Austrian SS
Encyclopedia
The Austrian SS was a segment of the SS developed in 1934 as a covert force to influence the Anschluss
with Germany which would occur in 1938. The early Austrian SS was led by Ernst Kaltenbrunner
and Arthur Seyss-Inquart
. The Austrian SS was technically under the command of the German SS and Heinrich Himmler but acted independently concerning Austrian affairs.
Austrian SS men were organized under the same manner as the Allgemeine-SS but operated as an underground organization, in particular after 1936 when the Austrian government
declared the SS an illegal organization. One of the largest formations of the Austrian SS was the 11th SS-Standarte
operating out of Vienna
. The Austrian SS used the same rank system as the regular SS, but rarely used uniforms or identifying insignia. Photographic evidence indicates that Austrian SS men typically would wear a swastika armband on civilian clothes, and then only at secret SS meetings.
After 1938, when Austria was annexed by Germany, the Austrian SS was completely incorporated into the regular SS. Most of the Austrian SS was folded into SS-Oberabschnitt Donau
with the 3rd regiment of the SS-Verfugungstruppe, Der Führer, and the fourth Totenkopf regiment, Ostmark, recruited in Austria shortly thereafter. A new concentration camp at Mauthausen
also opened under the authority of the SS Death's Head units.
Cultural differences between Austrian and German SS men were present to the end of World War II, even though in theory the two countries contributed to a single SS. The issue was highlighted in 1943, when Austrian SS commanders were responsible for heavy losses in the first days of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
and charged with negligence. Jürgen Stroop
, the SSPF in Warsaw, overturned several courts martial (death) sentences since it was believed that Austrian members of the SS might rebel against the German officers who passed the sentences.
A notable figure of the Austrian SS included Amon Göth
, who was portrayed in the film Schindler's List
by Ralph Fiennes. Göth had joined the Austrian SS in 1930 and was an underground member until the Anschluss
by Nazi Germany in 1938. Thereafter, he was appointed a regular SS officer in the Concentration Camp service.
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
with Germany which would occur in 1938. The early Austrian SS was led by Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
and Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Arthur Seyss-Inquart was a Chancellor of Austria, lawyer and later Nazi official in pre-Anschluss Austria, the Third Reich and for wartime Germany in Poland and the Netherlands...
. The Austrian SS was technically under the command of the German SS and Heinrich Himmler but acted independently concerning Austrian affairs.
Austrian SS men were organized under the same manner as the Allgemeine-SS but operated as an underground organization, in particular after 1936 when the Austrian government
Politics of Austria
The Politics of Austria take place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, with a Federal Chancellor as the head of government, and a Federal President as head of state. Executive power is exercised by the governments, both local and federal...
declared the SS an illegal organization. One of the largest formations of the Austrian SS was the 11th SS-Standarte
11th SS-Standarte
The 11th SS-Standarte was a large regimental formation of the Allgemeine-SS and the principal mustering SS unit in Austria. First formed in 1932, the Standarte was headquartered in Vienna and during its first years of existence served as a base for members of the Austrian SS who were attempting to...
operating out of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The Austrian SS used the same rank system as the regular SS, but rarely used uniforms or identifying insignia. Photographic evidence indicates that Austrian SS men typically would wear a swastika armband on civilian clothes, and then only at secret SS meetings.
After 1938, when Austria was annexed by Germany, the Austrian SS was completely incorporated into the regular SS. Most of the Austrian SS was folded into SS-Oberabschnitt Donau
SS-Oberabschnitt Donau
SS-Oberabschnitt Donau was the primary division command of the Allgemeine-SS in the country of Austria. The Oberabschnitt was formed in 1934 under Alfred Rodenbücher as an early attempt to influence the Anschluss with Nazi Germany...
with the 3rd regiment of the SS-Verfugungstruppe, Der Führer, and the fourth Totenkopf regiment, Ostmark, recruited in Austria shortly thereafter. A new concentration camp at Mauthausen
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
also opened under the authority of the SS Death's Head units.
Cultural differences between Austrian and German SS men were present to the end of World War II, even though in theory the two countries contributed to a single SS. The issue was highlighted in 1943, when Austrian SS commanders were responsible for heavy losses in the first days of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
and charged with negligence. Jürgen Stroop
Jürgen Stroop
Jürgen Stroop, , was a high-ranking Nazi Party and Gestapo official during World War II. In 1952, he was extradited to Poland, convicted of war crimes, and hanged.-Early life:Jürgen Stroop was born in Detmold, in the Principality of Lippe, German Empire, the son of a police officer...
, the SSPF in Warsaw, overturned several courts martial (death) sentences since it was believed that Austrian members of the SS might rebel against the German officers who passed the sentences.
A notable figure of the Austrian SS included Amon Göth
Amon Göth
Amon Leopold Göth was an Austrian Nazi and the commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Płaszów, General Government...
, who was portrayed in the film Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
by Ralph Fiennes. Göth had joined the Austrian SS in 1930 and was an underground member until the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
by Nazi Germany in 1938. Thereafter, he was appointed a regular SS officer in the Concentration Camp service.