Flags of the Third Reich (3): Party & Police Units

50 Pages·11.736 MB·English

by  Brian Leigh Davis, Malcolm McGregor(Illustrator)

.~ MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 278
MILITARY
FLAGS OF THE THIRD
REICH 3: PARTY &
.. POLICE UNITS
, .~
~---
---..,.j
IAN L DAVIS MALCOLM REGOR
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin 1994by Author'snote
Osprey,animprintofReedConsumerBooksI.td. Anumber offlags illustrated and described in this book are
Michelin House,81 FulhamRoad,
single representative examples ofmany hundreds, in some
LondonSW36RB
andAuckland,Melbourne,SingaporeandToronto caSesthousands,ofsimilarflags.
The most common method used to distinguish an
(:)Copyright1994ReedJnternational Hooks Ltd. individual flag was the nag panel. These panels came in a
varicty ofcolours, depending on, for example, the type of
Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthe
organisationorthepoliticaldistricttowhichtheflaghadbeen
purposeofprivatestudy,research,criticismorreview,as
permittedundertheCopyrighT, Designsand Patems presented; and each panel bore anumber or combination of
Act,1988,nopartofthispublicationmayberepro numbers allotted 10 the unit, oraname bestowed upon it to
duced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinany honouraNazipersonality.Therdore,although theflagcloth
formorbyanymeans,electronic,electrical,chemical,
wasthesame,theidentificationpanelvaried. Itisnotpossible
mechanical,optical,photocopying,recordingor
otherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionofthecopyright tolistall thenumbersandnamesborneonthesepoliticalflags
owner.EnquiriesshouldbeaddressedtothePublishers. andstandards,eveniftheycouldallberesearched.Therefore
each plate description refers only to the nag illustrated,
ISBN1855324598 althoughmanyfeatures werecommon towholeclassesofflags.
DuetolimitationsofSpaceIhaveconfined myselftoan
FilmsetinGreatllritainbyKeyspoolsLtd
PrimedthroughBookbuildersLtd,HongKong analysis oft.he mare important flag types and formations. In
everyinstanceasingleexamplehasbeenchosentorepresenta
greaterrangeofsimilarnagsandstandardsusedbythefifteen
politicalandpara-militaryorganisationsfeatured inthisbook.
Three ofthe Police flags on PlateGhave never, to my
knowledge,beenillustratedincolourbefore.
What are referred to in modern parlance as 'DE' or
'Germany Awake' standards were Colours where the flag
cloth wassuspended from acrossbaragainstthefront ofthe
pole. This type of"ceremonial standard was used within the
SS, SA and the Bcrlin Protection Police. Another type of
standardhad,in addition toan uprightflag pole,asecondary
bar at right angles, ensuring the flag doth was displayed
towards the rear ofthebearer. The 55cavalrystandard is a
good exampleofthis, buttheNSKK,NSFKand Protection
Policestandardalsohadthem.
Publisher'snoLe
Readers maywish to study this title in conjunction with the
followingOspreypublie.ltions:
MAA24 ThePanzerDivisiotls
l\1AA229LuftwaffeFieldDivisions
MAA 139GermanAirhome Troops
MAA213 German.MPUnits
MAA270F!{lgSoflheThirdReichJ: Wehrmacht
MAA27+Flagso/the ThirdReich II: WaDenSS
Artist'snote
Readers may care to note that the original paintings from
which the colour plates in this book were prepared are
available for privatesale.Allreproductioncopyrightwhatso
ever is retained by the publisher. All enquiries should be
Foracatalogueofall bookspublished byOsprey Military
addressedto:
please writeto:
MalcolmMcGregor
TheMarketingManager,
64CavendishAvenue
Consumer CatalogueDepartment,
Ealing
OspreyPublishingLtd,
LondonWI3 OJQ
MichelinHouse, 81 FulhamRoad,
Thepublishersregretthattheycanenterintonocorrespond
London SW36RB
enceuponthismatter.
FLAGS OF THE 3rd REICH (3)
ORIGINS OF THE
SWASTIKA FLAG
Although this is the third book in the present series,
its subjectmatter, in effect, takes precedenceoverall
other Third Reich flags. Some ofthe flags shown in
this volume owe their origin to the earliest s\\astika
flags carried b) theNazis.
In his book Meill KampfAdolfHitlerclaims that
he made the decision to use the swastika as the
emblem for his fledgling movement. He was respon
sible for the shape the s\\astika finally took, and for
the choice ofcolours used, which set the pattern for
allsubsequentflags. Ilitlerdevotedalmostfourpages
ofhis book to this matter. lIe felt that the new flag
'should prove effective as a large poster.' Hitler
mentioned the colours that were considered, but
rejected, for the flags. White was 'not a colour
capable of:ltu'acting and focusing public attention';
he considered 'white as more suitable for a young
women's association'. Black was also suggested and
rejected; it too was felt to be incapable ofattracting
HerrGabr, tbegoldsmith'rhQwasrc!)ponsibleforthe
attention. Blueand white was discarded as being the
manufactureo{Lhefirst ofche'DeurscJdi1ndErn-achc'
colours ofan individual German Federal State (Ba st<lndards.
varia). Black and white were also rejected. The
colours ofblack, red and gold used by the Weimar The first swastika flag, 1920
Republic were out of the question. The colours of After several trials it was decided to use 'a flag ofred
black, white and red when used in their old format material with awhitediscbearingin itsc.;cnlreablack
were also felt inappropriate, as 'they represented the swastika'. The proportIons of the various clements
old Reich that had been ruined by its own blunders'. were finally established by Hitler himself. This new
However, Hitler fclt these three colours to be 'far flag first appeared in 1"blie in the midsummer of
superior to all the others', and 'the most strikingly 1920.
harmonious combination to be found'.
He wrote: 'I myselfwas always for keeping the The first 'Germany Awake' standard, 1922
old colours ... Accordingly I had to discard all the Hitler decided in 1922 to give the SA its own
innumerablesuggestionsanddesignswhich had been standard. He designed this standardand an old party
proposed for the nc\\ movement, among which were member, Herr Gahr, who was also a goldsmith,
many that had incorporated the swastika into the old produced it. This standard became the distinctive
colours.' Nazi symbol in its own right. The first four
J
overthrowtheBavarian Government. Theattempted
putschwassmashed bytheMunich Police, who fired
on the marchers kill':lg 16 men (including Bauriedl)
and wounding many others. In the aftermath ofthe
melee the blood-soaked flag was confiscated by the
Police President ofMunich and impounded. When,
under an amnesty, Hitler was released from prison
and set about re-forming the NSDAP, the swastika
flag was returned to the Nazis. On 9November 1926
the original flag cloth attached to a new staff with a
newly designed and unique finial was presented to
SS-Sturme I (Traditions Sturmc) of the I.SS
Standarte (Miinchen) and entrusted to their safe
keeping. On all ceremonial parades and gatherings
the Blutfahne was always borne by Jakob Grim
mmger.
The flag staff was in two parts joined in the
centreofits length by awide silvercollar. At the top
ofthe stafl', below the line ofthe upper edge of the
flag cloth, was a silver collar. I believe this to be a
comnlcmorativc ring engraved with the name ofthe
original bearer, Andreas Bauriedl. Interestingly, the
Bloodflag was attached to its wooden staffby afixed
halyard consisting of a single cord, believed to be
produced from black, white and red twisted strands,
runningthroughthesleeveoftheflagcloth. Thecord
(halyard) was fixed at the top ofthe staff just below
the finial and appears tobe fastened to thelower part
ofthe upper sectionofthe flag staff.
The Bloodflag was paraded on the occasion of
TheAlunichSAstalldard. cloth This badge,awarded
Ofinterestistheunique tocommernorat~th~1923 every Reichspartictag wben it was used for the
badg~sewn tothelower RPT,alsoappeared011 the 'Fahnenweihe'- theceremony ofconsecration ofthe
leftcorneJ'(assccn from rel'erseofthestandard.
flags. The last recorded instance of the B1ulfahne
tIlefront)ofrhcsto'1ndard
being paraded was for the funeral of Gauleiter
'Deutschland Erwache' standards were presented on Wagner in 19++. The ultimate fate ofthis flag is not
28 January 1923 during the first Parteitag held at known. Due to its importance to the SDAP it may
Munich. The SA contingents receiving these stand well have escaped destruction or capture, and may
ards were 'j\1{linchen 1', 'Mlinchen ll\ 'Niirnberg' even todaysurvive in secretstorage.
and 'Landshut'. Jakob Grimminger, thebearerofthe 'Bloodflag',
was born on 25 April 1892. Heserved in the German
The 'Bloodflag' ofthe Nazi Party
Army during the Great War with sufficient distinc
"I'he'Blutfahne',asitcametobeknown, wasnothing tion to be awarded tbe Imperial Iron Cross, 2nd
more than aswastika flag, butas aconsequenceofits Class. After the war Grimminger joined the 1. azi
historical origin ittook on theaura ofasacred relicto Party and was an early member of the SS. He
the Nazis. participated in the Munich Putsch of 9 NO\ember
The flag had been carried by Andreas Bauriedl 1923. Later he was appointed to be theofficial bearer
during the march on the Munich Fcldherrnhalle of the 'Blutfahne', and attained the rank of SS
when, on 9 November 1923, the Nazis attempted to Standartenfiihrer;hewasalsoappointed aCouncillor
4
for the City of Munich. He survived the Second
World War and the period ofpost-war Allied occu
pation, after which, it is believed, he managed to
obtain work as astreetsweeper. Grimminger died in
Munich inobscurityand povertyon28January 1969,
at the ageofseventy-seven.
The NiirnbergParty Rallies
The first Reiehsparteitagwasheld on theMarzfeld at
Munich on 27-29January 1923. Asimilar event was
repeated eight months later when the second such
rally was held at Nurnberg during the first wcek in
September 1923(". The second gathering to be offi
cially recogniscd as aParty Day was held at Weimar
on 3 & 4 August 1926; and the third and all
subsequent rallies up to the tenth and final pre-war
occasion were all held at Nurnberg, mostly during
the first part of September. The 1927 rally held at
lurnbergon 19& 20 August was followed two years
later byafurther gatheringalso held at urnberg on
1to-+ August 1929.
o Party Days were held at Nurnberg between
1930and 1933 as these were the years when the Nazi
Party concentrated its eRorts on achieving national
power. September 1933 saw the first of the Party
Rallies to be given a title; the rally held at Nurnberg
between 31 August and 3 September 1933 was
The rBloodPJag'carriedbyJakobGrimmi/Jger.
entitled 'Siegdes Ga1aubens' (VictoryofFaith). The
193-+ rally held on +-10 September was called 'Tri Germany to be victorious, they were to be held once
umph des Willens' (Triumph ofthe Will). The 1935 more.
rally held between 10 and 16 September was known These rallies were used as the occasion for new
as the 'Partcitag der Freiheit' (The Party Day of standards to be presented to SA, SS and NSf\:K
Freedom). The following year the rally held on 8 to units. The following list indicates the number of
H September was called the 'Parteitag der Ehre' standards known to havebeen presented up to 1939:
(The Party DayofHonour). This was followed on 6
to 13 September 1937 by the 'Parteitag der Arbeit' 1923at Munich 4standards
(Party Day ofLabour). What proved to be the final 1926at Weimar 8standards
pre-war rally, known as the 'Parteitag Gross 1927at Nurnberg 12 standards
deutschlands' (Party Day ofGreater Germany), was 1929at Nurnberg Not known
held atNurnbcrgbetween 6and 12 September 1938. 1933 at Nurnberg 118standards
A further rally had been planned for September 193-+atNurnberg 126standards
1939, but events overtook the organisers and from 1935 atNurnberg 35 standards
that year on the annual gatherings were in abeyance 1936atNurnberg 25 standards
until after cessation of hostilities, when] assuming 1937at Nurnberg 10standards&
20 cavalrystandards
(I)Aa::ordmllOH:unilronT.Burden'slltN.Tt.~P.rryilJIlbn:J9Z~19I'IIC$2J-29,rhe 1938at urnberg 27standards&
pr~rinl ofStplanbcr 1923.kOO1'TI:as'The:Gcrttw1 D:a)', ,,'J;Soonsidt:f~aslheRCOlh:l
ReichspmeiuJ.!1\l1fn<:r.Iistinl::$1)[tho:RcichiP~n~'o.}"Jinn,riou$.:onrlm\pont)'G<:rm;m 15 cavalrystandards
public<lIwns00IlOIadmo"ledg.,thisasanoIti.cWPanyDayandonlylist1msuchoccuioos:as
pra;mredShaH
s
NSDAP KREIS & THE STURM·
ORTSGRUPPEN ABTEILUNGEN
The structurc of the NaLional SoeialisL Party was The Storm Detachments ofthe Nazi Party were Lhe
based on H Gauc (Rcgiuns), 32 of which were in Wrst organised units of the Movement") Their
Germany proper with the remaining ten in the origin can be traced to 3 August 1921 when, under
annexed and occupied territories. An additional Lhe leadership ofJosef Klintsch, a former 0Ycer in
Gaue - the ·Brd - was created to cncompass those the Brigade Ehrhardt, a 'Gymnastic and Sports
German nationals liying abroad; this was known as Section' was formed from within the Tazi Party.
the Auslandsorganization (AO). This Section was rcferred to as Lhe 'SA', which
Gauc were headed by a Gauleiter and di"ided was said variously to stand for 'Turn-und
into a number ofKreise or 'Circlcs' - by 19·B cach SporLsabLeilung' (Gymnastic and Sports Detach
Gau had on average 22 such Circles. There wcre 920 ment); 'SaalsehuLz-Abteilung' (Hall Protection
Kreise, each headed by a Kreisleiter. A Kreis con Detachmcnts);or 'Sturm Abteilung' (StormDetach
tained, on average, 750 Ortsgruppen, and each was ments orStormTroops).
commanded by an unpaid OrLsgruppenleiter or During the first year or so ofthcir exisLence the
Local Group Leader. SA did not have a uniform, and wcrc only disLin
Ofthe four main levels ofpolitical rcsponsibiliL) guished from other political agitators by the wcaring
- the Reichs, the Gau, the Kreis and the Orts- only of a rcd armband bearing a black swastika set on a
the last two were granted distinctiveswastika flags to white disc, the 'Kampfhinde'. The flags they carried
be carried by units from within each Circle or wcre (;fUOC by later standards and in the main were
Locality. The flags used by formations from each hand-made, whichaccounts for the varietyofdesigns
political1cvcl were similar in size, shape and colour and the shapes ofthe swastikacmblems.
ing. Only the identification panel in the upper left After the 'Battlc of Coburg' (14-15 October
corner differed, the colour of the panels and their 1922) Hitler decided thatarecognisable uniform was
piping, and the name of the Kreis or Ortsgruppcn essemial. On 28 January 1923 the men of the SA
displayed being varied.
1l)S<.-.:.\lJ'u\2lU.ThrSf/921 -IS
9November1934:tile
Fiihrerwirhhisdepu(\
RudolfHess(left, jn front
rank), Himnllcr(peaked
cap), ViklorLutze,julius
Schaubandotlterold
Partycomrades, On tlle
rightoftllepictureisone
ofthe fouroriginal
'DeutschlandEnvaehe'
standards,J\liinchenII.
6
appeared rOT the first time in a uniform bearing a TheChiefofShlffofthe Goring, Reichsmin;ster
strong resemblance to that worn by the Austrian S.4deliveringaspeechat Hess, GauleiterStreicher,
the1938partyConl,'Tess, theFuhrer,Rcichsfiihrcr
infantry.Itconsistedofagrcy waterproofwind jacket Nurnberg.Jakob SSHimm/er, Reichsleiter
worn buttoned to the ncck, grey breeches, black Grim.mingerholdsthe DrLey,ReichsministcrDr
Bluuahne.Smnding GoebbcJs, Rei,·hsminiseer
leather ridingboots and greyski-cap. Aleather waist
directlybehindrhe DrFr;,·kandReic1Jslciter
beltand cross strap and the swastika arm band worn speaker, from righeto Rosenburg.
lefe: Gcneral
on thc lcft upper arm completed the outfit. The first
feJdmarschall Hennann
four 'Germany Awakc' Standards were presented to
the SA during the Reichs Party Day gathering held alive the National Socialist movcment a substitute
on the Marzfeld atMunichon 27 to 29January 1923. organisation entitled 'Frontbann' was rOTmed under
In March 1923 Hermann Goring was appointed thc leadership ofErnst Rohm and Kurt Dalucge.
by Hitler to take over the command of the SA. In Although sentenced to five years' imprisonment,
May the same year the 'Stosstrupp Hitler' was Hitler spent less than a year in prison; in December
created to act as Hitler's personal bodyguard; this 1924he was released under an amnesty, and within a
special detachment was the forerunner ofthe SS. matter orweeks he setabout reconstructinghis party
In Munich on 9 ovember 1923, a date which and thc SA. Goring was in exile in Swedcn and
was to have great significance for the 1 azis, Hitler's Rohm in Bolivia, so Hitler appointed Captain Franz
attempt to overthrow the Bavarian Government was FelixPfeffer von Salomontocommand thenewly re
put down by police gunfire; Goring was among the constituted SA. Pfeffer set about re-structuring the
wounded. Hitler was arrested, brought to trial in SAalong military lines. The SA uniform underwent
1924 and imprisoned in Landsberg Prison; the go,' a radical change when the grey wind jacket and ski
ernment banned the Nazi Party. In order to keep cap were replaced by the more familiar brO\,n shirt
7
uniform. In January 1929 Heinrich I-limmler was sozialistischeKraftfahrkorps', known byitsinitialsas
appointed to command the fledgling SS, which at the 'NSKK'.
that time only numbered 280 strong; and in March On 17and J8October J93Jan enormous gather
the same year an SA Reserve was formed for men of ingofNazi formations took placeatBrunswick when
40 years and over. 1O{,000menoftheSA,SSand theNSKK,ineluding
InJanuary 1931 Hitler dismissed Pfefferand the boys of the Hitler Youth, participatcd in a 'token
command of the SA was rransferred to Captain mobilisation' rally.
R6hm. R6hm, who had resigned from the SA in This display ofNazi strengthsuccecded in caus
April 1925 over adisagreement with Ilitler as to the ing alarm among theWeimarauthorities. In Decem
coursc thc organisation should take, had left Ger ber 1931 the SA was banned for excesses against
many to take up an appointment as advisor to the public order. The wearing of the brown shirt uni
Bolivian army. He was now persuaded by Hitler to form was forbidden, aprohibition remainingin force
return to Germany, and tookover his new command until June 1932. Before the ban was lifted SA men
inJanuar) 1931. parading in formation took to wearingwhiteshirts in
As thc ncw Chief of Staff R6hm sct about defianceofthe governmentorder. When the ban was
expanding the Sturmabtcilung. On I April 1930 a removed the officer corps of the SA re-appeared
new motorised section had been formed with the dressed in a'moTcrespectable' styleofuniform tunic
title 'Nationalsozialistische Automobil Korps' or demanded by theauthoritics.
'NSAK', changed on I May 1931 to 'National- Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of the
German Reich on 30 January J933, a date marking
the end of what the Nazis called their 'years of
struggle' (Kampfzeit). Those who had committed
themselves to the cause before this d,ne were held in
high cstcem. During the 'years ofstruggle' the SA
had suffcrcd somc 40,000 'casualties', and 350 of
thcirmcn had been killed.
During 1933 an enormous cxpansion ofthe SA
took place. Prior to 30 January the SA numbered
some 300,000 men; but in pursuance of 'Gleieh
schaltung', the azi policy of 'bringing everything
into line', numerous compulsory inductions into the
SA were made of other existing right wing forma
tions and organisations. By the end of 1933 these
inductions had swollen SA membership to a'Brown
Army' of around 4,500,000, the greatest numbcr it
was ever to achieve.
Byalaw of1December 1933 the SA was made a
statutory arm ofthe government, on a par with the
armedforcesandthepolice. Captain R6hmwasgiven
aseat in theReichs Cabinet.
In March 1934 the commanders of the SA
Gruppen and SAObergruppen took to formingStan'
Guards or 'Stabswachen' from hand-pickcd SA men
The1J1ucfahnt:. Thisshows assumedtohavebeen
thecommernorative causedduringthemeleeof
collar, thesinglehalyard, 9November1923, thistcar
andthetc•.lriu thef.1bric remainedunrcpairedJorn
Qfchcswastikacloth- numberofyears.
8
Table A: Expanded SA composition 1933
TheoriginalSA(sometimesc'lllcd'Traditions 300,000
SA' whichalsoincluded the55
Firstinductionof'SteelHelmet'members 55U,UUU
Secondinductionof'SrceiHelmet'members +50,000
Kyflhauserbund induction 1,500,OUU
Mounted SA(Reiter-SA), formerrural 200,UUO
ridingclubs,ctc
Marine-SA, formerboating<melwatcrsports 50,00U
dubs
BorderDefenceunits 100,UUU
EngineerBranchoCtheTechnical Emergency 50,000
Service(TeNo)
Medicalpersonneldnnvil fromGermanRed 60,00U
Cross& Samaritan leagues
Universityandtechnicalcollegestudents 100,OUO
Secondaryschool students 150,00U
BrigadeEhrh,lrdr 15U,UOO
Oberland PlyingAssociation 200,OUO
Civilservants 200,UUO
HonoraryCommissionstotheSA 2U,UOU
('Ehrcnfiihrer')
Otherinductionsfrom the uniformed +20,UUU
detachmentsofvariousrightwingpolitical
parties,suchas'Reichsbanncr'
Right: ThedediceltiOlJofnewSAsra,ndal'dsM the1934
Rejchspal'ccjtag.
who were enrolled on a 12- to IS-month regular approximately three days from 30Jone to 2July, and
service contract. In direct contradiction to Hiders developed into aruthless general purgeofall current
orders the men of these Staff Guards were armed and former enemies ofthe Nazi Party.
withriflesand machine gunsand trainedin the useof R6hm's place was taken by Viktor Lutze; and 20
firearms; Ernst R6hm harboured the ambition of days later, on 20 July, Himmler's SS was rewarded
turning the SA into a massive 'Peoples' Army'. The for its part in crushing the sO-Gllled revolt by being
prospect of the German Army, limited under the granted indepcndence from the SA. The SS, which
terms ofthe Treaty ofVersailles to astrength ofjust at that time numbered about 250,000, ceased to be a
100,000men, beingswamped byan armed SAcaused sub-division of the SA and became an autonomous
alarm amongst the General Staff, and this hostility formation in its own right.
was thc root caose for the decline of the Sturm From this time on thc power and prestige ofthe
abteilung. SA declined whilst that ofthe SS increased, a trend
Pressure was brought to bear on Hitler tochoose which caused deep bitterness among surviving SA
between his 'brown army' or the nation's 'field grey leadership personnel. It wasLutze's invidious task to
army': he chose the latter. On 30 Junc 1934, under oversee the erosion of the SA. Just as 1933 was the
the pretext of an imminent insurrection by the SA, year of rapid expansion, so 1934 was the year of
Hitler ordered the SS to eliminate all the principal decline. The Kyffhauserbund was withdrawn and
leaders ofthe SA including Ernst R6hm, and many continued inits formerrole as an organisation forex
scoresofothers. This action, journalisticallyreferred servicemen. The Brigade Ehrhardt was detached to
to as the 'Night of the Long Knives', lasted for form partoftheSS.TheFlieger-SA, which had been
9
Thisphotoconvcys the
almostme,o;meric;quality
thatHitlerimpartedto
tllC'Falmenweihc'
ceremony.
,
~
created from personnel of numerous private flying the NSFK, and who had completed their two years'
clubs and the incorporation ofthe Oberland Flying military conscription, were compulsory drafted into
Association, became part ofGoring's newly created this SA Militia organisation.
GermanAir SpOrLS League, the clandestine torerun The Second World War greatly depleted the
ner of the Luftwaffe. The NSKK, like the SS, was strength of the SA, many of the younger members
given the status ofan independent Party formation. being drafted into the armed forces. Although new
Some 150,000PoliticalLeadersceased tobesubordi SA Groups were lormed in annexed and occupied
nateto the SA. Later, in 1936, theReiter-SA became Eastern territories the significance of the SA with
the semi-independent Nationalsozialistische Reiter ered almost to insignificance. In 1943 Viktor Lutze
korps, the NSRK, although its commander, Litz and his daughter were killed in what was officially
mann, was still technically subordinate to SA Chief described as a 'motoring accident' bUl was in fact a
ofStaffViktor Lutze. partisan ambush. His position as ChiefofStaff was
These transfers and withdrawals reduced the filled by SA-Obergruppenfiihrer Wilhelm Sehepp
size ofthe SA from about lour and a halfmillion to mann, the lastsuch person to hold this appointment.
around one and ahalfmillion men. The final guttering of the SA candle came with
From October 1938 men ofthe SA with at least the cre,1tion on 18 October 19-H of the Deutsche
six months' serviceand)ouths from the II] who had Volkssturm(O Despite the SA being the logical
served for a year or more were permitted to fulfil choiceon which to build thisnewnational militia the
their statutory two-year period ofmilitary service by NSDAP Political Leadership was entrusted with the
servingwith theeliteSA-Standarte'Feldherrnhalle'. task. Gauleiters were responsible for the establish
This regiment had the distinction ofbearing arms, ment and command of the Volkssturm, assisted by
and was composed ofsix battalions housed in bar the most capable organisers and leaders of the
racks at Berlin, Munich, Hattingen, Krefeld, Stettin SDAP, the SA, the SS, the NSKKand the H].
and Stuttgart. SA Chief of Staff Wilhelm Scheppmann was
On 19 ]anuar)' 1939 a new branch of the SA appointed as Inspector of Rifle Training; NSKK
known as the SA-Wehrmannschaften was brought Korpsflihrer Erwin Kraus was the Inspector of
into being. All able-bodied males other than those
who werealready members ofthe SA, SS, NSKKor s.......
(I) \1"r\25~"~ltrM"d" ,fll.ul,,,ryF""...
10