Bundesarchiv Bild 192-044, KZ Mauthausen, SS-Mann

''Mann'' ( en, "man" or "male"), was a paramilitary

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

used by several

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

'' (''SS-Mann''), but also was a rank of the SA, where ''Mann'' (''SA-Mann'') was the lowest enlisted rank and was the equivalent of a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

. In 1938, with the rise of the ''

SS-Verfügungstruppe ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT or V-Truppe) (lit. "SS Dispositional Troops") was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the Nazi Party (NSDAP). On 17 August 1938 Adolf Hitler decreed that the SS-VT was neither a part of the ''Ordnungspolizei'' (r ...

'' (later renamed the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

), the SS changed the rank of ''Mann'' to ''

Schütze ''Schütze'' in German means "rifleman" or "shooter", or in older terms originally connoted "archer" before the advent of the rifle. It also occasionally occurs as a surname, or as Schütz, as in the opera ''Der Freischütz''. The word itself is d ...

'', although it still retained the original

SS rank The uniforms and insignia of the ''Schutzstaffel'' served to distinguish the Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi paramilitary ranks of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the ''Wehrmacht'' (the regular German arme ...

of ''Mann'' for the ''

Allgemeine-SS The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autum ...

'' (general SS). The rank of ''Mann'' was junior to SS-''

Sturmmann ''Sturmmann'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1921. The rank of ''Sturmmann'' was used by the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The word originated during World War I when ''Sturm ...

''. In most

organizations, the rank of ''Mann'' held no distinctive insignia. Some groups, however, granted a minor form of rank insignia such as a blank collar patch or simple shoulder board to denote the rank of ''Mann''. (see right: SS rank insignia pattern from 1933) Even lower ranks, e.g. ''Bewerber, Jungmann,

Anwärter ''Anwärter'' is a German title which translates as “candidate” or "applicant". During the Nazi era, ''Anwärter/SS-Anwärter'' was used as a paramilitary rank by both the Nazi Party and the SS. Within the Nazi Party, an ''Anwärter'' was ...

, Vollanwärter'', were established in the mid-1930s as a recruit or candidate position, held by an individual seeking an appointment as a ''Mann'' in a Nazi Party paramilitary organization.

Insignia

SS Mannschaften.jpg, SS-Mann (Allgemeine SS) & SS-Schütze (Waffen-SS), shoulder strap File:SS-Mann, SS-Schuetze, SS-Oberschuetze collar.svg, SS-Mann/ SS-Schütze, collar patch (1940-1945) File:SA-Mann.svg, SA

Gorget patches Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group of ...

File:RBL-Luftschutztruppmann.svg, RBL collar patch
(Luftschutztruppmann) File:NSFK-Mann.svg, NSFK Gorget patch File:NSKK-Mann.svg, NSKK Gorget patch File:NSKK-Mann.svg, ''

Volkssturmmann The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, b ...

'' (

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

) File:NSKK-Mann.svg,

RAD RAD or Rad may refer to: People * Robert Anthony Rad Dougall (born 1951), South African former racing driver * Rad Hourani, Canadian fashion designer and artist * Nickname of Leonardus Rad Kortenhorst (1886–1963), Dutch politician * Radley R ...

Gorget patch
(Arbeitsmann) File:TN-Mann.svg,

TeNo ''Technische Nothilfe'' (abbreviated as TN, T.N, T.H, Tech Nh, TeNo, TENO; ) was a German organisation. It began as a strikebreaker organisation after the First World War, but developed into a volunteer emergency response unit. During the Nazi ...

shoulder strap File:PSP-Postschutzmann.svg,

Postschutz ''Postschutz'' (), after 1942 ''SS-Postschutz'', was a paramilitary unit of ''Reichspost'' with a mission to protect post office installations from armed attacks. Origins The Postschutz was created in 1933 in order to protect the establishments ...

Gorget patch
(Postschutzmann)

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

SS Man killed in 1943
SS ranks {{mil-rank-stub