(, ) was an office and

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 in the (SA), the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with 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 ...

. It was a rank and position held by the operating chief of the SA. The rank was equivalent to the rank of 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 ...

and to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the U.S. Army.

Definition

The position of , not yet a rank, was established in 1929 to assist the ( Supreme SA Leader) with the administration of the fast-growing organisation. Otto Wagener held the office under Franz Pfeffer von Salomon from 1928 to 1930, and effectively headed the SA from Hitler's assumption of the title in August until Ernst Röhm replaced him in January 1931. The actual SA rank of was created by Röhm for himself in 1933 after Hitler became

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

. Although Hitler became the supreme commander of the SA in 1930, the day-to-day running of the organisation was left to the chief of staff. Thus, the men who held the rank of after 1930 were the actual leaders of the SA.

Office holders

The office of was held by four different people between 1929 and 1945 and was, in all but the first case of succession, inherited due to the death of a predecessor. The following SA officers held the office of :

Timeline

Insignia

Early insignia for consisted of an oak leaf patch worn on the collar of the stormtrooper uniform. Photographic evidence shows Ernst Röhm wearing such an insignia in his early days as the SA Chief of Staff. As Röhm's authority increased, so did his insignia and by mid 1931 photographic evidence shows him wearing wreathed star that was designed after that of a Bolivian general's collar, due to Röhm's previous military experience as a military adviser in Bolivia. After 1933, the insignia for consisted of a "crossed lances" pattern, wreathed by a half oak leaf circle. After 1934, the insignia was changed to a wreathed tri-foil oak leaf pattern similar to the SS rank insignia of . With the fall of Nazi Germany, the ceased to exist and with it the . SA-Stabschef 1933.svg, Gorget patch (1933–1934) SA-Stabschef.svg, Gorget patch (1934–1945) SA OF10 ChdSt Schulterstück 1945.jpg, Shoulder patch (1933–1945)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks Sturmabteilung Nazi paramilitary ranks