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Untersturmführer
(, ; short: ''Ustuf'') was a paramilitary rank of the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) 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. The rank of ''Untersturmführer'' was senior to '' Hauptscharführer'' (or '' Sturmscharführer'' in the Waffen-SS) and junior to the rank of ''Obersturmführer''. Overview ''Untersturmführer'' was the first commissioned SS officer rank, equivalent to a second lieutenant in other military organizations. The insignia consisted of a three silver pip collar patch with the shoulder boards of an army lieutenant. Because of the emphasis the SS placed on the leadership of their organization, obtaining the rank of ''Untersturmführer'' required a screening and training process different from the standard promotion system in the enlisted ranks. In the early days of the SS, promotion to ''Untersturmführer'' was simply a matter of course as an S ...
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Sturmführer
''Sturmführer'' (, "storm leader") was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928. Translated as "storm leader or assault leader", the origins of the rank dated to the First World War when the title of ''Sturmführer'' was used by leaders of German shock troops and special action companies.Hermann Weiß (publisher) "Biographical lexicon to the Third Reich". Fischer pocket-book publishing house, Frankfurt on Main 2002 (appendix). By 1930, ''Sturmführer'' had become the lowest commissioned officer (CO) rank of several Nazi Party paramilitary organizations, including the SA. The title was also used as an SS rank until 1934 when, after the Night of the Long Knives, the SS renamed the rank ''Untersturmführer'', equivalent to a junior or second lieutenant (OF-1b) in the army. Other variations of ''Sturmführer'' included ''Obersturmführer'' and ''Hauptsturmführer'', ranks parallelin ...
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Ranks And Insignia Of The Schutzstaffel
The uniforms and insignia of the ''Schutzstaffel'' served to distinguish the Nazi paramilitary ranks of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the ''Wehrmacht'' (the regular German armed forces from 1935), the German state, and the Nazi Party. Uniform design and function While different uniforms existed for the SS over time, the all black SS uniform adopted in 1932 is the most well known. The black-white-red colour 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 in Italy before the creation of the SS. There was a traditional reason, as well: just as the Prussian kings' and emperors' life-guard cavalry (''Leibhusaren'') had worn black uniforms with skull-and-crossbones badges, so would the ''Führer''s bodyguard unit. These SS uniforms were tailored to project authority and foster fear. During the war, the Germa ...
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Obersturmführer
__NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and the need for an additional rank in the officer corps. ''Obersturmführer'' also became an SS rank at that same time. An SA-''Obersturmführer'' was typically a junior company commander in charge of fifty to a hundred men. Within the SS, the rank of ''Obersturmführer'' carried a wider range of occupations including staff aide, Gestapo officer, concentration camp supervisor, and Waffen-SS platoon commander. Within both the SS and SA, the rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was considered the equivalent of an '' Oberleutnant'' in the German ''Wehrmacht''. The insignia for ''Obersturmführer'' was three silver pips and a silver stripe centered on a uniform collar patch. The rank was senior to an '' Unterstur ...
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Hauptscharführer
__NOTOC__ ''Hauptscharführer'' ( ) was a Nazi paramilitary rank which was used by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) 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''. The ''Hauptscharführer'' became a SS rank after a reorganization of the SS following the Night of the Long Knives. The first use of ''Hauptscharführer'' was in June 1934 when the rank replaced the older SA title of '' Obertruppführer''. Within the '' Allgemeine-SS'' (general-SS), a ''Hauptscharführer'' was typically the head SS-non-commissioned officer of an ''SS-Sturm'' (company) or was a rank used by enlisted staff personnel assigned to an SS headquarters office or security agency (such as the Gestapo and ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD)). The rank of ''Hauptscharführer'' was also commonly used in the concentration camp service and could also be found as a rank of the ''Einsatzgruppen''. The rank of SS-'' ...
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Sturmscharführer
__NOTOC__ (, ) 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 regimental sergeant major, in other military organizations. Rank usage ''Sturmscharführer'' as a proper rank was unique to the Waffen-SS and was not used in the ''Allgemeine-SS'' (general-SS), where the highest enlisted rank was ''Hauptscharführer''. Members of the ''Sicherheitspolizei'' (SiPo), when wearing the rank insignia of ''Sturmscharführer'' with police collar piping, did so when holding the equivalent police rank of ''Meister'' or the investigator's title of ''Kriminalsekretär''. Administratively, such secret police members were not even required to be members of the SS (although many were) and thus the insignia was sometimes worn by non-SS members. Due to SS rank parity regulations, by 1943 most police members were required to hold SS rank, and those with police equivalent rank to ''Sturmscharführer ...
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Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the '' Schutzstaffel'' (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the (SD; Security Service). During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in the Holocaust. After the war ended, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials. History Af ...
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National Socialist Flyers Corps
The National Socialist Flyers Corps (german: Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps; NSFK) was a paramilitary aviation organization of the Nazi Party. History NSFK was founded 15 April 1937 as a successor to the German Air Sports Association; the latter had been active during the years when a German air force was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. The NSFK organization was based closely on the para-military organization of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA). A similar group was the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK). During the early years of its existence, the NSFK conducted military aviation training in gliders and private airplanes. Leadership Friedrich Christiansen, originally a ''Generalleutnant'' then later a Luftwaffe '' General der Flieger'', was NSFK '' Korpsführer'' from 15 April 1937 until 26 June 1943, followed by ''Generaloberst'' Alfred Keller until 8 May 1945. Ranks, uniforms and other insignia The paramilitary rank system was in use by the NSFK between the ...
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Sicherheitsdienst
' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization and the Gestapo (formed in 1933) was considered its sister organization through the integration of SS members and operational procedures. The SD was administered as an independent SS office between 1933 and 1939. That year, the SD was transferred over to the Reich Security Main Office (''Reichssicherheitshauptamt''; RSHA), as one of its seven departments. Its first director, Reinhard Heydrich, intended for the SD to bring every single individual within the Third Reich's reach under "continuous supervision". Following Germany's defeat in World War II, the tribunal at the Nuremberg trials officially declared that the SD was a criminal organisation, along with the rest of Heydrich's RSHA (including the Gestapo) both individually and as br ...
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Leutnant
() is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum tenens» (in English "place holder") was derived from the French word about 1500. In most German-speaking armies it is the lowest officer rank (in German-speaking navies (English "Lieutenant at sea")). In the German Bundeswehr the ranks and belong to the rank group. In some other armed forces (such as the former National People's Army) there is the lower grade of Unterleutnant. From about 1500 until the middle of the 17th century the designation of was commonly used for any deputy to a commanding officer. So at the army level there was the appointment of (English "lieutenant-general"), at the regimental level there was that of (English "lieutenant-colonel"), and at the company level the was deputy to a (English "captai ...
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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 autumn of 1934 to distinguish its members from the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS Dispositional Troops or SS-VT), which later became the Waffen-SS, and the ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'' (SS Death's Head Units or SS-TV), which were in charge of the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps. SS formations committed many war crimes against civilians and allied servicemen. Starting in 1939, foreign units of the ''Allgemeine SS'' were raised in occupied countries. From 1940 they were consolidated into the Directorate of the Germanic-SS (''Leitstelle der germanischen SS''). When the war first began, the vast majority of SS members belonged to the ''Allgemeine SS'', but this proportion changed during the later years of the war after the Waffen-SS op ...
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