So the SS seems to have had a similar rank structure to the Army, you could have an SS major or an Army Major. My question is was an Army officer treated as equivalent to an SS officer? Like if you had a SS Major doing some secretive mission and came into conflict with an Army General would the General “win” due to his higher rank or did the SS officer win due to being part of the SS?
My understanding is that it depended on the situation. The Russian Front, some battle group, and the ranks were all basically equal with SS often being under Army command and control. Usually. But remember it was as much a separate branch of service as much as the Air or Naval wings were. Now you take something like around the camps and all bets are off. In that situation I can see an SS Major pulling rank on an Army General (at least lower order) and making it stick. Also when we talk SS there were two types with different “missions” many times. I am sure that came into play more than once.
The SS were part of the army. I’d assume their ranks were equal to one another.
It’s my understanding that someone with special orders can carry extra authority. A Captain carrying out direct orders from a General can ask for cooperation from units that outrank the Captain.
Hitler and Himmler did place high priority on the Final Solution. Even diverting trains to carry people to the death camps. I think SS on those missions required cooperation.
The SS were actually several organizations. Allgemeine SS, the Waffen-SS, and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (they ran the death camps).
This article describes their roles.
And I see from that link that rank gets a little fuzzy:
"The ranks of the Allgemeine SS and the Waffen-SS were based upon those of the SA and used the same titles. However, there was a distinctly separate hierarchical subdivisions of the larger Waffen-SS from its general-SS counterpart and an SS member could in fact hold two separate SS ranks. For instance, in 1940 Hermann Fegelein held the Allgemeine SS rank of a Standartenführer (full colonel), yet was only ranked a Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS.[48] If this same SS member were an architectural engineer, then the SS-Hauptamt would issue a third rank of SS-Sonderführer.
SS members could also hold reserve commissions in the regular military as well as a Nazi Party political rank. Add to this that many senior SS members were also employees of the Reich government in capacities as ministers, deputies, etc., and an SS member could in the end have as many as five ranks in various organizations as well as a number of additional titles. "
:smack: