__NOTOC__
''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was 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 ...
rank in the German Nazi Party (
NSDAP
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 ...
) which was used by the SA (''
Sturmabteilung
The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
'') and the SS (''
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 ...
''). The rank of ''Obersturmbannführer'' was junior to the rank of '' Standartenführer'', and was equivalent to the military rank of ''
Oberstleutnant
() is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedi ...
'' (
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
) in the German Army.
As the SA expanded, the rank of ''Ostubaf'' was created in May 1933 to provide a rank above ''
Sturmbannführer
__NOTOC__
''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War ...
''; likewise, the ''Ostubaf'' was an SS rank. The ''Obersturmbannführer'' rank insignia was composed of four silver pips and a black stripe on a silver background, all elements are centered in the left wing of the collar of the tunic of an SS or of an SA uniform. The rank also was worn on the shoulder boards of an ''Oberstleutnant'' and was the highest rank in the SS and the SA to display SS unit insignia on the collar wing opposite the rank insignia.
Various
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 ...
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 divisional insignia instead. Their ranks was also prepended with "Waffen" instead of "SS", as in, Waffen-Obersturmbannführer.
Wannsee Conference held in January 1942. In 1961, during the Eichmann trial for Lt. Col. Eichmann's crimes against humanity, the chief prosecutor, Gideon Hausner, drew attention to the executive significance and
command responsibility
Command responsibility (superior responsibility, the Yamashita standard, and the Medina standard) is the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability for war crimes.
of the rank of ''Obersturmbannführer'', in response to Eichmann's claim that he was merely a
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
obeying orders; Hausner asked, "Were you an ''Obersturmbannführer'' or an office girl?"
In the book ''
Eichmann in Jerusalem
''Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil'' is a 1963 book by political thinker Hannah Arendt. Arendt, a Jew who fled Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power, reported on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organizers ...
'' (1963) the political theoretician Hannah Arendt said that ''Obersturmbannführer'' was not a rank of significance, because Eichmann whiled away the war time awaiting promotion to the rank of '' Standartenführer''. That "people like Eichmann, who had risen from the ranks, were never permitted to advance beyond a lieutenant colonel .e. ''Obersturmbannführer''except at the front", in combat with the enemy.
Rank insignia
See also
*
Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS
__NOTOC__
This table contains the final ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS, which were in use from April 1942 to May 1945, in comparison to the Wehrmacht. The highest ranks of the combined SS (german: Gesamt-SS) was that of and ; however, the ...
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obersturmbannfuhrer
SS ranks