''Dienstleiter'' (Service Leader) was a high-ranking
Nazi Party political rank of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
which existed between 1933 and 1945. The rank was first created after the Nazi assumption of power and served as the second highest rank of the ''Reichsleitung''
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
organizational level, subordinate to the
Reichsleiter.
[Clark, J. (2007). Uniforms of the NSDAP. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing]
Creation and Early Usage
The rank of ''Dienstleiter'' was created in the year 1933 after
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
became
Chancellor of Germany. Almost immediately, the Nazis began the process of ''
Gleichschaltung'' to eliminate local government and merge government and civil positions with the political structure of the Nazi Party. The rank of ''Dienstleiter'' was the highest promotable rank of the National Party level, although a higher rank of ''Reichsleiter'' also existed by direct appointment from Hitler.
The original version of ''Dienstleiter'' was divided into two separate ranks: the standard ''Dienstleiter'' rank and a higher rank of ''Hauptdienstleiter''. Duties of the rank primary entailed leadership of top national party offices, and many holding the rank of ''Dienstleiter'' also held top governmental and civil positions in the German government.
References
Nazi political ranks
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