Stoßtrupp-Hitler (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for " Shock-Troop-Hitler") was a short-lived

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

unit formed especially for the protection of

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 ...

leader

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 ...

in 1923. It was dedicated to his service alone. Notable members included

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

, Julius Schreck, Joseph Berchtold, Emil Maurice, Erhard Heiden, Ulrich Graf, and Bruno Gesche. It was under the control of Hitler and was involved in the

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and other leaders i ...

of November 1923. It served as a predecessor of the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' (SS).

History

In the earliest days of the

, the leadership realized that a

unit composed of zealous and reliable men was needed.

Ernst Röhm Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer, politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party. A close friend and early ally of Adolf Hitler, Röhm was the co-founder and leader of the (SA), t ...

formed a guard formation from the ''19.Granatwerfer-Kompanie''; from this formation the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'' (SA) soon evolved. In early 1923,

ordered a separate small bodyguard unit to be formed. It was dedicated to his service rather than "a suspect mass" of the party, such as the SA. Originally, the unit was composed of only eight men, commanded by Julius Schreck and Joseph Berchtold. It was designated the ''Stabswache'' (staff guard). The ''Stabswache'' were issued unique badges, but at this point the ''Stabswache'' was still under overall SA control. Schreck resurrected the use of the '' Totenkopf'' as the unit's insignia, a symbol various elite forces had used throughout the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n kingdom and the later

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In May 1923, the unit was renamed ''Stoßtrupp-Hitler'' and at the time numbered no more than 20 members, all of whom were considered Hitler loyalists. According to the Historical Lexicon of Bavaria, the unit later had around 100 members, many recruited from the disbanding ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

''. On 9 November 1923, the ''Stoßtrupp-Hitler'', along with the SA and several other Nazi paramilitary units, took part in the abortive

in Munich. In the aftermath, Hitler was imprisoned and his party, and all associated formations, including the ''Stoßtrupp-Hitler'', were disbanded. Members of the unit were tried for their part in the Beer Hall Putsch, with 38 members being sentenced to imprisonment at

Landsberg Prison Landsberg Prison is a prison in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, after the ...

Forerunner of the SS

In 1925, after the Nazi Party and SA were re-established, Hitler ordered Schreck to organise a new bodyguard unit, the ''Schutzkommando'' (Protection Command). It was tasked with providing personal protection for Hitler at party functions and events. That same year, the ''Schutzkommando'' was expanded to a national organisation and renamed successively the ''Sturmstaffel'' (Storm Squadron), and finally the ''Schutzstaffel'' (Protection Squad; SS). Officially, the SS marked its foundation on 9 November 1925, the second anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.

Notable members

* Julius Schreck * Joseph Berchtold * Emil Maurice * Erhard Heiden * Ulrich Graf * Bruno Gesche * Christian Weber * Karl Fiehler * Walter Buch * Hermann Fobke * Karl Laforce * Wilhelm Laforce * Josef Gerum * Hans Kallenbach * Philipp Kitzinger * Alois Rosenwink Heinz Höhne: Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf, 1967, p. 83.

References

Citations

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