SS and police commands were senior level commands of the
SS that existed under the authority of the
SS and police leader
The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the o ...
s. The commands were first authorized in 1937 as extensions of the power granted to ''
SS-Oberabschnitt'' commanders of the ''
Allgemeine-SS
The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autum ...
'' (General-SS). The SS and police leaders were drawn from the general-SS ''Abschnitt'' and ''Oberabschnitt'' commands; it was a common occurrence for the same SS officer to hold both posts.
The SS and police commands were technically under the authority of the ''Allgemeine-SS'', however during time of war the post was granted authority over
Waffen-SS
The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...
commands. In 1944, most SS and police leaders were granted equivalent Waffen-SS rank.
There were three levels of the SS and police commands: ''SS und Polizeiführer'' (SSPF), ''Höhere SS und Polizeiführer'' (HSSPF), and ''Höchste SS und Polizeiführer'' (HöSSPF).
Supreme SS and police commands
The ''Höchste SS und Polizeiführer'' (HöSSPF) commands were as follows:
* Italien
* Ukraine
Higher SS and police commands
The ''Höhere SS und Polizeiführer'' (HSSPF) commands were as follows:
* Adriatisches Küstenland
* Albanien
* Alpenland
* Belgien-Nordfrankreich
* Böhmen und Mähren
* Danmark
* Donau
* Elbe
* Frankreich
* Fulda-Werra
* Griechenland
* Kroatien
* Main
* Mitte
* Nord
* Nordost
* Nordsee
* Nordwest
* Ost
* Ostland und Rußland-Nord
* Ostsee
* Rhein-Westmark
* Rußland-Mitte
* Rußland-Süd
* Schwarzes-Meer
* Serbien, Sandschack und Montenegro
* Slowakien
* Spree
* Süd
* Südost
* Südwest
* Ungarn
* Warthe
* Weichsel
* West
A further command, known as ''Höhere SS und Polizeiführer z.b.V. Kaukasien'' was planned for activation in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
but was never formed.
SS and police commands
The ''SS und Polizeiführer'' (SSPF) commands were as follows:
* Aserbeidschan
* Awdejewka
* Bergvolker-Ordshonikidseo
* Bialystok
* Bozen
* Charkow
* Dnjepropetrowsk-Krivoi-Rog
* Estland
* Friaul
* Görz
* Istrien
* Kattowitz
* Kaukasien-Kuban
* Kertsch-Tamanhalbinsel
* Kiew
* Krakau
* Lemberg
* Lettland
* Litauen
* Lublin
* Metz
* Mitteitalien-Verona
* Mitte-Norwegen
* Mogilew
* Montenegro
* Nikolajew
* Nord-Kaukasien
* Nord-Norwegen
* Ober-Elsaß
* Oberitalien-Mitte
* Oberitalien-West
* Pripet
* Quarnero
* Radom
* Rowno
* Rostow-Awdejewka
* Salzburg
* Sandschak
* Saratow
* Shitomir
* Stalino-Donezgebiet
* Stanislav-Rostow
* Süd-Norwegen
* Taurien-Krim-Simferopol
* Triest
* Tschernigow
* Warsaw
* Weißruthenien (also known as Minsk)
* Wolhynien-Brest-Litovsk
SS and police formations
*
1st SS Police Regiment
*
2nd SS Police Regiment
The 2nd SS Police Regiment () was initially named the 2nd Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 2'') when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties in Occupied Europe. It was redesignated as an ...
*
3rd SS Police Regiment
*
4th SS Police Regiment
*
5th SS Police Regiment
*
6th SS Police Regiment
*
7th SS Police Regiment
The 7th SS Police Regiment () was named the 7th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 7'') when it was formed from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties in Occupied Norway. It was redesignated as an SS unit in early ...
*
8th SS Police Regiment
The 8th SS Police Regiment () was initially named the 8th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 8'') when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties on the Eastern Front. It was redesignated as ...
*
9th SS Police Regiment
*
10th SS Police Regiment
*
11th SS Police Regiment
*
12th SS Police Regiment
*
13th SS Police Regiment
The 13th SS Police Regiment () was initially named the 13th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 13'') when it was formed in 1942 by the redesignation of Police Regiment Centre (''Polizei-Regiment Mitte'') for security duties on the Eastern Front. ...
*
14th SS Police Regiment
*
15th SS Police Regiment
*
16th SS Police Regiment
*
17th SS Police Regiment
The 17th SS Police Regiment () was initially named the 17th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 17'') when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police units (''Ordnungspolizei'') for security duties on the Eastern Front. It was redesignated ...
*
18th SS Police Regiment
*
19th SS Police Regiment
The 19th SS Police Regiment () was initially named the 19th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 19'') when it was formed in 1942 from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties in Occupied Europe. It was redesignated as a ...
*
20th SS Police Regiment
The 20th SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment Bohemia (''Polizei-Regiment Böhmen'') when it was formed in 1939 after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security ...
*
21st SS Police Regiment
The 21st SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment Moravia (''Polizei-Regiment Mähren'') when it was formed in 1939 after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security ...
*
22nd SS Police Regiment
The 22nd SS Police Regiment () was initially named the 4th Police Regiment (''Polizei-Regiment 4'') when it was formed in 1939 from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for rear-area security duties during the invasion of Poland. It ...
*
23rd SS Police Regiment
The 23rd SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment Kraków (''Polizei-Regiment Krakau'') when it was formed in late 1939 after the German invasion of Poland from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties ...
*
24th SS Police Regiment
The 24th SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment Radom (''Polizei-Regiment Radom'') when it was formed in late 1939 after the German invasion of Poland from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties the ...
*
25th SS Police Regiment
The 25th SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment Lublin (''Polizei-Regiment Lublin'') when it was formed in late 1939 after the German invasion of Poland from existing Order Police (''Ordnungspolizei'') units for security duties t ...
*
26th SS Police Regiment
The 26th SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment North Norway () when it was formed in early 1941 after the German invasion of Norway in 1940 from existing Order Police () units for security duties there. It was redesignated as ...
*
27th SS Police Regiment
The 27th SS Police Regiment () was initially named Police Regiment South Norway () when it was formed in early 1941 after the German invasion of Norway in 1940 from existing Order Police () units for security duties there. It was redesignated as ...
*
28th SS Police Regiment
* 29th SS Police Regiment
* 30th SS Police Regiment
Ethnic SS police formations
*
SS Police Regiment Bozen
(Police Regiment "South Tyrol"), later ''Bolzano, Bozen'', and finally , was a military unit of the German ("Order Police") recruited in the predominantly German and Ladin-speaking South Tyrol, Alto Adige region in north-east Italy in late 1943 ...
*
SS Police Regiment Brixen
The SS Police Regiment Brixen () was a security formation of the German Order Police during World War II. The unit operated along the Alps, conducting Nazi security warfare in German-occupied northern Italy.
Formation and service
The unit was rais ...
* SS Police Regiment ''Alpenvorland''
* SS Police Regiment ''Schlanders''
References
*
Yerger, Mark C. ''Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units, and Leaders of the General SS'', Schiffer Publishing (1997).
{{Allgemeine-SS
SS and Police Commands
SS and Police Commands