Hitler was the Oberster SA-Führer
Leadership ranks of the Sturmabteilung
Leadership ranks of the Sturmabteilung were the titles and positions held by the commanders of the Sturmabteilung of the Nazi Party between the years of 1920 and 1945....

and supreme commander 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...

stormtrooper
Stormtrooper
Stormtroopers were specialist soldiers of the German Army in World War I. In the last years of the war, Stoßtruppen were trained to fight with "infiltration tactics", part of the Germans' new method of attack on enemy trenches...

s. Hitler's supreme SA rank, when the SS was still under the authority of the SA, could be seen as a rank superior to that of Reichsführer-SS. Hitler also was considered SS Member #1, Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice was an early member of the Nazi Party and is regarded by historians as the founder of the SS. A watchmaker by trade, Maurice was a close associate of Adolf Hitler with a personal friendship dating back to at least 1919...

(considered the founder of the SS) was Member #2, while Himmler was SS Member #168. Based on the seniority system of SS membership number, this made Hitler senior in the SS to all other members even if not by 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...

, when the SS became independent from the SA, Hitler was listed on SS officer rolls as Member #1 and considered supreme commander of the entire SS by virtue of his position as the Führer of Germany. There is no photographic record of Hitler wearing an SS uniform, and there was no special SS insignia for Hitler above that worn by Himmler.

See also

Ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung
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,...

Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party
Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party
Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party were paramilitary titles used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between approximately 1928 and the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945...

Ranks and Insignia of the German Army in World War II

Comparative military ranks of World War II
Comparative military ranks of World War II
The following table shows comparative officer ranks of major Allied and Axis powers during World War II. For modern ranks refer to Comparative military ranks.KEY:*Comparative military ranks of World War I*List of comparative military ranks...

List of SS personnel

Glossary of Nazi Germany

Ehrenwinkel für Alte Kämpfer
Honour Chevron for the Old Guard
The 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...

Degen
Degen (SS)
Degen is the German term for a straight saber or sword, especially of the dress sword worn with military uniform.In the context of Nazi Germany, the Degen was a type of straight saber used by the SS from 1936 until 1945....

, the SS Sword

Sources

Bedurftig, Friedemann, and Zenter, Christian. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich
Encyclopedia of the Third Reich
The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich is a two-volume text edited by Christian Zenter and Friedemann Bedürftig.The Encyclopedia of Third Reich is considered one of the leading source materials for information about Nazi Germany and the reign of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers...

. 1985.

Cook, Stan and Bender, R. James. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Volume One: Uniforms, Organization, & History. San Jose, CA: R. James Bender Publishing, 1994. ISBN 978-0-912138-55-8

Hayes, A. SS Uniforms, Insignia and Accoutrements (ISBN)

Lumsden, Robin. A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS, Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. 2001. ISBN 0-7110-2905-9

Mollo, Andrew. Uniforms of the SS, Collected Edition Vol. 1–6 (ISBN)

Personnel Service Records of the S.S., 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...

, 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...

Deutsche Uniformen
Deutsche Uniformen
Deutsche Uniformen was a publication of the National Socialist German Workers Party which was published in 1938 and dealt with Nazi party paramilitary ranks as well as the ranks of the Wehrmacht. The text was published as a small booklet and had color drawings of all Nazi insignia for the...

, National Socialist German Workers Party
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...

, 1938

External links

Grey uniform of a SS-Sturmbannführer of a self-propelled gun crew of the SS-Totenkopf-Division

Black uniform of a SS-Standartenführer of the SS-Totenkopfverbände

Uniform of a SS-Unterscharführer of the early SS-Totenkopf-Division

Examples of different cuff titles of the SS

Examples of different cuff titles of the Waffen-SS

Cuff title of the "training camp Dachau" (carried by members of the Waffen-SS there during their "platoon leader training course" aka German "Zugführerlehrgang")

SS Ranks 1931
Obergruppenführer Obergruppenführer Obergruppenführer 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...	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...	Obertruppführer Obertruppführer Obertruppführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party that was used between the years of 1932 and 1945. The rank is most closely associated with the Sturmabteilung , but also was an early rank of the Schutzstaffel in that group’s formative years.Translated as “Senior Troop Leader”,...
Gruppenführer Gruppenführer Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...	Sturmbannführer Sturmbannführer Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...	Truppführer Truppführer Truppführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1930 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung , or Nazi Stormtroopers...
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....	Sturmhauptführer Sturmhauptführer Sturmhauptführer 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....	Oberscharführer Oberscharführer Oberscharführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1932 and 1945. Translated as “Senior Squad Leader”, Oberscharführer was first used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership...
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...	Sturmführer Sturmführer Sturmführer 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...	Scharführer Scharführer Scharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...
		Mann Mann (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...

SS rank (Pre-1934)	SS rank (Post-1934)
SS-Scharführer	SS-Unterscharführer Unterscharführer Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
SS-Oberscharführer	SS-Scharführer
SS-Truppführer	SS-Oberscharführer
SS-Obertruppführer	SS-Hauptscharführer Hauptscharführer Hauptscharführer was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the Schutzstaffel between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank was the highest enlisted rank of the SS, with the exception of the special Waffen-SS rank of Sturmscharführer....
SS-Haupttruppführer	SS-Sturmscharführer Sturmscharführer Sturmscharführer was a Nazi rank of the Waffen-SS that existed between 1934 and 1945. The rank was the most senior enlisted rank in the Waffen-SS, the equivalent of a Sergeant Major in other military organizations...
SS-Sturmführer	SS-Untersturmführer Untersturmführer Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
SS-Sturmhauptführer	SS-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...