''Befehlsleiter'' (Command Leader) was a Nazi Party political rank of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Ranks

A ''Befehlsleiter'' was the highest possible party political rank achievable in the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

(NSDAP). Only ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' (party official) and '' Reichsleiter'' (state appointment) were higher, but these titles were not within the Nazi Party's regular promotional pathway because these positions were only by direct appointment from

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. Until 1939, '' Kreisleiter'' and '' Ortsgruppenleiter'', were the fourth and fifth tier of the Nazi Party hierarchy, but they had become titular positions at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of W ...

, the

Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production The Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production () was established on March 17, 1940, in Nazi Germany. Its official name before September 2, 1943, was the 'Reichsministerium für Bewaffnung und Munition' (). Its task was to improve the sup ...

, was promoted to ''Befehlsleiter'' in 1942 and ''Oberbefehlsleiter'' in 1944.

Tiers

# ''Hauptbefehlsleiter'' - Head Command Leader # ''Oberbefehlsleiter'' - Higher Command Leader # ''Befehlsleiter'' - Command Leader

Sources

* Clark, J. (2007). Uniforms of the NSDAP. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Nazi political ranks {{nazi-stub