What does SS mean in German history?

What does SS mean in German history?

Schutzstaffel
SS, abbreviation of Schutzstaffel (German: “Protective Echelon”), the black-uniformed elite corps and self-described “political soldiers” of the Nazi Party.

What was the difference between the SS and the Waffen-SS?

The two main constituent groups were the Allgemeine SS (General SS) and Waffen-SS (Armed SS). The Allgemeine SS was responsible for enforcing the racial policy of Nazi Germany and general policing, whereas the Waffen-SS consisted of combat units within Nazi Germany’s military.

What does Waffen-SS mean in English?

Armed SS
The Waffen-SS (German: [ˈvafn̩ʔɛsˌʔɛs], “Armed SS”) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party’s SS organisation.

Who was the Gauleiter of Minsk?

Wilhelm Kube

Wilhelm Kube
Born 13 November 1887 Glogau, German Empire
Died 22 September 1943 (aged 55) Minsk, Belarus
Cause of death Assassination
Political party Nazi Party

What happened to the SS after the war?

Though members of the SS continued to stand in defendant’s docks in the Federal Republic of Germany and elsewhere after the end of World War II—even up to the present day—the vast majority of SS and police were never called to account for their crimes.

What was the most elite SS Division?

The 10 best were 1) 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler, 2) 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, 3) 3rd SS Division Totenkopf, 4) 5th SS Division Viking, 5) 9th SS Division Hohenstaufen, 6) 10 SS Division Frundsberg, 7) 12th SS Division HitlerJugend, 8) 11th SS Panzer Division Nordland, 9) 28th SS- …

What country killed the most German soldiers in World war 2?

Russians also point to the fact that Soviet forces killed more German soldiers than their Western counterparts, accounting for 76 percent of Germany’s military dead.

How many German POWS escaped from UK in ww2?

Of the 170,000 British and Commonwealth prisoners of war in Germany in the Second World War, fewer than 1,200 of them managed to escape successfully and make a ‘home run’. Prisoners were hungry, weak and often tired from backbreaking labour. They were guarded twenty-four hours a day.

How many German WW2 veterans are still alive 2021?

Are there any German ww2 veterans still alive? After weeks of desperate fighting 100,000 surviving Germans went into Russian captivity. Six thousand survived, returning to Germany after the war. Of them, 35 are still alive today.

Did German soldiers get pensions after WW2?

Do Wehrmacht soldiers who served in WW2 get pensions? – Quora. Yes. They did. The Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe veterans got pensions.

How many SS generals were there?

Between 1925 and 1945, the German Schutzstaffel (SS) grew from eight members to over a quarter of a million Waffen-SS and over a million Allgemeine-SS members….Obergruppenführer (general)

Name Rudolf Hess
Position Also Deputy-Führer of the NSDAP until 11 May 1941
SS number 50
Joined SS 1 November 1925
Party number 16

What was the best German unit in ww2?

The Panzer Lehr Division was the elite division of the German Army (not to be confused with the army of the Nazi Party – the SS). This division was superior to the rather variable quality of SS panzer divisions as well as other regular army ones, and vastly better than any other Axis armor division.