SA/SS

Aufgabe
Party army of the National Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP)

Struktur
SS: Schutzstaffel (literally, Guard Squadron), the élite cadre of the National Socialists, 1925-34, initially active within the framework of the SA (Storm Troops); mission: personal protection of Adolf Hitler, disruption of opposition Party gatherings; 1929, Heinrich Himmler designated Reichsführer (Reichs Leader) of the SS; develops into the party police of the NSDAP; takes the lead in the exclusion of the SA leadership in the so-called Röhm-Putsch; thereafter acts independently; its power is strengthened through formation of SS deployment troops; formation of the Waffen-SS (militarized SS) in rivalry with the Wehrmacht (armed forces); gains greatly in influence during the Second World War (control of the Gestapo, the security service, organization of the concentration camps, construction of its own economic empire); the principal instrument of Hitler and the National Socialist leadership in the implementation of the destruction of European Jewry; 1946, identified as a criminal organization by the Nürnberg War Crimes Tribunal.

Tätigkeiten

	founded 1920 as guards for functions of the NSDAP in Munich
	after 1929 (outbreak of the world economic crisis), rapid expansion of the SA
	1932 temporarily banned
	in 1933 after the seizure of power by the National Socialists it persecutes and terrorizes opponents and controls the first concentration camp
	on June 30, 1934, Hitler has Röhm and the leaders of the SA shot (the so-called Röhm Putsch) in order to restrict the influence of the SA and to strengthen the position in the Third Reich of the Reichswehr (the armed forces) and the SS.