Reichsführer-SS was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS). Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-serving and most noteworthy office holder was Heinrich Himmler.
Reichsführer-SS
Image: Schreckj
Image: Joseph Berchtold
Image: Bundesarchiv Bild 183 S72707, Heinrich Himmler
Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel
The uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel (SS) served to distinguish its Nazi paramilitary ranks between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the Wehrmacht, the German state, and the Nazi Party.
SS–Gruppenführer Hans Heinrich Lammers in black Allgemeine SS uniform, 1938
2nd pattern SS Totenkopf, 1934–45
The earliest SS rank system, used during the year 1929
German poster showing uniforms and insignia of SS (to the right) and the Sturmabteilung (SA, to the left), published in English by the Chicago Sunday Tribune in 1933. The caption reads: Putting masculine Germany into uniforms of types portrayed above is only one aspect of complete regimentation of the German people – a regimentation which includes reshaping of thought in the Nazi mold, suppression of rights, and control and censorship over newspapers.
