(; ; short: Stuhaf), renamed to '' Hauptsturmführer'' (; short: Hstuf), was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank designation used by both 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) and 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). The rank was the equivalent of a ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' or '' Rittmeister'' in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, which is the equivalent of ''

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

'' (

OF-2 A NATO standard grade scale is used by the NATO and its partners for the purpose of comparing military ranks across the member nations militaries, as well as for a number of administrative tasks. Rank codes NATO maintains a "standard rank sc ...

) in western militaries. The rank was first created in 1928 as an SA rank, named ''SA-Sturmhauptführer'' until 1939/40, and was bestowed upon those SA officers who were company commanders of SA units. The rank translates as "head storm leader" and can trace its origins to the German shock troops of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, who were typically organized into storm trooper companies under an officer ranked

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. ''SA-Hauptsturmführer'' was initially considered as more of a senior lieutenant, but after 1932 the rank was rated above that of ''SA-

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

'' and became the equivalent of a captain. The insignia for the rank was also modified to denote the higher status. As an SS rank, ''SS-Sturmhauptführer'' was established in 1930 as a senior rank to that of ''SS- Sturmführer''. In 1934, after the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...

, the SS changed the name to ''SS-Hauptsturmführer'' (and by then the new lower rank of ''SS-Obersturmführer'' had been established). This was due in large part to separate the SS rank system from the SA, which by then was considered two completely separate organizations. ''Sturmhauptführer'' remained an SA rank until 1939/40, and was finally changed to ''Hauptsturmführer''.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturmhauptfuhrer SS ranks