Army of Evil: A History of the SS (70 page)

homosexuality of, 39, 87–88

killing of (July 1934), 93, 105

military radicalism, 87–88

Munich
Putsch
and, 24, 41

SA and, 15–16, 24, 25, 28, 58, 59, 88–90, 211

Romania, 262, 263, 264, 268, 271, 297, 300n, 302, 303, 332, 335, 392

killing of Jews in, 390

Rommel, Erwin, 249, 288

Rosenberg, Alfred, 22, 23, 238

Rossbach, Gerd, 25

Royal Air Force (RAF), 186, 242, 282, 284, 287, 396

Ruhr area, 29

French occupation of (1923), 17, 25, 53, 369

Rundstedt, Gerd von, 232, 298, 308

Ryder, Major, 249

SA (Sturmabteilung) (“Storm troopers”/brownshirts)

auxiliaries, 73, 80–81, 85, 199

in Berlin, 55–57

Combat League and, 17, 18, 40

discipline and, 29, 31, 49, 55, 58

financial controls on/funding of, 56

founding of (1921), 15

Freikorps (Free Corps) and, 49, 55

German Army and, 49–50, 55, 87–89

Himmler and, 42, 43, 49, 59, 61, 90, 91, 92, 93

Hitler and, 15, 16, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30–31, 49, 57–58, 59–60, 88–91

illegality of (1923–25), 22, 24, 25, 88

membership figures, 56, 88, 89

National Socialist takeover (1933) and, 73, 87

political violence and, 59, 70

protection rackets/shakedowns, 48

purge of (“Night of the Long Knives,” June/July 1934), 90–93, 106

raids on Berlin party headquarters by (1930/31), 57, 60

reorganisation of (1925–26), 30

reorganisation of (1933), 88–89

Ernst Röhm and, 15–16, 24, 25, 29, 58, 59, 88–90, 211

role of, 1, 15–16, 24, 27

von Salomon and, 29, 31, 32, 45, 49, 55, 58

SS subordinated to (1926–34), 30, 32, 49, 58, 59, 60, 90, 93

unrest within (1930–31), 55–60

as workhorse of National Socialist movement, 45, 49, 56

Sachsenhausen concentration camp, 106, 107, 115, 126, 270, 277, 370, 395n

Salomon, Franz Pfeffer von, 29, 30–31, 32, 45, 49, 55, 58

Scandinavia, 265, 266, 268, 283, 302, 335, 405

Schäfer, Dr. Emanuel, 225

Schäfer, Ernst, 128

Schaub, Julius, 26

Schellenberg, Walter, 77, 141, 147, 148, 307, 398–99, 403, 405–6

Schindler, Oskar, 244

Schleicher, Kurt von, 70–73, 92

Schmauser, SS-
Brigadeführer
, 93

Schmidhuber, Wilhelm, 399

Schmidt, Andreas, 264

Schmidt, Otto, 216–17, 218

Schmorell, Alex, 146

Scholl, Hans, 146

Scholl, Sophie, 146

Schöngarth, Dr. Karl Eberhard, 328

Schreck, Julius, 16, 26, 27, 28, 30, 30n, 42

Schröder, Kuno, 158, 159

Schultz, Dr., 65

Schultze, Walter, 19

Schulze, Richard, 207

Schwarz, Heinrich, 393

Schwarz-Bostunitsch, SS-Major, 158

SD—Security Service (
Sicherheitsdienst
)

activities outside Germany, 136–39, 141

amateurism of, 131, 139, 141

Anschluss
(1938) and, 162–64

Auschwitz and, 371

Adolf Eichmann and, 156, 158–59, 384

Gestapo and, 131–32, 140, 142, 159, 241n

Heydrich and, 83, 110, 111, 130–31, 133, 134, 140, 141, 155–56, 159

“Jewish Question” and, 154, 155–56, 158–62, 163, 166–68, 227–28, 235, 384–85

Office II, SD-Home 112 department, 155, 159–62, 241

organisation and structure of, 131, 132, 134–37, 141

police force and, 111, 133, 134, 140, 141

public opinion surveys (
Reports from the Reich
), 135–36, 143

purge of SA (June/July 1934) and, 91, 92

RSHA and, 140–41

SD-Main Office (
Sicherheitshauptamt
/
Sicher heitsdienst
), 111, 133, 134, 140, 141

special task groups
see
special task groups (
Einsatzgruppen
)

“Spheres of Life” branch, 135–36

Second World War

Allied landings in Normandy (June 1944), 398, 400

Ardennes offensive (1944–45), 404

German declaration of war on USA (December 1941), 327, 399

German invasion of Poland (1939), 195, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225–29, 258

German surrender (7 May 1945), 408

invasion of Denmark and Norway (April 1940), 265

invasion of Soviet Union (1941), 3, 267, 289, 298–301, 306–20, 321–24

Soviet advance into Germany (1945), 282–83, 290

Stalingrad, 300, 398

western campaign, 240, 242, 248–54, 265

Seidel-Dittmarsch, Siegfried, 111

Seisser, Hans Ritter von, 17, 18

Selvester, Captain, 409

Semlin camp (near Belgrade), 389

Serbia, 389

Sereny, Gitta, 351n

Seydlitz, General von, 314

“shell-shock,” 174, 185

Siegroth, Margarete (wife of Himmler), 44, 45

Sievers, Wolfram, 128

Simon, Hermann, 175

Six, Franz, 134–35, 141, 143, 159, 308

Skorzeny, Otto, 392, 402

slave labour

at concentration camps, 99–100, 106, 108, 115, 116, 277

at extermination camps, 236, 327, 340, 342, 356, 360, 365, 370–71, 373–74, 381–82, 383–84

Slovakia, 118, 138, 241, 262, 268, 332, 335, 354, 385, 389

Sobibor extermination camp, 345, 351, 353–54, 356–57, 358, 362, 363, 387

social class

aristocracy, 50–51, 62

German Army and, 2

middle classes, 13–14, 32, 43, 53, 68, 142

officer training system and, 207

Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) and, 142

SD and, 130, 132

support for NSDAP and, 14, 32, 43, 53, 54, 68, 142

working classes, 32, 54, 68

Soldau concentration camp, 227, 308

soldiers’ councils (1918–19), 7–8, 11

Sonnenstein killing centre, 186, 187

Sosnowiece labour camp, 237

Soviet Union

advance into Germany (1945), 283, 290

advances (June 1944–January 1945), 392, 393, 394, 400

civil administration of occupied territories, 321

German invasion of (1941), 3, 267, 289, 298–302, 306–20, 321–24

invasion of Poland (1939), 229n, 232, 310

liberation of Auschwitz (27 January 1945), 395, 396–97

Red Orchestra espionage ring, 144

Stalingrad victory (1942–43), 398

see also
Jews in Soviet Union

Spanish civil war, 145, 273, 407

Spartacus League (
Spartakusbund
), 7, 8

Special Operations Executive, British, 148

special task groups (
Einsatzgruppen
), 3, 150, 269

Babi Yar massacre (September 1941), 314–18

in Hungary, 390–91, 392

leadership cadre, 308–9

role in Poland (from 1939), 191, 225–29, 232–33, 242–43, 308, 309

role in Soviet Union (from 1941), 306–20, 324

Special Task Unit Tunis, 386

war crimes/atrocities by, 232–33, 314–19

Speer, Albert, 114, 116

Sporrenberg, SS-Major General, 362

SS (Schutzstaffeln)

aristocratic recruits, 50–51

attempts to conceal evidence of atrocities, 363, 378, 394, 395

auxiliary police force units, 73, 80–81, 85

in Berlin, 57, 59, 60–61

camp guard force (Death’s Head units)
see
Death’s Head units (camp guard force)

central organisation of, 1–2, 48–49, 110, 111, 113–18

chivalry, 4, 66, 124, 126, 127, 207, 413

civil administration of occupied Soviet territories, 321

construction and business ventures, 114–16, 375

control of policing and security apparatus, 2, 74, 85, 86, 90, 110, 132, 133, 196–97

creation of (1925), 1, 26–28

discipline in, 32, 53

early years of (to January 1933), 2, 27–32, 33, 43–45, 46–51, 53, 57–61, 63–67, 70, 73–74

euthanasia programme and, 4, 169, 179–82, 187, 188, 191

Fördernde Mitglieder
(FM—sponsoring members), 48

funding and, 48, 110, 113–14, 122, 141, 198, 200

General-SS, 111, 116, 118, 118n, 131, 140, 201, 210, 219, 247, 322, 411

German defeat and, 398–99

Heydrich appointed Chief of Intelligence (1931), 74, 79–80

Himmler appointed National Leader (January 1929), 33

honour and, 65, 66, 124

HSSPF (Senior SS and Police Leader) role, 139–40, 231–32, 322, 338, 339, 345

ideological training, 120, 123, 124, 207, 209

ideology of, 2, 3, 4, 61, 62–67, 92, 142–43, 156, 180, 194, 393, 397, 413

20 July proclamation, 93

Leadership Staff (
Führungsstab
), 111

loyalty of, 58, 60–61, 65, 66, 93

Main Offices (
Hauptämter
)
see
Main Offices (
Hauptämter
)

Marriage Law (December 1931), 64–65

medical experiments at concentration camps, 100–4, 128–29, 382

membership numbers, 43n

militarised units
see
militarised units of SS; SS-Special Purpose Troops; Waffen-SS motto of, 60–61

NSDAP internal crises (1930–31), 57, 58, 59–61

numerical strength of, 1, 32, 46, 49, 93

as party “elite”/“aristocracy,” 2, 32, 43, 50–51, 62–63, 142, 304, 413

physical criteria for entry, 63, 203–4

policing function (from 1930), 58, 60

political activities/role, 31, 58–59, 70, 73

post-war leniency towards leaders, 412

principle of leadership and, 65, 66, 67

purge of SA (June/July 1934), 90–91, 92

racial theory and, 2, 62–67, 119–24, 413

ranks/groupings, 49–50, 105n

Rassenamt
(Race Office), 64–65, 110, 119

recruitment and, 49, 58, 63–64, 93

Schreck’s “protection squad”circular (21 September 1925), 28, 42

security/intelligence role, 43, 44, 74, 79–80, 83

see also
SD—Security Service (
Sicherheitsdienst
)

structure of, 28–29, 30, 48, 49–50

subordinated to SA (1926–34), 30, 31, 32, 49, 58, 59, 60, 90, 93

subscriptions, 28, 48, 113

types of recruit, 2, 27

uniform items, 28, 44, 213

women employed by, 108

SS-Special Purpose Troops

Anschluss
(1938) and, 218–19, 220

comradeship in, 210

engineering battalion, 200, 218, 220, 221, 222

establishment/expansion of, 111, 114, 116

Hitler and, 200, 212, 215, 219, 220, 222–23, 246–47

Hitler decree of 17 August 1938 and, 219–20, 246–47

Inspectorate of, 210, 222

invasion of Poland (1939) and, 221, 222, 223

march into Sudetenland (1938), 220

medical unit, 220, 222

motorisation of, 219, 220, 222, 247, 268

numerical strength of, 254

officer training system, 133, 145, 197, 206–9, 211, 219, 250

reconnaissance battalions, 200, 220, 221, 222

recruitment criteria, 201–4

recruitment of senior officers, 205–6, 209–10, 214

signals battalion, 200, 218

structure/organisation of, 200, 210–11

training of soldiers, 200, 210, 211–12

uniforms and camouflage clothing, 213

see also
militarised units of SS; Waffen-SS

“stab in the back” concept, 13, 53

Stabswache
(Headquarters Guard), 16, 26

Stadelheim Prison, 92, 93, 199

Stahlecker, Franz, 236, 307

Stahlhelm
(Steel Helmets), 24, 29, 88, 206

Stalin, Joseph, 298

Stalingrad, 300, 398

Stangl, Franz, 179–80, 191, 351–54, 355–56, 359, 362n, 412

Stauffenberg, Claus von, 400–2

Stein, George H., 212

Steiner, Felix, 122, 211–12, 213–14, 268, 283–84, 285–86, 302

Stennes, Walter, 55–57, 59–60, 67

sterilisation programme, 169–71, 188, 189, 191

Stevens, Richard, 147

Stranders, Vivian, 280

Strasbourg, University of, 129

Strasser, Gregor, 22, 31, 41, 42–43, 45, 71, 72, 92

Strasser, Otto, 44, 51, 55, 137

Streckenbach, Bruno, 225, 309, 310

Streicher, Julius, 23, 104

Stresemann, Gustav, 52

Stroop, Jürgen, 358

Stuckart, Dr. Wilhelm, 328

Student, Kurt, 248

Der Stürmer
(
Stormer
), 104

Stutthof concentration camp, 108, 226, 396

Sudetenland, 220

swastika symbol, 30

Sweden, 387, 388, 405, 406

Szalasi, Ferenc, 392

Tarnów prison (near Cracow), 371

Taubert, Siegfried, 134

Thälmann, Ernst, 69

Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto, 334, 388

Thule Society, 11, 76

Thurn und Taxis, Prince Gustav von, 11

Tibet, expedition to (1938), 128

trade unions, 82

Treblinka extermination camp, 345, 355, 357, 358–60, 363, 364

Tunisia, 386

Ukraine, 310, 314–19, 323, 324

Ukrainian guards at death camps, 4, 343, 344, 347, 349, 353, 354, 356, 357, 359, 361, 365

Ulex, Wilhelm, 233

“Ultra” intelligence system, British, 148

Union of Revolutionary National Socialists (Black Front), 55

United States of America, 241, 327, 399, 405

Waffen-SS recruits from, 258–59, 262, 264, 291–93

van der Lubbe, Marinus, 81

Versailles Treaty (1919), 14, 21, 88

Vinkt (Belgium), 195

Völkische Beobachter
(
Folkish Observer
), 31, 45

Wäckerle, Hilmar, 84, 98

Waffen-SS

1940 plans for post-WW2, 267

Auschwitz guards/personnel, 371, 373–74, 379, 380, 381, 394

Gottlob Berger and
see
Berger, Gottlob

coining of phrase “Waffen-SS,” 247–48

combat formations/units, 193–94

Command Main Office (FHA), 118, 301, 322

command relationships (combat), 195, 200, 218–19, 220, 221

command relationships (peacetime), 195, 200, 219

Command Staff, 213–14, 322

comradeship in, 210

creation of (1939), 246–48

criminals as recruits, 269–70, 272, 274, 304, 323–24

as elite force, 304, 305

expansion of, 209, 254, 268, 304–5

Hitler decree of 17 August 1938 and, 219–20, 246