SS and Police Leader
Encyclopedia
SS and Police Leader was a title for senior Nazi
officials that commanded large units of the SS
, of Gestapo
and of the regular German police
during and prior to World War II
.
Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:
Führers (leaders of the main districts). The purpose of the Higher SS and Police Leader was to be a direct command authority for every SS and police unit in a given geographical region with such authority answering only to Heinrich Himmler
and Adolf Hitler
.
Inside the 'Reich', the person at the HSSPF post was usually the same person who was the SS-Oberabschnitt
Führer for that region. Outside the Reich, there was no Oberabschnitt, so the HSSPF existed on their own. However, they had something the Reich HSSPFs did not - Several "SS and Polizei Führer" (SSPF) posts underneath them to aide them in their deeds.
There were also two "Höchste SS und Polizeiführer" posts (Supreme SS and Police Leader). They were named "Italien" (1943–1945) and "Ukraine" (1943–1944), and had various HSSPF and SSPF under them.
SS and Police Leaders directly commanded a headquarters staff with representatives from almost every branch of the SS. This typically included the Ordnungspolizei
(regular police
), Gestapo
(secret police
), Totenkopfverbände (Nazi concentration camps
), SD
(intelligence service), and certain units of the Waffen-SS
(combat
units). In theory, an SS and Police Leader had authority to command and commandeer any SS unit available in a particular region; however, in practice SS units answered to their immediate chain of command and would only be requisitioned by the SS and Police Leader in the event of an emergency.
(mostly death squad
s) that were activated in the SS and Police Leader’s area. Such duties typically involved ordering the deaths of tens of thousands of persons and, following the close of World War II, nearly every SS and Police Leader, who had served in Poland
and the Soviet Union
, was charged with war crime
s. A large number of the SS and Police Leaders, who had been involved with such crimes, committed suicide
before capture.
SS and Police Leaders were also the overseeing authority of the Jewish Ghetto
s in Poland and, as such, directly coordinated deportations to extermination camps with the administrative help of the RSHA
. The SS and Police Leaders were also afforded direct command over Police Battalions and SD Regiments that were assigned to keep order in the ghettos.
was to evolve the SS and Police Leader into an SS Lord of the Lebensraum
which the SS would rule and control after Germany had won World War II. Himmler’s dream envisioned twenty-eight SS States (SS- und Polizeistützpunkte, literally SS- and Police Strongholds), spread throughout the East, each one of which would be ruled by an SS and Police Leader, militarily controlled by the Waffen-SS, and worked and lived on by SS warriors of the Allgemeine-SS. Whether or not Himmler’s vision was plausible, and if the more rational elements of the Nazi government would have permitted an SS nation in the east, remains speculative.
by Himmler. This was apparently to give them protection under the Hague Convention rules of warfare. An HSSPF who was a Nuremberg witness claimed that it was so that the HSSPF could legally guard POW camps under the rules of warfare.
HöSSPF
HSSPF
SSPF
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
officials that commanded large units of the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
, of Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and of the regular German police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
during and prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Three levels of subordination were established for bearers of this title:
- SS and Police Leader , SSPF
- Higher SS and Police Leader
- Supreme SS and Police Leader
History
The first Higher SS and Police Leaders were appointed in 1937 from the existing SS-OberabschnittSS-Oberabschnitt
Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945....
Führers (leaders of the main districts). The purpose of the Higher SS and Police Leader was to be a direct command authority for every SS and police unit in a given geographical region with such authority answering only to Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
and Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Inside the 'Reich', the person at the HSSPF post was usually the same person who was the SS-Oberabschnitt
SS-Oberabschnitt
Units and commands of the Schutzstaffel were organizational titles used by the SS to describe the many groups, forces, and formations that existed within the SS from its inception in 1923 to the eventual fall of Nazi Germany in 1945....
Führer for that region. Outside the Reich, there was no Oberabschnitt, so the HSSPF existed on their own. However, they had something the Reich HSSPFs did not - Several "SS and Polizei Führer" (SSPF) posts underneath them to aide them in their deeds.
There were also two "Höchste SS und Polizeiführer" posts (Supreme SS and Police Leader). They were named "Italien" (1943–1945) and "Ukraine" (1943–1944), and had various HSSPF and SSPF under them.
SS and Police Leaders directly commanded a headquarters staff with representatives from almost every branch of the SS. This typically included the Ordnungspolizei
Ordnungspolizei
The Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...
(regular police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
), Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
(secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
), Totenkopfverbände (Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
), SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(intelligence service), and certain units of the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
(combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
units). In theory, an SS and Police Leader had authority to command and commandeer any SS unit available in a particular region; however, in practice SS units answered to their immediate chain of command and would only be requisitioned by the SS and Police Leader in the event of an emergency.
"The Higher SS and Police Leaders or HSSPF and their subordinate SS and Police Leaders (SSPF) were the most powerful (and feared) SS posts created by Himmler"-Mark Yerger, Allgemeine-SS
War crimes
One of the more notorious functions of the SS and Police Leaders was to serve as the Commanding SS General for any EinsatzgruppenEinsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
(mostly death squad
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
s) that were activated in the SS and Police Leader’s area. Such duties typically involved ordering the deaths of tens of thousands of persons and, following the close of World War II, nearly every SS and Police Leader, who had served in Poland
History of Poland (1939–1945)
The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses the German invasion of Poland as well as the Soviet invasion of Poland through to the end of World War II. On 1 September 1939, without a formal declaration of war, Germany invaded Poland...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, was charged with war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s. A large number of the SS and Police Leaders, who had been involved with such crimes, committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
before capture.
SS and Police Leaders were also the overseeing authority of the Jewish Ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
s in Poland and, as such, directly coordinated deportations to extermination camps with the administrative help of the RSHA
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
. The SS and Police Leaders were also afforded direct command over Police Battalions and SD Regiments that were assigned to keep order in the ghettos.
SS Lord
The grand dream of Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
was to evolve the SS and Police Leader into an SS Lord of the Lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
which the SS would rule and control after Germany had won World War II. Himmler’s dream envisioned twenty-eight SS States (SS- und Polizeistützpunkte, literally SS- and Police Strongholds), spread throughout the East, each one of which would be ruled by an SS and Police Leader, militarily controlled by the Waffen-SS, and worked and lived on by SS warriors of the Allgemeine-SS. Whether or not Himmler’s vision was plausible, and if the more rational elements of the Nazi government would have permitted an SS nation in the east, remains speculative.
Late war promotions to Waffen-SS
In 1944 and 1945, many HSSPF were promoted to being Generals in the Waffen-SSWaffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
by Himmler. This was apparently to give them protection under the Hague Convention rules of warfare. An HSSPF who was a Nuremberg witness claimed that it was so that the HSSPF could legally guard POW camps under the rules of warfare.
Notable SS and Police Leaders
Note - Men were often transferred, promoted, etc., as the war went on. HSSPF areas themselves might change, be absorbed, cease to exist, etc. This list is by no means exhaustive.HöSSPF
- Karl WolffKarl WolffKarl Friedrich Otto Wolff was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Schutzstaffel , ultimately holding the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. He became Chief of Personal Staff to the Reichsführer and SS Liaison Officer to Hitler until his replacement in 1943...
- "Italien" - Hans-Adolf PrützmannHans-Adolf PrützmannHans-Adolf Prützmann was a Superior SS and Police Leader, as well as an SS Obergruppenführer...
- "Ukraine"
HSSPF
- Hermann BehrendsHermann BehrendsHermann Behrends was a Nazi Party and SS official, obtaining the rank of Brigadefuehrer in the latter organisation....
- Serbia and Montenigro - Udo von WoyrschUdo von WoyrschUdo Gustav Wilhelm Egon von Woyrsch was a high ranking Nazi, who rose to the rank of SS Obergruppenführer and was responsible for numerous murders during The Holocaust.- Early life :...
- "Elbe" - Carl ObergCarl ObergGeneral Carl Albrecht Oberg was the Higher SS and Police Leader of France during the Second World War.- Nazi career :...
- France - Ernst KaltenbrunnerErnst KaltenbrunnerErnst 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...
- DonauDanubeThe Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway.... - Karl Hermann FrankKarl Hermann FrankKarl Hermann Frank was a prominent Sudeten German Nazi official in Czechoslovakia prior to and during World War II and an SS-Obergruppenführer...
- Protectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaProtectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaThe Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic... - Friedrich Jecklen - Northern RussiaSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
- Richard HildebrandtRichard HildebrandtRichard Hermann Hildebrandt was a politician in Nazi Germany and member of the Reichstag, and an SS-Obergruppenführer. From 1943 until his capture in 1945, he led the SS-Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt , the Office of Race and Settlement of the SS...
- Black SeaBlack SeaThe Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean... - Erwin RösenerErwin RösenerErwin Friedrich Karl Rösener was an SS-Obergruppenführer who was responsible for mass executions of civilians in Slovenia and was posthumously on the indictment at the Nuremberg Trials for war crimes....
- AlpenlandSS-Oberabschnitt AlpenlandSS-Oberabschnitt Alpenland was one of two main division strength commands of the Allgemeine-SS in the country of Austria. The Alpenland Oberabschnitt was formed in 1939, a year after Germany incorporated Austria through the Anschluss... - Odilo "Globus" GlobocnikOdilo GlobocnikOdilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
- Adriatic Coast - Hanns Albin RauterHanns Albin RauterJohann Baptist Albin Rauter was a high-ranking Austrian Nazi war criminal. He was the highest SS and Police Leader in the occupied Netherlands and therefore the leading security and police officer there during the period of 1940-1945...
- NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... - Erich von dem BachErich von dem BachErich Julius Eberhard von Zelewski or Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski , was a Nazi official and a member of the SS, in which he reached the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer .- Slavic origin :...
- Central Russia - Wilhelm RediessWilhelm RediessWilhelm Rediess was the SS and Police Leader during the German occupation of Norway in the Second World War. He was also the commanding General of all SS troops stationed in occupied Norway, assuming command on 22 June 1940 until his death in 1945.- Early life :Rediess was born in Heinsberg,...
- Norway - Hans HüttigHans HüttigHans Hüttig was a German Schutzstaffel officer and Nazi concentration camp commandant....
- Norway - Günther PanckeGünther PanckeGünther Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Pancke was an SS-Obergruppenführer and the Higher SS and Police Leader of Denmark....
- Denmark - Jürgen StroopJürgen StroopJürgen 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...
, then Walter SchimanaWalter SchimanaWalter Schimana was a German Nazi Party and SS member, who rose to General rank during World War II, and was HSSPF in occupied Greece from October 1943.- Early life :Schimana was born in Troppau, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of a newspaper editor...
, then Hermann Franz - Greece - Friedrich Wilhelm KrügerFriedrich Wilhelm KrügerFriedrich-Wilhelm Krüger was a Nazi official and high-ranking member of the SA and SS. Between 1939 and 1943 he was SS and Police Leader in the General Government in German-occupied Poland and in that capacity he organized and supervised numerous acts of war crimes.- Early life :Krüger was born...
, then Wilhelm KoppeWilhelm KoppeWilhelm Koppe was a German Nazi commander who was responsible for numerous atrocities against Poles and Jews in Reichsgau Wartheland and the General Government during the German occupation of Poland in World War II.-Biography:Born in Hildesheim, he fought in the First World War...
- General GovernmentGeneral GovernmentThe General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
(Poland)
SSPF
- Jürgen StroopJürgen StroopJürgen 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...
- WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most... - Julian SchernerJulian SchernerJulian Scherner was a Nazi Party official who served in the SS as an SS-Oberführer...
- KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life... - Odilo "Globus" GlobocnikOdilo GlobocnikOdilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
- LublinLublinLublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
See also
- Glossary of Nazi Germany
- List of Nazi Party leaders and officials
- List of SS personnel