SS-Hauptamt

Uniform of a member of the SS-HA with cuffband

The SS-Hauptamt (English: SS Main or Head Office; SS-HA) was the central command office of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) in Germany until 1940 comparable to the Heerespersonalamt. Many of the members of the Hauptamt were foreign volunteers. The SS-HA was technically subordinate to the Persönlicher Stab „Reichsführer-SS“ (English: Personal Staff of the SS Reich Leader), but in reality it maintained autonomy.

History

Dr. med. Franz Riedweg (1907−2005) of the "Germanische Leitstelle" (GL) of the SS-Hauptamt; Riedweg (de) was from Switzerland (Germanische SS Schweiz), his last rank was "SS-Obersturmbannführer der Waffen-SS".

Structure of the Allgemeine SS

The office can trace its origins to 1931 when the SS created the SS-Amt to serve as an SS Headquarters staff overseeing the various units of the Allgemeine-SS. In 1933, after the NSDAP came to power, the SS-Amt was renamed the SS-Oberführerbereichen. This agency then became the SS-Hauptamt (SS-HA) on 30 January 1935.

Task

The organization oversaw the Allgemeine-SS, concentration camps (German: Konzentrationslager), the SS-Verfügungstruppe (English: Special-purpose troops), and the Grenzschutz (English: Border Control Regiments). During the late 1930s, the power of the SS-HA continued to grow becoming the largest and most powerful office of the SS, managing nearly all aspects of the paramilitary organization. In 1940 the SS-Hauptamt remained responsible for SS administrative in matters such as manpower allocation, supplies, personnel transfers, and promotions.

Structure

Groups and departments

The SS-HA had 4 department groups (Amtsgruppe A to D), 11 departments / offices (German: Ämter) and various sub-departments.

Department groups

• Department Group A - Organization, Personnel, Supplies
  • Department I - Command Office of the General SS
  • Department II - Command Office of the Waffen-SS
  • Department III - Central Chancellery
  • Department IV - Administrative Office
  • Department V - Personnel Office
  • Department VI - Riding and Driving
  • Department VII - Supplies
  • Department VIII - Weapons Office
  • Department IX - Technical Equipment and Machinery
  • Department X - Motor Vehicles

• Department Group B - Training
  • Department XI - Leader (= Officer) Training and SS Junker Schools
  • Department XII - NCO Training and SS NCO Schools

• Department Group C - Inspections
  • Inspectorate 2 Infantry and Mountain Troops
  • Inspectorate 3 Cavalry
  • Inspectorate 4 Artillery
  • Inspectorate 5 Pioniere/Technicians
  • Inspectorate 6 Armored Troops
  • Inspectorate 7 Signal Corps
  • Inspectorate 8 Field Equipment and Maintenance Corps
  • Inspectorate 9 Supply Corps
  • Inspectorate 10 Motor Vehicle Park Corps
  • Inspectorate 11 Unknown
  • Inspectorate 12 Technical Training Courses
  • Inspectorate 13 Flak Artillery

• Department Group D - Medical Services of the Waffen-SS
  • Department XIII - Administration
  • Department XIV - Dental Services
  • Department XV - Supplies
  • Department XVI - Medical Treatment

Departments

• Amt Zentralamt (Amt A I; English: Central office)
• Amt Leitender Arzt beim Chef SS-HA (Amt A II; English: Chief Medical Officer)
• Amt Verwaltung (English: Administration)
• Amt Ergänzungsamt der Waffen-SS (English: Waffen-SS Reinforcements)
• Amt Erfassungsamt (English: Requisitioning)
• Amt für Weltanschauliche Erziehung (English: Ideological Training)
• Amt für Leibeserziehhung (English: Physical Training)
• Amt für Berufserziehung (English: Trade Training)
• Amt Germanische Leitstelle (English: Germanic Control Center)
• Amt Germanische Ergänzung (English: Germanic Recruitment)
• Amt Germanische Erziehung (English: Germanic Education)

World War II

Shortly after the outbreak of WWII, the SS-Verfügungstruppe expanded rapidly becoming the Waffen SS in 1940. By this time, the office of the SS-Hauptamt could no longer administer the entire SS organization. As a result, the SS-HA was downsized losing much of its pre-war power to the SS-Führungshauptamt (SS-FHA; English: SS Leading Main Office) and the main offices of the Allgemeine-SS.

Leadership (Chef SS-Hauptamt)

• SS-Gruppenführer Curt Wittje (1894–1947): 12 February 1934 to 14 May 1935 (1 year, 91 days)
• SS-Obergruppenführer August Heißmeyer (1897–1979): 14 May 1935 to 9 November 1939 (4 years, 179 days)
• SS-Obergruppenführer Gottlob Berger (1896–1975): 1 December 1939 (other sources claim officially since 1 April 1940) to 8 May 1945 (5 years, 180 days)

SS-FHA

The SS Leadership Main Office / Department or SS-Führungshauptamt (SS-FHA) was under the leadership of Karl Zech since 1 October 1937. In addition to this area of ​​responsibility, he also served as the leader of the SD Upper Section East (Berlin). The SS-FHA was the actual operational staff office (headquarters) of the Waffen-SS from August 1940. It was created through a spin-off from the SS Main Office and was initially run by Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler personally, and from 30 January 1943 onwards by SS-Obergruppenführer Hans Jüttner. The SS Leadership Main Office headquarters directed and managed supplies and provision, wage payments and equipment. The command offices of the Allgemeine-SS, the Waffen-SS and the SS guard units (SS-Wachverbände) were also subordinate to the SS-FHA. These command offices were created in 1935 and were considered the control centers of the armed SS units. An independent “Command Office of the General/Germanic SS” was later introduced for the volunteer associations of Germanic origin within the Waffen-SS. The training facilities, troop inspections and medical services of the Waffen-SS were also subordinated to the SS-FHA. In 1944, the SS Leadership Main Office had 450 employees.

At the end of March 1945, departments were incorporated into the SS Personnel Main Office (SS-PHA). Thus, Department IIa of Office V and Department Group D were combined with Office W in the SS-PHA to form the Personnel Office of the Waffen-SS. In 1945, parts of the SS-FHA were relocated from Berlin to Munich for dissolution. The SS-FHA was then divided into the North and South Groups. As of 1 April 1945, there was no longer any connection to the main office in Berlin.

Structure

The SS-FHA, known as SS-Führungsamt (SS-FA) between 1932 and c. 1936, was the actual operational staff office (headquarters) of the armed SS. It directed and managed supplies and provisions, wage payments, and equipment. It also oversaw the command offices of the General SS, the Waffen-SS, and the SS Guard Units. These command offices were created in 1935 and served as the control centers of the armed SS units. (A separate "Command Office of the General/Germanic SS" was later established for the Germanic volunteer units within the Waffen-SS.) The SS-FHA also oversaw the training facilities, troop inspections, and medical services of the Waffen-SS. In 1944, the SS-Führungshauptamt had 450 employees. It was initially divided into the Waffen-SS Command Office (Jüttner, Hans), the SS Central Office (which had already been renamed the General SS Command Office (under Leo Petri) on 5 September 1940), the Office for Communications, and the Administrative Office (August Frank). On 23 October 1940, Himmler ordered a further reorganization and expansion of the SS-FHA, which was organized as follows:

• Chief of Staff (Jüttner)
• Department I, Waffen-SS Command Office (Jüttner)
• Department II, Weapons Inspection (Walter Krüger)
• Department III, General SS Command Office (Leo Petri)
• Department IV, Administrative Office (August Frank)
• Department V, Central Ordnance Office (Heinrich Gärtner)
• Department VI, General Office, which was headed by the Chief of Staff until it was appointed by a new Office Chief

On 15 November 1940, Department VII, Leader (Officer) Training, was established (as of 28 November under Karl von Treuenfeld, later Walter Krüger, then Peter Adolf Caesar Hansen), which, among other things, included the SS Junkers' Schools in Tölz and Braunschweig. On 4 December 1940, the Reichsführer-SS (RF-SS) approved the establishment of Department VIII, SS Medical Office, within the SS-FHA, which assumed the responsibilities of the former Medical Inspectorate of the Waffen-SS. On 6 May 1941, the Einsatzstab Reichsführer-SS was renamed "Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS im SS-Führungshauptamt" (Reichsführer-SS Command Staff in the SS-FHA). This was assigned to the SS-FHA, but later subordinated directly to the RF-SS.

Effective 1 November 1941, the following reorganization was ordered, which was implemented in December 1941:

• Chief of Staff
• Department I Command Office of the Waffen-SS
• Department II Personal Office
• Department III Command Office of the General SS
• Department IV Administrative Office
• Department V Weapons Office
• Department VI Inspector of the KL (Liebehenschel, Arthur)
• Department VII Office for Leader Training
• Department VIII Medical Office (Genzken, Karl)

In addition, there were the following inspections:

• Inspection 1: NCO Schools
• Inspection 2: Infantry
• Inspection 3: Riding and Driving
• Inspection 4: Artillery
• Inspection 5: Engineer
• Inspection 6: Motor Vehicles / Panzer Troops (Viktor Knapp, 1944 Treuenfeld)
• Inspection 7: Signals (Sansoni, Richard)
• Inspection 8: Weapons

On 16 March 1942, the office of the Inspector of Concentration Camps was separated from the SS-FHA and incorporated into the SS-WVHA (SS Economic and Administrative Main Office). It should be noted, however, that the SS-FHA had no independent decision-making powers or authority regarding the concentration camps, as the RF-SS, in conjunction with the Inspector of Concentration Camps, held sole decision-making authority. On 26 November 1942, another reorganization took place, which, with minor changes, remained in effect until 1945.

SS-PHA

The SS Personnel Main Office or Department (German: SS-Personalhauptamt) was established on 1 June 1939 from the personnel department (SS-Personalamt; 1935 to 1939) in Heinrich Himmler's personal staff. It was responsible for the administration of personnel matters regarding all leaders and officers of the Schutzstaffel (). This included the Allgemeine SS, Waffen-SS and Sicherheitsdienst, specifically those matters regarding admission, promotion and dismissal, but also organisational matters, transfers, and training. It was responsible for processing recommendations for decorations. The office was also responsible for the SS seniority list (Dienstaltersliste), the granting of the SS-Ehrenring and SS-Ehrendegen, and also appointed members within the Allgemeine SS. Walter Schmitt (1879–1945) was chief of the office until June 1942 when, due to illness, he turned over responsibility for management of the office to Maximilian von Herff who formally succeeded him on 1 October 1942, remaining in charge until May 1945.

The SS Personnel Main Office emerged from the SS Personnel Office in 1939 [...]. The Main Office was essentially the personnel department of the SS and was responsible for supporting SS leaders. From 1934 onwards, the SS Personnel Office published the seniority lists of the NSDAP's Schutzstaffel. The last edition appeared in 1944 and initially listed the lower, middle, and upper SS leadership corps. Towards the end of the war, only the middle and upper SS leadership corps were listed. In mid-1944, the Personnel Main Office published the seniority list of the Waffen-SS (as of 1 July 1944), although this was not made available to all SS and police offices, as was customary at the time. This seniority list remained a single copy for purely internal use by the Personnel Main Office and, compared to the other SS seniority lists, represents a curiosity.

Structure

The SS Personnel Main Office originally consisted of two main departments: Officer Personnel and Officer Replacements. Between 1940 and approximately 1943, a central office, an administration, and three departments (I, II, III) can be documented. Overall, based on various personnel records, the following division into sub-departments can be reconstructed:

• I A 1 Personnel Files (with Central Registry) Staffing
• I A 2 Promotions
• I A 3 Staff Personnel
• I B 1 Statistics
• I B 2 Seniority List
• I B 3 Addresses
• I/ FSch Führer (Officer) Schools
• I/ O Awards
• II 1 Junker Schools
• II 2 Police Recruitment
• II 3 Staffing
• III Education and Training
• III A Inspection of Junker Schools
• ZK Central Chancellery
• V Administration

This organizational structure was repeatedly expanded and supplemented between 1942 and 1944. In 1943, there was evidence of an Amt II W, a Hauptabteilung II W 1, and a Hauptabteilung II W 2 with at least three departments that dealt with the personnel details of Waffen-SS leaders; for a Hauptabteilung II 7, the remaining files provide evidence for a certain period (1943-1945) of SS-style personnel processing for the SS leaders deployed in the Reich Security Main Office and its divisions.