# Relationship between the German Military and the SS **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relationship-between-the-german-military-and-the-ss/783102 "2017-03-26T21:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relationship-between-the-german-military-and-the-ss/783102/1 "2017-03-26T21:54:47Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relationship-between-the-german-military-and-the-ss/783102/2 "2017-03-26T23:38:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relationship-between-the-german-military-and-the-ss/783102/3 "2017-03-26T23:40:32Z")
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. > **[SS-Rank Table, showing the equivalents between other armies.](https://www.oradour.info/appendix/ssrank01.htm)** > > A table showing all the Waffen-SS ranks and their equivalent grades in the German, British and American armies in the 1939-1945 period > [@](#): > > The term, Wehrmacht literally means,Armed Forces and covered all branches of the German Armed Forces such as: Heer, (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe (Air Force). The Waffen-SS were a part of the Heer (Army) section of the Wehrmacht. It is important to realise that the Waffen-SS were not a separate branch of the Wehrmacht that operated independently of the rest; they were an integral part of the whole. It is true that some sections of the Allgemeine-SS were only loosely under Heer (Army) control, for example the Ahnenerbe, which dealt with racial research, were neither fighting soldiers nor connected with the intelligence services of the Third Reich. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relationship-between-the-german-military-and-the-ss/783102/4 "2017-03-27T00:23:57Z")
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. > **[Allgemeine SS](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeine_SS)** > > The Allgemeine SS (\[ˌalɡəˈmaɪ̯nə ˈɛs ˈɛs\]; "General SS") was a major branch of the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (SS-Hauptamt). The Allgemeine SS was officially established in the autumn of 1934 to distinguish its members from the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS Dispositional Troops or SS-VT), which later became the Waffen-SS, and the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS Death's Head Units or SS-TV), which were in charge of the Nazi concentration camp... ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relationship-between-the-german-military-and-the-ss/783102/5 "2017-03-27T04:15:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The SS were actually several organizations. Allgemeine SS, theWaffen-SS, and theSS-Totenkopfverbände (they ran the death camps). > > This article describes their roles. > [Allgemeine SS - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allgemeine_SS) 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: