SS ranks

'''''' (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS), and it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-serving and most noteworthy office holder was Heinrich Himmler.

thumb|Gottlob Berger, chief of the [[SS Main Office, wearing the post-April-1942 version of the SS- rank insignia]] '''' (, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and adopted by the Schutzstaffel (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after only . Translated as "senior group leader", the rank of was senior to Gruppenführer''. A similarly named rank of existed in the SA from 1929 to 1930 and as a title until 1933. In April 1942, the new rank of was created which was above and below .

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Brigadeführer (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (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.

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thumb|Sepp Dietrich, ' and ' of the [[Waffen-SS]]

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Wikimedia list article

thumb|, SS-Untersturmführer of the Waffen-SS.

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thumb|An SS-Scharführer serving in KZ Mauthausen Scharführer (, ) was a title or rank used in early 20th century German military terminology. In German, Schar was one term for the smallest sub-unit, equivalent to (for example) a "troop", "squad", or "section". The word führer simply meant "leader".

thumb|150px|An SS-Rottenführer serving at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. Rottenführer (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Schutzstaffel (SS) and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.

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thumb|SS General Anton Dunckern wearing a "1" of the 1st Standarte as a Unterscharführer

Schütze in German means "rifleman" or "shooter", or in older terms originally connoted "archer" before the advent of the rifle. It also occasionally occurs as a surname, or as Schütz, as in the opera Der Freischütz. The word itself is derived from the German word schützen, meaning to protect, or to guard. It was originally used for archers as they protected castle walls, and is the German equivalent to Sagittarius, the mythical form which held bow and arrow.

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thumb|Sturmführer Zwiebel of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) in [[Riga, 1943; note the three pips on his gorget patch]] Sturmführer (, "storm leader") was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which began as a title used by the Sturmabteilung (SA) in 1925 and became an actual SA rank in 1928. Translated as "storm leader or assault leader", the origins of the rank dated to the First World War when the title of Sturmführer was used by leaders of German shock troops and special action companies.

Sturmmann (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1921. The rank of Sturmmann was used by the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Nazi party paramilitary rank

thumb|right|115px|NSDAP insignia for full party members

SS-Bewerber or Staffel-Bewerber (; "SS-Applicant") was an SS rank used in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. The rank of SS-Bewerber was the lowest possible SS rank and was assigned to those personnel who were candidates in the SS. The rank was used in the Allgemeine-SS as a prelude to appointment as an SS-Anwärter (recruit).

thumb|1941, Lithuania: An Oberschütze talks to two elderly Jewish men. (; ) was a German military rank first used in the Bavarian Army of the late 19th century.

used for the Nazi paramilitary ranks of the Schutzstaffel (SS)

Sonderführer (; "special leader"; in full: , "special leader with military command power"), abbreviated Sdf or Sf, was a specialist role introduced in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in 1937 for the mobilization plan of the German armed forces.

thumb|SS-Sturmhauptführer Günther Hagmeister at right; note three pips on gorget patch. (; ; short: Stuhaf), renamed to Hauptsturmführer (; short: Hstuf), was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank designation used by both the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS). The rank was the equivalent of a Hauptmann or Rittmeister in the German Army, which is the equivalent of captain (OF-2) in western militaries.

SS-Stabsscharführer (short: Stascha; address: Stabsscharführer ; ) was not a rank, but a position title or appointment, mainly used in the Waffen-SS, equivalent to the Hauptfeldwebel of the Wehrmacht (Heer and Luftwaffe) between the years of 1938 to 1945.

Haupttruppführer (, "chief troop leader") was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between the years of 1930 and 1945. Haupttruppführer was mainly used as a rank of the Sturmabteilung (SA), but was also used by the Schutzstaffel (SS) in the early days of that group's existence.

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