SS-TotenkopfverbändeSS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; lit.'SS Death's Head Units' or 'SS Death's Head Battalions') was a major branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitarySchutzstaffel (SS) organisation. It was responsible for administering the concentration camps and extermination camps of Nazi Germany, among similar duties. It was both the successor and expanded organisation to the SS-Wachverbände (guard units) formed in 1933.
Theodor EickeTheodor Eicke (17 October 1892 – 26 February 1943) was a German military officer who served as both a senior SS functionary and a Waffen-SS divisional commander in Nazi Germany. He was a key figure in the development of Nazi concentration camps.
Division (military)A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Historically, the division has been the default combined arms unit capable of independent operations. Smaller combined arms units, such as the American regimental combat team (RCT) during World War II, were used when conditions favored them.
KampfgruppeIn military history, the German term Kampfgruppe (pl. Kampfgruppen; abbrev.
Standarte (Nazi Germany)In Nazi Germany, the Standarte (pl. Standarten) was a paramilitary unit of Nazi Party (NSDAP), Sturmabteilung (SA), NSKK, NSFK, and Schutzstaffel (SS). Translated literally as "Regimental standard", the name refers to the flag paramilitary formations carried in formations and parades. SturmabteilungThe Sturmabteilung (SA) was organized into several large regional groups (Gruppen). Each Gruppe had subordinate brigades (Brigaden).
SelbstschutzSelbstschutz (German for "self-protection") is the name given to different iterations of ethnic German self-protection units formed both after World War I and in the lead-up to World War II. The first incarnation of the Selbstschutz was a German paramilitary organisation formed after World War I for ethnic Germans who lived outside Germany in the territories occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary following the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.German languageGerman (Deutsch, pronounced [dɔɪ̯tʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is also an official language of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol, French autonomous region of Alsace and as well as a recognised national language in Namibia.
TotenkopfTotenkopf (German: [ˈtoːtn̩ˌkɔpf], lit. 'dead person's head') is a German compound word for death's head. The word is often used to denote a particular design of a symbol common in Western culture, consisting of a human skull – usually frontal, more rarely in profile with or without the mandible. In English, the term is associated with Nazi Germany, where the skull insignia was used as a uniform emblem of the SS.
World War IIGlobal conflict from 1939 to 1945BelligerentsAlliesAxisCommanders and leadersMain Allied leaders: Joseph StalinFranklin D. RooseveltWinston ChurchillChiang Kai-shekMain Axis leaders: Adolf HitlerHirohitoBenito MussoliniCasualties and losses 60–75 million deaths (military and civilian) World War II, or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945), was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
Waffen-SSThe Waffen-SS (German: [ˈvafn̩ʔɛsˌʔɛs]; lit. 'Armed SS') was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands.
Nazi GermanyGerman state from 1933 to 1945Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918).
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