Gruppenführer

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''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire departments, military and several other organizations.

History

In 1930, ''Gruppenführer'' became an SS rank and was originally bestowed upon those officers who commanded '' SS-Gruppen'' and also upon senior officers of the SS command staff. In 1932, the SS was reorganized and the ''SS-Gruppen'' were reformed into '' SS-Abschnitte''. A ''Gruppenführer'' commanded an ''SS-Abschnitt'' while a new rank, that of ''Obergruppenführer'', oversaw the '' SS-Oberabschnitte'' which were the largest SS units in Germany.

Initially in the SA, NSKK, and SS, the rank of ''Gruppenführer'' was considered equivalent to a full general, but became regarded as equivalent to ''Generalleutnant'' after 1934. During the Second World War, when the Waffen-SS began using the rank, an ''SS-Gruppenführer'' was considered equal to a ''Generalleutnant'' in the ''Wehrmacht'' and was referred to as ''SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS''. ''Waffen-SS Gruppenführer'' also displayed the shoulder boards of a ''Wehrmacht Generalleutnant''.

The insignia for SS-''Gruppenführer'' consisted of three oak leaves centred on both collars of an SS uniform. From 1930 to 1942, the SS insignia was the same as the SA badge of rank; however the SS modified the ''Gruppenführer'' insignia slightly to include a collar pip (stern, a star), upon the creation of the rank ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' in April 1942.

In the SA, a ''Gruppenführer'' was typically in charge of a number of regiments (known as ''Standarten'') which were formed into ''SA-Gruppen''. The rank of ''Gruppenführer'' was also used in several other Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) and the National Socialist Flyers Corps (NSFK). In October 1944, the rank of ''Gruppenführer'' was adopted by the ''Volkssturm'' as a low level non-commissioned officer position in charge of squad sized formations (''Gruppe'') of ''Volkssturm'' soldiers. The term is also a generic term for the function of a leader of a squad of infantry (9 or 10 men – ''Gruppe'') in the German Army (''Heer''), Waffen-SS, or Luftwaffe ground troops.

File:Wilhelm Brückner (1884-1954, Adolf Hitler's chief adjutant) Portrait SS-Gruppenführer uniform late 1930s (?) National Archives NARA (US seized WW2 enemy property) 242-HF-0037 001 Unrestricted No known copyright.jpg, Hitler's Chief Adjutant Wilhelm Brückner wearing his Sturmabteilung uniform with SA collar tab rank insignia as ''SA-Gruppenführer'' 1933–1934.
Photo: NARA
File:Heinz Reinefarth.jpg, ''SS-Gruppenführer'' Heinz Reinefarth wearing the post-April 1942 SS rank insignia.

Insignia

File:SA-Gruppenführer Collar tab.svg, Gorget patch/collar tab
(Sturmabteilung)
File:Grufpre1942.png, Gorget patch
until April 1942
(Allgemeine SS and Waffen-SS)
File:HH-SS-Gruppenfuhrer-Collar.png, Gorget patches
1942–1945
(Allgemeine SS and Waffen-SS)
File:SS-Gruppenführer.svg, Shoulder board
(Waffen-SS)
File:NSFK-Gruppenführer.svg, NSFK Gorget patch
File:NSKK-Gruppenführer.svg, NSKK Gorget patch

See also

* List of SS-Gruppenführer
*Comparative ranks of Nazi Germany
*Uniforms and insignia of the Sturmabteilung
*Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel
*Corps colours (Waffen-SS)
*Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS

References

Notes

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruppenfuhrer

SS ranks
Nazi paramilitary ranks
German words and phrases
Two-star officers of Nazi Germany
Lists of generals