Oberscharführer

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''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions required by growing SA membership in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The SA rank of ''Oberscharführer'' was senior to ''Scharführer'' and junior to the rank of ''Truppführer''.

Since early ranks of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) were identical to the ranks of SA, ''Oberscharführer'' was created as an SS rank at the same time the position was created within the SA. Initially, the rank of SS-''Oberscharführer'' was equal to its SA counterpart; however, this changed in 1934 following the Night of the Long Knives.

At that time, the SS rank system was reorganized and several new ranks established with older SA titles discontinued. The rank of SS-''Oberscharführer'' was therefore "bumped up" and became equal to an SA-''Truppführer''. The insignia for the SS rank was changed, as well, becoming two silver collar pips in contrast to the SA insignia for ''Oberscharführer'', which was a single collar pip with silver stripe.

Within the SA, an ''Oberscharführer'' was typically a squad leader, answering to a platoon non-commissioned officer. The responsibilities varied across a wider range in the SS, in particular between an ''Oberscharführer'' in the '' Allgemeine SS'' (general SS) and one holding the same position in the Waffen-SS (armed SS).

After 1938, when the SS adopted field grey uniforms as the standard duty attire, SS-''Oberscharführer'' displayed the shoulder insignia of a ''Wehrmacht Feldwebel''. The rank of SS-''Oberscharführer'' was junior to SS-''Hauptscharführer''.

Various Waffen SS units composed of foreign recruits were considered distinct from the German SS, and thus they were not permitted to wear SS runes on their collar tabs but had their unit symbol instead. Their ranks was also prepended with "Waffen" instead of "SS", as in, Waffen-Oberscharführer. .

Insignia

SS-Oberscharführer h.svg, Shoulder strap
SS-Oberscharführer
(SS-Standartenjunker)
NSFK-Oberscharführer.svg, NSFK Gorget patches
NSKK-Oberscharführer.svg, NSKK Gorget patch
SA-Oberscharführer.svg, SA Gorget patch
SS-Oberscharführer.svg, SS Gorget patches

HJ-Oberscharführer.svg, HJ shoulder strap
Fw Oscha OR6 cam slv 1945.svg, SS smock insignia

See also

* Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS

Notes

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberscharfuhrer
SS ranks