''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

rank of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

(NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in late 1929 and 1930.

History

The rank was first created due to an expansion of the SS and assigned to those officers in command of ''SS-Brigaden''. In 1933, the ''SS-Brigaden'' were changed in name to ''SS-Abschnitte''; however, the rank of ''Brigadeführer'' remained the same. Originally, ''Brigadeführer'' was considered the second general officer rank of the SS and ranked between ''

Oberführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberführer'' (short: ''Oberf'', , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An ''Oberführer'' was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geograph ...

'' and ''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''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 d ...

''. This changed with the rise of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

and the ''

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...

''. In both of those organizations, ''Brigadeführer'' was the equivalent to a ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' and ranked above an ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

or police. The rank of ''Generalmajor'' was the equivalent of brigadier general, a one-star general in the US Army.The insignia for ''Brigadeführer'' was at first two oak leaves and a silver pip; however, the design was changed to three oak leaves in April 1942 after the creation of the rank '' SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer''. ''Brigadeführer'' in the Waffen-SS or police also wore the shoulder insignia of a ''Generalmajor'' and were referred to as such after their SS rank (e.g. ''SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS und Polizei''). File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Adendorf-122-28, Hermann Prieß.jpg, Hermann Prieß as SS-''Brigadeführer'' and ''Generalmajor'' of the Waffen-SS

Insignia

SS-Brigadefuehrer collar pre 1942.jpg, Gorget patch
until April 1942
( Allgemeine SS and

) HH-SS-Brigadefuhrer-Collar.png, Gorget patches
1942–1945
(Allgemeine SS and Waffen-SS) SS-Brigadeführer.svg,

Shoulder board A shoulder mark, also called a rank slide or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear military rank, rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a (an elaborate shoulder strap ...

(Waffen-SS) NSFK-Brigadeführer.svg, NSFK gorget patch NSKK-Brigadeführer.svg, NSKK gorget patch

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brigadefuhrer SS ranks One-star officers of Nazi Germany

History

Insignia

See also

Notes

Bibliography