Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks

National Socialist paramilitary ranks were pseudo-military titles which were used by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

, represented by the Nazi Party, the

National Socialist German Workers' Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

(''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei''; NSDAP), between the years of 1920 and 1945. Since the Nazi Party was by its very nature a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

organization, by the time of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, several systems of paramilitary ranks had come into existence for both the Nazi Party itself and the various Nazi paramilitary organizations. The following articles provide information regarding the various paramilitary rank systems used by the Nazi Party: *

Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party were paramilitary titles used by the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) between approximately 1928 and the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. Such ranks were held within the political leadership cor ...

Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel 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 ...

Uniforms and insignia of the Sturmabteilung The uniforms and insignia of the Sturmabteilung ( SA) were Nazi Party paramilitary ranks and uniforms used by SA stormtroopers from 1921 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. The titles and phrases used by the SA were the basis for paramilitary ...

Ranks and insignia of the Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

* Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Flyers Corps *

Ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Motor Corps The ranks and insignia of the National Socialist Motor Corps (''Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps'', abbr. ''NSKK'') were a paramilitary rank system in Germany used between the years of 1931 and 1945. They were based closely on the ranks and ...

* Ranks and insignia of the Volkssturm After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, a number of Nazi state controlled and/or sponsored organizations developed Nazi style ranks, insignia, and titles. Such various ranks and insignia were: *

Ranks and insignia of the Ordnungspolizei The ranks and insignia of the ''Ordnungspolizei'' were developed in 1936 after the nationalization of Germany's regular police forces. ''Ordnungspolizei'' ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Orpo) ranks were based on local police titles and were considered ...

Ranks and insignia of the Reichsarbeitsdienst Ranks and insignia of the Reichsarbeitsdienst were paramilitary ranks used by the Reich Labour Service. Rank structure Rank insignia 1943-1945 Chevrons Used in 1940 File:RAD-Obertruppfuhrer-patch.svg, Obertruppführer File:RAD-Truppfuhrer ...

Ranks and insignia of the Reichsluftschutzbund Ranks and insignia of Reichsluftschutzbund were paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country' ...

Ranks and insignia of the Reichsbahn Ranks and insignia of the Reichsbahn show the grades, titles, and rank insignia of the Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imp ...

Ranks and insignia of Organisation Todt Ranks and insignia of Organisation Todt show the pay grades, wage groups and paramilitary ranks used by the Organisation Todt Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named ...

* Uniforms and insignia of the Kyffhäuserbund The Nazi use of paramilitary ranks even extended as far as inmates of

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s. By 1936, a system of

Nazi concentration camp badges Nazi concentration camp badges, primarily triangles, were part of the system of Identification of inmates in German concentration camps, identification in German camps. They were used in the Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps in the Ge ...

had been developed along paramilitary lines. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nazi Party Paramilitary Ranks Paramilitary ranks, Nazi Party