''Sonderführer'' (; "special leader"; in full: , "special leader with military command power"), abbreviated Sdf or Sf, was a specialist role introduced in the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in 1937 for the
mobilization
Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...
plan of the German armed forces.
Wehrmacht
With the draft of ''Sonderführer'' to military service, the competence of civil experts and specialists could be exploited for military purposes. Certain assignments could be filled, from
senior officers,
company-grade officers, down to
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
(NCO) ranks. A huge variation of service functions, e.g. in foreign languages, propaganda work, medical service, veterinary service and the like, was possible. Typically, the men were not trained as soldiers. They received the pay applicable to the position they were holding, but only by virtue of their temporary appointment. As a rule, ''Sonderführer'' were not allowed to execute the command and disciplinary powers vested in the rank. However, this was changed in 1942, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when they would receive commissions as reserve officers.
Categories of ''Sonderführer''
Draftees were called up for ''Sonderführer'' to almost all branches of service (Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine) or special forces, equivalent to assignments or appointment of military personnel in the hierarchy of the Wehrmacht.
; Officer function assignments in the hierarchy of the Heer (Army):
* Sonderführer (B), equivalent to
Major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
/ ''
Oberstleutnant
() (English: Lieutenant Colonel) 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, ...
'' (
OF-3/-4),
* Sonderführer (K), equivalent to ''
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
'' / ''
Hauptmann
() is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''.
Background
While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...
'' or ''
Rittmeister
Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries.
A is typically in charge of a s ...
'' (
OF-2
A NATO standard grade scale is used by the NATO and its partners for the purpose of comparing military ranks across the member nations militaries, as well as for a number of administrative tasks.
Rank codes
NATO maintains a "standard rank sc ...
),
* Sonderführer (Z), equivalent to ''
Leutnant
() is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland.
History
The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...
'' / ''
Oberleutnant
(English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...
'' (
OF-1) or
platoon leader
A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank ...
.
; NCO function assignments in the hierarchy of the Heer (Army):
* Sonderführer (O), also Dolmetscher O (en: Interpreter O), equivalent to an ''
Oberfeldwebel
(; OFw or OF) is the fourth highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force.
History
The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old ...
'' (
OR-7),
* Sonderführer (G), equivalent to an ''
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name to ...
'' (
OR-4).
''Sonderführer'' were mainly deployed:
* As
interpreter
Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...
* In
construction engineering
Construction engineering, also known as construction operations, is a professional subdiscipline of civil engineering that deals with the designing, planning, construction, and operations management of infrastructure such as roadways, tunnels, bri ...
* In the field of public finance, and administration tasks
* To handle scientific tasks, e.g. as
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
or
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
* In the field of agriculture science
* Railway transport, in particular
field railways
In case of professional expertise as photographer or draughtsman, the corresponding draftee could be called up as a ''Sonderführer'' to a so-called
Propaganda unit of the Wehrmacht.
An example of individual influence in the occupied territories is the case of ''Sonderführer''
Leo Weisgerber
Johann Leo Weisgerber (25 February 1899, Metz – 8 August 1985, Bonn) was a Lorraine-born German linguist who also specialized in Celtic linguistics. He developed the "organicist" or " relativist" theory that different languages produce differe ...
. His campaign to unify the
Breton language
Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...
has had a lasting influence in the French region of
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
Position and status
''Sonderführer'' were called up to military service to use the skills and expertise of specialists on defined function positions. This status was limited as to time, and became revocable if a military trained soldier could fill this position. In this case, the ''Sonderführer'' was fit into the "regular" military training procedure etc. The former function position as ''Sonderführer'' – which contained a service "assignment" not including a service "grade" – remained without consideration.
By order in 1942 – ''Sonderführer'' on officer assignments received regular military training, in order to join the reserve officer corps. Therefore, the limitations to execute military command – and disciplinary powers were lifted.
The legal state of the ''Sonderführer'' was equivalent to those of a soldier in the meaning of the Nazi Service Act Legislation. Therefore, they held
combatant
Combatant is the legal status of a person entitled to directly participate in hostilities during an armed conflict, and may be intentionally targeted by an adverse party for their participation in the armed conflict. Combatants are not afforded i ...
status even prior to their appointment as commissioned officers in 1942. In the pension legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany ''Sonderführers'' are explicit equivalent to regular soldiers.
Russian emigrants who served as interpreters in the Wehrmacht, often were adjudged to ''Sonderführer'' status.
[Oleg Beyda: ''‘Iron Cross of the Wrangel's Army’: Russian Emigrants as Interpreters in the Wehrmacht.'' In: ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies.'' 27, 2014, S. 430–448, ]
Rank insignia
''Sonderführer'' of the Wehrmacht wore the standard military uniform but their collars and cap bands were blue-grey rather than army green, with unique shoulder and collar insignia. The collar patch was blue-grey with a gable-end device like that of ''Beamter a. K.'' in matte aluminium, with aluminium braid down the center. Epaulette patterns changed twice during the war. The original patterns, worn until March 1940 and again after December 1942, were narrow versions of army shoulder boards: a single doubled strip of aluminium braid for company-grade officer equivalents, and a single braided strip for field-officer equivalents; NCO equivalents were similar to junior officers' but green. Instead of rank pips, ''Sonderführer'' wore braided gold rings encircling the shoulder straps. From 1940 to 1942 an entirely different type of shoulder board was worn: this was like the army equivalent but the braid used incorporated repeating black-white-red chevrons, giving the whole a checkered look. Ordinary rank pips and specialization pins were worn with these "Second Regulation" epaulets. At the end of 1942 the narrow first-pattern epaulettes were brought back again.
In
soldier's slang ''Sonderführers'', as well as Wehrmacht
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
s and
military chaplain
A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations.
Although the term ''cha ...
s, were called "
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...
officers" (), in a witty reference both to the form of their rank insignia and the limited width of their military knowledge.
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2005-0154, Geheimer Funkmeldedienst des OKW.jpg, The OKW Radio service in 1939. On the far right a ''Sonderführer''.
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-786-0347-28, Nordafrika, Rommel und Bayerlein bei Interview.jpg, Rommel and Bayerlein, interviewed by a ''Sonderführer'' (left).
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-255-1189-07, Frankreich, deutsche Besatzung.jpg, In the center a ''Sonderführer (O)'' as interpreter, France.
SS-''Sonderführer/Fachführer''
The designation SS-''Sonderführer'' had a different meaning in comparison to the ''Sonderführer'' in the Wehrmacht. Therefore, SS-''Sonderführer'' should be seen in conjunction with the service rank order of the ''
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II.
It beg ...
''.
With the title ''SS-Führer im Sonderdienst'' (en: SS-Führer in special service), short SS-''Sonderführer'' (en: SS-Specialist leader), from 1942 SS-''Fachführer'' in the Waffen-SS (SS-Führer specialist in the Waffen-SS), the technical education of a SS-member was characterized.
The
Allgemeine-SS introduced uniform cuff insignia (the so-called ''Tätigkeitsabzeichen'' or ''Sonderlaufbahnabzeichen'') on the
SS uniform
The uniforms and insignia of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) served to distinguish its Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi paramilitary ranks between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the ''Wehrmacht'' (the German armed forces from 1935), the Nazi Ger ...
. It characterized the professional skills of the SS specialist, e.g.: so-called special cuff career insignia (de: Sonderlaufbahnabzeichen) on the uniform in 1935
As of 1935:
*
Aesculapius = Führer in the medical service
*Negative Aesculapius = medical personnel
*
Gothic Z = Führer in dental medical service
*Gothic A = Apothecary
*Snake = Führer and junior Führer in the veterinarian service
*Harp = Führer conductor (de: Musikführer)
Fundamental, it was possible to add any use any SS-rank in conjunction with a SS-''Sonderführer'' assignment to any existing SS-service rank. The normal procedure was to call up SS-''Sonderführer'' from own SS-staff.
Other Branches
''Sonderführer'' were used not only in Wehrmacht and
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 ...
, but also in other Nazi-organisation, e.g. in the
Organisation Todt
Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a Civil engineering, civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior member of the Nazi Party. The organisation was responsible ...
, ''
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the Economy of Nazi Germany, German economy, militarise the wo ...
'', etc.
Notable appointments
Some notable personnel of this rank include:
*
Lothar-Günther Buchheim
Lothar-Günther Buchheim () (6 February 1918 – 22 February 2007) was a German author, painter, and wartime journalist under the Nazi regime. In World War II he served as a war correspondent aboard ships and U-boats. He is best known for his 19 ...
, painter, photograph, writer, publisher and art collector, was deployed in a propaganda company of the Kriegsmarine as ''Sonderführer'' war correspondent. He wrote in line to personal experience the novel ''
Das Boot
(; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...
''.
*
Hans von Dohnanyi
Hans von Dohnanyi (; originally ''Johann von Dohnányi'' ; 1 January 1902 – 8 or 9 April 1945) was a Germans, German jurist. He used his position in the Abwehr to help Jews escape Germany, worked with German resistance to Nazism, German r ...
, ''Sonderführer'' in the staff of
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...
, member of the resistance, executed in 1945.
*
Hans Fallada, novel author, ''Sonderführer (B)'' in the so-called ''
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major paramilitary organization established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the Economy of Nazi Germany, German economy, militarise the wo ...
'' in France and after World War II lived in the Soviet occupation zone where he died in 1947.
* , as SS-''Sonderführer'' of a propaganda unit assigned as war correspondence; after World War II, a very successful non-fiction book author (o. a. ''Deutschland, Deutschland über alles...'') and painter.
*
Hans Bernd Gisevius
Gustav-Adolf Timotheus Hans Bernd Gisevius (14 July 1904 – 23 February 1974) was a German politician, ''Gestapo'' and ''Abwehr'' officer and diplomat during the Second World War. He was a member of the Military Resistance, who actively part ...
, called up to Admiral Wilhelm Canaris as ''Sonderführer'' in the staff division ''Ausland/Abwehr'' of the
OKW, he took part in to the
20 July plot
The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...
to kill Hitler; later was author of the book ''Bis zum bitteren Ende''.
*
Gerhard Heller, ''Sonderführer'' of the ''Propaganda-Staffel Paris'', responsible to literary censorship and paper supply; after World War II, was a publisher.
*
Robert Pilchowski, expert on tea and rubber farming, served as ''Sonderführer'' for the agency "Arbeitsgemeinschaft niederländisch-indischer Firmen" (en: working team of Dutch-Indian companies) in Amsterdam; after World War II, was an author.
*
Fritz Piersig, ''Sonderführer (Z)'', as musicologist responsible to controlling of music in France since 1940.
*
Eberhard Taubert, high ranking collaborator of the
Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, ''Sonderführer of Propaganda'' in occupied Norway, wrote the scenario to the film ''
The Eternal Jew''; after World War II, advisor to the Minister of Defence
Franz Josef Strauß.
*
Wolfgang Willrich, as ''Sonderführer'' fanatic defender of the Nazi art expression.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonderfuhrer
SS ranks
Military ranks of Germany