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Legal disclaimer This image shows (or resembles) a symbol that was used by the National Socialist (NSDAP/Nazi) government of Germany or an organization closely associated to it, or another party which has been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany.
The Waffen-SS (German: [ˈvafn̩ʔɛsˌʔɛs]; lit. ' Armed SS ') was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. [3]
2nd pattern SS Totenkopf, 1934–45. While different uniforms existed [1] for the SS over time, the all-black SS uniform adopted in 1932 is the most well known. [2] The black–white–red colour scheme was characteristic of the German Empire, and it was later adopted by the Nazi Party.
In March 1941, the SS Main Office established the Germanische Leitstelle (Germanic Guidance Office) to establish Waffen-SS recruiting offices in Nazi-occupied Europe. [341] The majority of the resulting foreign Waffen-SS units wore a distinctive national collar patch and preceded their SS rank titles with the prefix Waffen instead of SS.
All Waffen-SS divisions were ordered in a single series of numbers as formed, regardless of type. [1] Those with ethnic groups listed were at least nominally recruited from those groups. Many of the higher-numbered units were divisions in name only, being in reality only small battlegroups (Kampfgruppen).
This table contains the final ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS, which were in use from April 1942 to May 1945, in comparison to the Wehrmacht. [1] The highest ranks of the combined SS (German: Gesamt-SS) was that of Reichsführer-SS and Oberster Führer der SS; however, there was no Waffen-SS equivalent to these positions.
The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland", a Waffen-SS unit, adopted the rune as a variant of its divisional insignia. [3] Hagal: Faith in Nazism The Hagal Armanen rune was widely used in the SS for its symbolic representation of "unshakeable faith" in Nazi philosophy, as Himmler put it. [5]
The image also shows the early SS brown shirt uniform and an early variant of the Nazi elite corps' skull symbol . German uniform chart reproduced in an American newspaper in December 1933. At the top, Heck's new SS logo, his runic SA (Sturmabteilung) emblem, and the black SS uniform he designed together with Karl Diebitsch can be seen.