Germanic-SS
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| Germanic-SS | |
 The Germanic-SS were the foreign divisions of the Allgemeine-SS. |
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 Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler inspects military defences with German and Norwegian SS officers in Norway, 1941. |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September, 1939 |
| Dissolved | May 8, 1945 |
| Jurisdiction |  GermanyOccupied Europe |
| Headquarters | SS-Hauptamt, Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, Berlin 52°30′26″N 13°22′57″E / 52.50722°N 13.3825°E |
| Employees | ~35,000 c.1943 |
| Minister responsible | Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, (1939-1945) |
| Parent agency | Schutzstaffel |
The Germanic SS (German: Germanische-SS) was the collective name given to SS groups which arose in Occupied Europe between 1939 and 1945.
The units were modeled on the Allgemeine-SS in Nazi Germany. The Germanic-SS were not raised as military units like the Waffen-SS, although many Germanic SS members did join the foreign combat divisions in the Second World War.
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[edit] Duties
The purpose of the Germanic SS was to enforce Nazi racial doctrine and Anti-Semitic ideals. They typically served as local security police augmenting units of the Gestapo, Sicherheitsdienst, and other commands of the RSHA.
One of the most notorious groups was in the Netherlands where the Germanic-SS was employed to carry out Jewish round-ups. Those arrested were deported to Nazi concentration camps and death camps. Of the 140,000 Jews that had lived in the Netherlands prior to 1940, only 30,000 survived the war.
[edit] Germanic-SS Organizations
The following countries raised active SS detatchments:
- Netherlands: Germaansche SS in Nederland (before 1942: Nederlandsche SS)
- Flanders (Belgium): Germaansche SS in Vlaanderen (before 1942: Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen)
- Norway: Germanske SS Norge (before 1942: Norges SS)
- Denmark: Schalburg Corps
An underground Nazi organization also existed in Switzerland, known as the Germanische SS Schweiz. It had very few members and was considered merely a splinter Nazi group by Swiss authorities.
France did not maintain a Germanic-SS group but the police forces, and the paramilitary Milice of the Vichy Government assisted local SS police and security services.
The British Free Corps (German: Britisches Freikorps), which was classed as a division of the Waffen-SS Foreign Legions, was not a Germanic-SS group. The BFC never saw action; it was used mainly for propaganda purposes by the Nazi Ministry of Information.
[edit] Post war
After World War II, many Germanic SS members were tried by their respective countries as traitors. Independent war crimes trials (outside the jurisdiction of the Nuremberg Trials) were conducted in several European countries, such as the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark.
[edit] Germanic-SS ranks
The Germanic SS maintained an insignia system identical to the ranks and insignia of the Schutzstaffel. The various names of the ranks was slightly modified depending upon the particular country in which they were used.
The following is a comparison of regular SS and Germanic-SS rank titles.
| Equivalent SS Rank | Netherlands | Norway | Denmark | SS Collar Insignia | SS Shoulder Insignia |
| SS-Obergruppenführer | SS-Oppergroepsleider | ---- | ---- |  |
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| SS-Gruppenführer | SS-Groepsleider | Stabsleder | ---- |  |
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| SS-Brigadeführer | SS-Brigadeleider | SS-brigadefører | ---- |  |
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| SS-Oberführer | SS-Opperleider | SS-nestbrigadefører | ---- |  |
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| SS-Standartenführer | SS-Standaardleider | SS-standartfører | Oberst |  |
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| SS-Obersturmbannführer | SS-Opperstormbanleider | SS-neststandartfører | Oberstløjtnant |  |
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| SS-Sturmbannführer | SS-Stormbanleider | SS-stormbannfører | Major |  |
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| SS-Hauptsturmführer | SS-Hoofdstormleider | SS-høvedsmann | Kaptajn |  |
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| SS-Obersturmführer | SS-Opperstormleider | SS-stormfører | Overløjtnant |  |
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| SS-Untersturmführer | SS-Onderstormleider | SS-neststormfører | Løjtnant |  |
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| SS-Sturmscharführer | ---- | ---- | Fændrik |  |
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| SS-Hauptscharführer | SS-Hoofdschaarleider | SS-troppfører | Stabsvagtmester |  |
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| SS-Oberscharführer | SS-Opperschaarleider | SS-nesttroppfører | Obervagtmester |  |
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| SS-Scharführer | SS-Schaarleider | SS-lagfører | Vagtmester |  |
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| SS-Unterscharführer | SS-Onderschaarleider | SS-nestlagfører | Obertropsfører |  |
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| SS-Rottenführer | SS-Rottenleider | SS-rodefører | ---- |  |
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| SS-Sturmmann | SS-Stormman | SS-stormmann | Tropsfører |  |
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| SS-Mann | SS-Man | SS-mann | Schalburgman |  |
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| SS-Anwärter | SS-Maat | No Insignia | No Insignia |
