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The Allgemeine-55 OSPREY Men-at-Arms· 266 PUBLISHING The Allgemeine-55 Robin Lumsden· Illustrated by Paul Hannon Series editor MartmWindmw • Fin!pubitShWonGrellRriuinon IY93~' Author'sacknowledgements: ()sp"'~ I·uhl,~h,nl!. t.JrnsCoon.Oupd\\a)~n"de~. Iwish 10ex-pres."mysincereapprcci:uiontothe (kfon!0\29Lp,LnilcdKingdom. follo\\ingindi\'iduals,fortheirassistanceinsupplying t.ma,l,onfo(uo:.>prclilubl",hing.com mewith much ncededdocumemar~'and illustrative malerial: Robert Iloffmann,Munich;Dr. Da\'id t'l')'llOspre) PublishingL,e1. Man\c1I,Berlin;Obcrstlcutnantl-IcinrichPaprntka, Rcprintcd tW4.I'!'HI, l'J'Ji, 1999,lOOt.200l Ra~latl;and Rl'inhard Pm:hclsk;,Ikrlin, ,\11ri"hl~ rewr,~d, Apartfrom an)'fairde.lingf"rth~ Photographscrcditcd 'IWM'arcreproduced by I'lJqmc(Ifpri'ate.tudy,""",arch,Cri,iei,morre'k\\,," kind Jlcrmi~sion ufthc'I"rustecsofthe [mpcrial War [lcrmined"nder,h,'CopyrightlJe,ig".1andPal,'nl,,\tI. 1'\'1uscum, I,(Indon, whilethepicturesofsurviving I-,SS,nopariof,hi.puhli"",iontna) hcf\'pw,h"'eel, cxamplcsofSS rcgaliafrom myown collect;on wcrc .lurl·dinarelri,',al')"l'm,ormln,minedinan) f"rm takcn byAbo LaudcrofNorval Ltd" Dunfcrmlinc. urh) all)'"Karl'.c1CClronk,cl~lriCiI. chemil'lll, n...:cha"k.l,Opl;l-.!.p!>olocop)-ing,I'r'C1}rdingor Last, hut bynomcansleast,aheartfelt word uf "ther\\;~.IIit!>outthepriorpenni"i""oflheCOil'right thanksgoesto lain Lumsden,whoscsuggcstionsonc own.,...F.nquinnoshouldhe3e1dre~""dtotheI'uhhshcr>. Sunda~'afternoon resulted inthisbookbeingwrittcn. Filmsci in Great Brilain Printed in China lhrough World Prim Lid. I',.\ I \1\1,O(;UlOl'\IL~PUIlJSlIIJlIn (Nottl\ \huna' \1<.[).o\\l.\1lO:>PlL.\SECOI'<T\tT Ospre, D,ra:lLK,1'0IJo\ 1-fO,\\dlin~-borough. l\"nhAnl!<.l\l\821-.,\,UnncdKingdom. I:.m"l,illfo(u'o>llrerdir«l.co-ul ().;"r", D,rl'CtL:SA,do.\lBll'ublishmg. 1'0Box1,72'll'rt"'P<TI;\,cnul', Oscoola.WI S-f020,LSA. Em.il:info@o:sprcydirectlJsa.com THE ALLGEMEINE-55 INTRODUCTION g 55. an offshoot of the SA (sec MAA 220), "oared 3S Ilitlcr's personal bodyguard, and after r :"!azi consolidation of power in 1933 began to -clop T:lpidly. Firstly, the bodyguard section grew regimental strength and became the elite unit of entire organisation, assuming the title "bstandartc-SS 'AdolfIlitier'. Secondly, the SS cnugungsrruppc werc formed as barrackcd Quasi- •"tar),forces 10 bolsterthe new regimein rheevent political turmoil or counter-revolution. Finally, SS-TOIcnkopfvcrbandc were recruited to guard TheStosstTUPPAdolf 'heImpcri:l/lI'aTnag. growingnumberofconccnrr:nion camp inmatcs. IlitICT..2Scptcmbt:r'9.1J. UniformslilTofrhcIie/d- joseflJcrchrold, theonit poe.'"Hcichs"'-ehrrype, ",-ith esc three groupings ofthe SS were amalgamated comrn:mdcr,stand... ,"'SOAPnrmb:mdsand acertain extent during the war, becoming thefirst le:minl:onthealb,bcsillf: dc-.lth:..hc;lds. divisions of the Waffcn-SS (sec MAA 34), alion, and particularly the police all came to be 'chexpandedasafourth br.:anchoftheWehrmacht dominated by the Allgemeine-SS. Inoccupied west encompassalmost 40field divisionsb}' 1945. ern Europe local volunteer units, known as the Thc purposcofIhis book is tocover, briefly, the Germanic-55, were set up in Fl::lnders, Iiolland, ory, organisation and uniforms ofthe rest ofthe Norway and Denmark to SUppOrl the local police in :those men;md women whocame tobe known by guarding the various I-lome Fronts. By 1943 the blanket (and somewhat disparaging) term Allgemeine-55 had evolved from a pan-time pro gcmeine-55,or'General 55'.Somehadtried,and vincial police reserve to a force which influenced, ed, 10 gain cntry 10 the J.eibstandarte, Ver through its highly placed members, much of the ngslruppe or TOIcnkopfverbiinde. Others, for political, racial, cultural and economic face of Eu te\'er personal or dOlTlestil; reasons, chose to rope. rts toral active strength was at that stage less .ain with the largely p;lrt-lime and usually unpaid than 4°,000 because of the demands of military I units. rn any e\'ent, while the more visible conscription; yet it successfully operated across an ed SS combat units naturally received all the areastretchingfrom theChannel Islandstothemack blicity, especiallyduringthe war, it was the rather Sea and from the I\rcric Circle to the Mediter less Allgemeine-55 which wielded the real ranean-an area with agenerally hostile population. "cr. Right up until the collapse of the Nazi regime Its membership included ,heentire spectrum of rhe tentacles of the Allgemeine-55 retained a firm German civil population, from farm labourers to griponallaspectsoflife in theThird Reich. bnded aristocracy and from small shopkeepersto directors of national companies. Its academics EARLY HISTORY ged upon research projcclS and intelligence ","'"ing activities which had a great influence on the domestic and foreign policies ofthe Third At the end of 1918, nationalist groups sprang up all .The government, industry, commerce. rduc- overGermany with rheaim ofriddingthecountryof J demobilised right-wing [(OOPS who had banded together on a voluntary basis {() smash riots, keep order in the streets, and prevem Germany from bccoming a Bolshevik regime. Freikorps leaders like Ernst Rahm scm Hitleraconstantstream ofoflicers, NeOs and men; and in Octobcr 1920thc veterans of thc Ehrhardt Brigade and the Iron Division went over cn masse lO the new party, raking with them thcirswastikaand death's head badges. ThemilitarynatureoftheNSDAPgrewwith the setting up ofthe Sturmabtcilungor SA during 1921. This was the work of Rahm and thc ex-naval Leutnam Hans-Ulrich Klintzsch, who created the SA as anew Freikorps to hammerthe Reds and fend off opponents at political meetings. However, although the SA was affiliatcd lO the pany, itdid not initially come under Hitler's personal authority, for its members had little respect for the finesse of politics. By the time it paradcd before Ilitier at the first national rallyoftheNSDAP inJanuary 1923 the SA numbered 6,000menin four regimems,and therc were sufficiem recruits during the next month alone toform afifth. Inanefforttoimprovecontroloverthe rapidlygrowingorganisation Hitler appointed a new man ofpolitics, Hermann Goring, to lead it; but he was by nature lazy and self-indulgent, and the true driving force behind the SA remained Rohm. Frus trated by Rohm'sambitionand independence, which were upheld by the former leaders ofthe Freikorps, ,'lellorthenewlyfurmed 'Kriirzehen'lide/ClipSwith 55proueJlyelispfaylin massivecagleitl.~igtlilland Hitler was compelled to set up a small troop ofmen NSIJAPFc:fdzcichctl, 1925. thcIlss(Jrtcdbeltbllckfcs. from outsidetheSA which would beentirelydevoted Notc varit·tiesofdrcS!>', p:lrfieuJarlytheshurr~/ivL-d tohim. Thusthe SS wasborn. the 'November Traiwrs' who had brought the TheMunich Putsch disgraceofthe dictatedpeaceat Versailles, and ofthe In March 1923 Hitler ordered the formation of the Communists and Spartacists whose first loyalty was Munich-based bodyguard knownas the Stabswaehe, to Russia. Nationalists came from every level of whose members swore an oath of loyalty to him society; and at the lower end of the Munich social personally. Two months later, to avoid confusion scale was Anton Drexler's tiny German Workers' with an SA unit of the same name which prolCcted Pany, one ofwhose meetings AdolfHitler attended Rohm and Goring, the Stabswache was renamed the as a military observer in September 1919. He joined SlOsstrupp AdolfIlitlcr and, like the German army the party and, through his powers of oralOry, shock troops ofWorld War I, it adopted the death's virtually took it over from the outset, changing its headasitsdistinctiveemblem.TheStosstruppHitler name to the National Socialist German Workers' wasled byJuliusSchreckandJosefBerchlOld,and its Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpar membership included Josef'Scpp' Dietrich, Rudolf tei, orNSDAP). Hess, Julius Schaub, Ulrich Grafand Karl Fiehler. Hitler's speeches soon found a loud echo in the The 30-man squad particip3ted in [he ill-fated ranks of the Freikorps, the hastily formed units of Munich Putsch on 9 November 1923, when Hitler's 4 ! allcmpt to seize power in Bnaria by force ended in trod) u~ the under their control for the most disaSI'cr. During theepisode Grafsued the Fuhrer's dcmC2mng tasks such as distributing propaganda ,) life, so fulfilling the primary duty ofthe SlOsstrupp. leafletsand recruiting subscribers tothe party news liewaslaterrewarded withthetitle'desFiihrcrsaltcr paper, the 'Volkischer Bcobachter'. By the end of Bcglcitcr', or 'The Fuhrer's Senior Bodyguard', and 1928morale in the55wasatanall-time low. f his bravery that day left a lasting impression on Himmlertakescontrol Ilitlcr. t Following the Putsch the NSDAP was banned The watershed in the development ofthe S5 can be and the SA dissolved. On his release from prison in traced to a single datc-6 January 1929. On that December 1924Hitlerbegan torebuild hisparty,and fateful day Heinrich I-limmler took command ofthe now categorically forbade the SA 10 hear arms or organisation at a time whcn the 5A was betoming function asanyform ofpri\'3tearmy. Itspurposewas increasingly rebellious. From Ihen on SS progress solely 10clear the streets ofhis political enemies-a became bound up with the career ofI-limmlcr, who role hotlycontested by Rohm, whoalways envisaged obtainedoneimportant postafleranother;indeed,by the SA as a citizen army which would ultimately 19-1-5 he had concentraled more power in his hands upcrscde the Rcichs~chr. The disagreements be than any other man except Hitlcr, In April 1929 ""cen thetwobecamesobitterthat Rohm eventually Himmlcr obtained approval for a rccruiting plan r resigned from the NSDAP and quit Germany for a designedtocreateatrulyelitebodyoutofthe55;and military advisor's post in Bolivia; however, his by 1930 it had grown 10a force of2,000 men. When absence had such an impact that Ilitier was sub the 5A in northern Germany rebelled against the sequently forced 10 reinstate him as SA chief in a bourgeois N5DAP hierarchy in [931, only the 55 strongerposition than ever. remained loyal to Hiller, The revolt collapsed, and In April 1925 Hitler formed a new bodyguard Himmler was rewarded wilh his appointment as commanded by Schaub, Schreck and his orher security chiefofthe NSD.>\P headquarters in Mun tosstrupp favouritcs. Theguard, whichcamcunder ich. In effect, hewasmadc headofthe partypolice, the auspices ofIhe SA High Command, was known irst astheSchutzkommando, then asthe Sturmstaf ld.; bUI on 9 Novcmber it adopted the title of hUlZStaffel or Protcction Squad, soon commonly abbreviated to SS. From thc stan it \\as laid down 2t the SS, unlikc thc SA, should ncver become a aass organisation. Groups of Ten, or 'Zehnerstaf n', weresct upacross Germany sothat the Fiihrer uld have access to a local S5 bodyguard wherever wentduring his political campaigning. Applicants d to be between 25 and 35 years ofage, have two nSOTS, beregistered with thepoliceasresidents of ~years'standing,and besober,disciplincd,strong healthy.Theseedsofelitism weresown. Despitethegradualextension ofilsnumbersand tigc, the 5S remained a limited organisation rdinated to the SA. The latter kept a jealouseye 55 expansion, and local SA commanders consis- ",ellprepllretosetlire slightdifferencesillcut • roflcrtionofplt'Cllr/ls 'lIIdpo!>"it;onO(blitIOIIS, IIIIGs!>'cized(rom IlIJdshou/dcrstrn~ hal'c linCommunists, /lotyClOCcnintroduced. 'h 19JJ. rheL'tIrly (!IVM) I.'lIniH/nllsrCH:IIJ 5 ...dnadunClI(roma" ....Fi "und:lrre, pnrakd~ Itsoondand "..... ,musicians' ~umor'Jklltrc:c' ~e.I'J.f' • Wrnnftnc-S5 \CO~m.n~pe-.JtedUlp. TkI~ttern('aglelfnd l~flnTITotcntopf dIi,rdtlsollmpletoc. I,.U 1Mlarger55-stylc C/l.r:k_:asintroducedillthe folJowUlf!.\Ojr.(LllmsdclJ CDl""-o1 On 30January 1933 Hitler becameChancellorof time actually meant what n implied and made him Germany, Less than a month later the Reichstag directly subordinale to Hukr. From the middle of building was burned to the ground, and the blame 193-1 thetraditionalnon-mi.l.u.u1 •thebackboneof put on the Communists. Hitler immediately ga\'e the organisation, began lO be l.no\lin as the police powers to25,000 SA and 15.000SS men, who Allgemeine-55 to distirtgUbh It trum the newl) lx:gan to arrest left-wing opponents of the new de\c1opingarmed branch regime in large numbers and herd them inm make shift prisons and camps. While the SS wasconsolidat ROLE OF THE 55 ing its position and controlling its membership and rf,,'Cruitment by a consranl purging process, the 5A bq"ran to throw its weight about noisily, Denied a The first and foremost dury of the 5 was the position in theNazi Statetowhich it feil enlitled,the protection of Adolf Hitler..\fer the :ad\ent of the SA talked of a 'Second Revolution' which would Leibstandarte, howe\er. _ members worked sweep away both the bourgeois in the pany and the full-time to a rota and :acrompanied Hitler on his reactionaries in the Reichswehr. The brawling, drin journeys through the Rcich. the part-time S5 men king, violence and homosexual activities of the SA who had originally been raTU.ited un a local basis to became an embarrassment; and on 30 June 1934 the protect the Fuhrerdurin~lllitnpsaround Germany SA leadership was liquidated in operations carried found that aspect of their "'or ta. en from them. out ruthlessly by the 55 and the army. With Rohm Consequently, it wasdeci&dthat13of193-1themain dead, the SA suflcrcd alossofpowerand 'face' from day-tl?day function of that hig-hl) disciplined whil:h it never fully recovered. Allgemeine-SS \'olunt~.ouId be to support the On 20July '934, in thanks for itsscn'icesduring policein m:lintainingpubbcorder the 'Night ofthe Long Kni\'cs', Ilitlcr dccJared the The SS rapidly expanded _lth the formation of 200,ooo-strong 5S an independent form.nion ofthe many new Allgemeine- "'Wldanen. trained and i\SDAI)andremm"cditcompletel) from SAcontrol. equipped tocombat:lny UprblOgorcounter- Its ascendancy was now assured; and it entered a re,"olution. In such an n :") \liould take over period ofconsolidation during \\hich it de\c1oped a the operation of the , l12tional radio new command structure and org;anisation under network, publicutiliti tn.nsport,as well Hinunler,whoserankasReichsfuhrcr-SSfor thefirst as acting as police mm The anticipated 6 gOl'erned the behaviour ofevery 55 member. Ulti malely, SS men were answerable only to special 55 and Police courts for any crimes or offences they committed, and were, in cRw, put abovethe normal jurisdictionoftheci\,ilcourts. UnderHimmler,theSScame10regard itselfnot merely as a temporary political organisation but as a 'Sippc', i.e. a tribe or clan. Thesame racial qualities looked for in Ihe55 man werethereforealsorequired of his wife. A special Marriage Order, dating from 1931,dictaled thaI55 men had toseck permission to marry,and that Iheprospective wiveshad toundergo elose scrutiny into their health, background and civilunrcstncvercameaboul,andsothepoliceduties fertililY. Christian weddings were replaced by neo ofthe Allgemeine-55 before the outbreak ofwar in pagan rites for the Allgemeine-SS, and couples were 1939 were generally restricted to overseeing crowd expeeled to raise at least four children, either controlatpanyralliesand othercelebrations,includ naTurally or by adoption. A network of maternity ing national holidays and state visits of foreign homes administered by the SS Lebensborn Society dignilaries. wasseT up toassisl in that goal. During World War II members of the Allgemeine-55 .....ho had nOI been called up for The55 in Germany mililaryservicetook an activerolein Ihewareffortat The Allgemeine-55 had a wide-ranging eflect on all home. In many cities special 55 Wachkompanieand aspl'Ctsoflifein Nazi Germany. TheT:1cial policiesof AJarmstiirme were detailed to prOleet factories, IheThird Reich werepUI intooperalion Ihrough 55 bridgl'S,roadsandotherstrategicpoints,and toassist agencil'S, primaril} Ihe Reichskommissariat fUr die the Luftschutz or Civil Defence duringair raids. On Fl'Stigungdesdeutschen VoH:.stums or RKFDV, the the Reich's borders, 55 men worked as Auxiliary Reich Commission for theConsolidationofGerman Frontier Personnel in conjunction wilh the Customs ism, \\hich or~nised the resenlcmenl of racial Service. Olhers helped wilh Ihe harvest, supervised Germansin theoccupiedeastern lerrilories. i\nother foreign labourers, and engaged upon welfare work. 55 group, Ihe Volksdeursche Minelstelle or VO~'1I, During 1944-45 lhe cadres of Ihe Allgemeine-55 played asignifiC',lIll part in infiltrating racial German mroughoutGermany were trained (()C(HJrdinate the communities in Austria and Czechoslovakia during shorr-livedguerrilla fighting which took placeagainst the late 19305, ultimately pa\'ingthe way for theNazi Allied troops. occupalion ofthese states. In an e"()rt to prove the Conditions ofservice in the SS highlighted the racial hypotheses ofNational Socialism by sl:ientifil: dite nature ofthe formation. Recruiting .....as tightly means I-limmler set up Ahnencrbe, a body for the controlled, most young 55 men ,Ilier 193+ coming research of ancestral heritage. The 55 duly carried Crectly from the rJ.nks of the Hitler Yourh. Our of out archaeological excavationsthroughout Europe in a'cry 100 applicants, only 10 to 15 were finally the sC<lrch for the origins of the Nordic race-an .tmilled. Selection was based on T:1cial purity, good apparently innocent obsession which ultimately re IIh and disciplined chaT:1cter. Training was car sulted in human experimentation using concen ried OUI over a three-year period, with statutory Irationcamp inmatcs. Weaks for obligatory sen-icc in Ihe armed forces and Theconcentrationcampsystemalsoga\'e Ihe55 the Labour 5enice. The confinned 55 man access 10 an unlimited supply ofcheap, expcndable lCIlained intheactiveAllgemeine-55until hewas35 labour, which led toa thriving5S eCOllomy. Various rsold, afler which hecould transfer toone ofthe manufacturingenterprises were sct up in the camps, reserve units. Promotion was awarded on merit, and workers I(:ased out to prh'ate finns on sub .d a slrict 55 Legal Code and Discipline Code contract. The acquisition of large fertile territories 7 during the war greatly enlarged the scope of these servants, theleaders oflocal govenmem, membersof activities. Farmingand slOdbrccdingin Poland, and the military aristocracy, doctors, scientists and those forestry, miningand fifOhing in Russia all entered the prominem in the fields of culture and charitable field ofSScconomies.and between 19+1 and 1944the works. After the failed plot to assassinate Hitler in 55 exploited the \\eahh, resourcesand population of July 1944 thc 55 finally overcame the last bastion of the conquered caSt on a ,m00assivc scale. Ilimmier the old traditional Germany, the armYi SS generals e\'elUually controlled o\cr factories, producing, took over the Ilome Army and military adminis forexample,7,u()ofGermany'ssoft drin1:sand9,00 tration,aswell astheSl..'crct weaponsprogramme. ofthe country's furniture..~Iostofthc uoiforms and With itseyesclearlysct on Ihefuture, the 55 set equipmem used by the Allgemeine-55, Waffen-55 out to control the education system at an early stage and police \\ere manufactured in the concentration and with considerable success. The NPEA schools, camps, alongside military armaments and leather whichexiSTedTOtrain thefuturee(jteoftheparty,fell goods. The 55 r-J.n quarries, brid\\or1:s, cement under 55 dircction, asdid theStudents' League and factories, bakeries, food research c..'Stablishmcnts and the Teachers' Association. Aoo\e aU, the Hider proCl.-ssingplams,apublishinghouse,as\\ordsmithy Youth wor1:ed hand-in-glove with the55sothai the and e\'cn a porcelain \\or1:5. The sums \\hich flowed racial and politiC:J1 thinkingofthei"\SDAP could be into 55 l..'Offers as a result were \ast, and helped to transmitted to the young. Many of the uniform strengthen the ReichsfUhrer's position and maintain accoutrements and rituals ofthe Hitler Youth were thefinancial autonomyofhisorganisation. copied direct!} from thoseohheS . Through it'S industrialconnections,the 55culti By theautumn of1944-.the 5 hadseized almost vated and recruited hundreds ofcompany direcwTS, tmal political, mililary and economtc control of businessmenand landowners. Man) oftheseinfluen Germany. At the lx--ginningof1945, ho.....e\-er, Him tial men beC:J.me members ofthe CircleofFriends of mler failed in his post asmiliur} commanderoftwo the ReichsfUhrer-55, or S5 Patron Members, and Army Groups on the Rhine and Vislula Fronls, and made regular donations to 55 funds. In return, they even sought LO negotiate a pe2a= treaty with the secured theprotectionand favourofthe Blad Corps. Western Allies. Hitlcr di m~ him, replacing him Bymeansofaconscious policy ofinfihration, the 55 as ReiehsfUhrer-SS b} Karl Hanke. With the thoroughly I>crmcated every bmnch of official and Flihrer'ssuicideon 30April theThird Reich rapidly semi-official German life. By May 1944 no less than collapsed; and all factions ofthe Nazi regime were 25% of the leading personalities in Germany wcrc only too happy [0 heap the blame for their atrocities members ofthe SS, some bcing regulars and others on the shoulders ofthe S .The entire organisation st>-called 'EhrenfUhrer' or Iionorary Officers. They wasdeclared criminaJ b)' the\ictors,and itsmembers included almost all ofHitler's immediate entourage, hunted down. I-limmler and scHonl ofhis generals men in key party and government posts, top civil took their own lives r.lther than faa= the ordeal ofa trial and acertain death sentence. LesserSS officers, NCOsand mcnsimplymeltedmtothcb2ckgroundof post-warGermany,orfled.abroad 'Aith theassistance ofthe secretODESSA orpnbJ,(lOn, me used part ofthc cstimated £900,000.000 .-orth ofmoney and assets held by the S5in 1 ,I) [ablbhcommercial companies throughout t~ •RUn) ofwhich are still in existencetothi da. Hinulllcr1)/m,:in!!Il"'reach IlcX:IKJUhrt:r.'Clf'Soneof 1fttheFddhcrruhl.lle" &..-.-nJJeathr:r .l\!on:mber'934. TheBlood •na.n. TJH:.KlJ;lrdof lJ:Jnncr,IJdd1)-,}td.ob ~pnscs Grimmingl·r.SltlJldsintlw ~:J ordJc 17, background. Thl' ~~'nbllld:. 8 .. ORGANISATION _.- -- .-=._. The comm,md structure ofthe Allgemeine-55 con tinually grew and developed during the 19305. By 19.P,subject toHimmlcr's controllingauthorityand -y- $t~~~''';i.::'1B 3lI'j'3t~'ka;jN€""1,ii;j;] that of his High Command the Rcichsfiihrung-SS, the day-to-day work ofdirecting and administering ..Cft* ~"~..l""" theS5 wascarriedout byeight main departments,or _8~'.11 IIauptamtcr,aslisted below. Hauploml PersiinlicherSlab RfSS (Pers. Stab RjSS) This was (-limmlcr'spersonalstaffand comprised the heads of the 55 Hauptamter, certain specialist officials, and advisory or honorary officers. Its ad Copyorthenewspaper member..'uptodrlreonSS ministrative work was processed through the Kom '0:1...SchwarzeKorps' "n/I;r....(Lumsden mandostab RfSS, which operated during the war pllb/i'~'hL-dweeklybytheSS Colleet;on) higheommmld/()keep under the title Fcldkommandostcllc RfSS or Field Headquarters of the Rcichsflihrcr-SS. It was thcn organised like a military J-IQ, with a signals section, agriculrural undertakings, carricd out housing and escort battalion and flak detachment, and accom construction programmes, administered the finances panied Himmler on his tours of the occupied orthe 5S and ran thcconcentration camps. territories. Rasse-undSiedlungslltluptal1ll (NuSf/A) SS Hatlp/aml (SS-HA) The Race and Settlement Department looked aftcr The S5 Ccntral Office was mainly responsible Jor the racial purity of all 55 members, issued lineage recruitmentand the maintenance ofrecords on non ccnificales, and was responsiblc for settling 55 men, commissioned personnel. cspecially cx-scrvicemen, in the conquered eastern SS Fiihrungshatlp/am/ (55-FHA) terriwries. The55Operational Headquarters included asoneof III/lip/amI 55-Gerich! (JJA SS-Gerichl) its main dcpartments the Kommandoamt der The55Legal Departmenradministered thediscipli Allgemeinen-55, or Allgemeine-SS HQ, and co nary side of the special code of laws to which ordinatcd training, the payment ofwages, the supply members of the SS and police were subject. It of equipment, arms, ammunition and vehicles and controlled the 55 and Police courts, and the penal the maintenance and repair of stocks. It was also camps to which convicted 55 and police offenders responsiblefor thetransportorthe55and Police, 55 weresent. mailcensorship,geology,wararchivcsanddentaland SS Persofw/hauplaml (Pers.HA) medical services. The SS Personnel Department dealt with personnel Neichssicherheitshallp/al1ll (RSHA or RSi-H) mattersand keptrecordson 55officers. The Reich Central Security Ollice controlled the Security Agencies ofthe Third Reich, including the Regional organisation Kripo, the Gestapo and the SO. It was responsible On a level immediately below the 55 Ilauptiimter for bothforeign anddomesticintelligenceoperations, were the Oberabschnitte (Oa.) or Regions, the bases espionage ,md counter-espionage, combatting polit of the AlIgcmeine-S5 terriwrial organisation. Initi ical and common law crime,and soundingout public ally there were five Oberabschnitte, formed in 1932 opinion on the Nazi regime. from theexisting5S Gruppcn.By 1944theirnumber SS WirtschaJis- lIud Verl/ial/llugslulllptal1l/ (SS had risen to 17 within Gcrmany proper, and each WVHA) corresponded almost exactly to a Wchrkrcis or The S5 Economic and Administrative Department l'vlilitary District. The 5S Regions were generally controlled a large number of 55 industrial and known by geographical names, but it was also 9

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