Creation of the Waffen SS, SS-VT to Das Reich including Totenkopf, Leibstandarte AH, Sepp Dietrich

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Episode 112

A number of my uploads cover the beginning of a sensational 1941 combat diary from a platoon leader in the SS formation that would become the 2. SS PzD Das Reich. This video covers some background content of the unit before operation Barbarossa.

This rare color footage was taken in 1938 in Innsbruck, Austria, or the province that was called Ostmark during the 3rd Reich.

In addition to providing general security for the NSDAP, the Schutzstaffel or SS, also had the representative responsibilities of taking part in Nazi party political events, parading, guarding monuments and ceremonial duties during visits from foreign representatives.

These responsibilities were important to the Nazi party however to most in the German military the SS were nothing more than stylish pavement pounders. This didn’t sit well with the para-military organization’s leader Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. In 1934 the SS Verfügungstruppe, or SS-VT, was formed with the intention of it becoming the combat troops of the Nazi party. Himmler even dreamed of it eventuallyeven replacing the Wehrmacht. During a Reichstag speech given on March 16, 1935 Hitler made the formation of the SS-VT public which undoubtably made many of the army generals nervous.

After all, only about a year earlier with the night of the long knives and the assassination of Ernst Röhm was the SA finally cut down to size. The professional army had supported this putsch in order to supposedly remain the primary bearer of arms for the German nation. Would they now have to compete with a growing SS? Throughout the 3rd Reich Hitler played the different power factions off against each other to his own advantage and competition between the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS was one of the principal, reoccurring, power struggles.

The SS-VT was made up of three regiments and each regiment would contain three battalions, a mortar company and a motorcycle company. In 1936 looking to provide the trainees with quality military training, Himmler named Lieutenant General Paul Hausser, a capable former army officer, to become the Inspector of the SS-VT. He is given credit for planting the seed which would eventually take hold and convert the formations from para military into a military units.

By Sept 1, 1939 when war broke out, the SS military formations under Himmler’s command included the Leibstandarte AH, Hitlers personal body guard unit, that were under the command of Josef Sepp Dietrich. During this period while maintaining their original responsibilities they also received a more complete basic soldier training. I’ll certainly be doing videos covering that formation so please remember to subscribe.

Then there was the SS-VT under the command of Paul Hausser which included Regiment 1 named Deutschland. Here is an example of the collar tab these soldiers wore. Then there was Regiment 2 named Germania that carried the Standarte, or banner Detschland Erwacht! And finally Regiment 3 named Der Führer which is the Regiment Kurt, the writer of our war diary was a platoon leader in. You’ll find a link to the rest of that incredible series at the end of this video.

The third group was called the SS-TV, or Totenkopfverbände, not to be mixed up with the SS-VT. They were made up of a rotation of concentration guards from the Concentration Camp Inspecorate under the command of Theoodor Eicke. They wore the deaths head, or Totenkopf, skull and crossbones rather than the SS runes.

This footage is from Operation Fall Weiss, the German attack on Poland. The SS-VT formation was part of the Panzer Division Kempf named after its commander. They were active in the Battle of Mlawa and are reported to have not performed well. The SS men attacked with somewhat reckless abandon causing them to suffer comparatively heavy casualty rates. The Wehrmacht reported that they were poorly trained and that their officers weren’t competent enough to lead combat formations. They were involved in atrocities against both civilians and captured soldiers that regulars believed unbefitting of the German army. Their performance had not been adequate but it’s also likely that the rivalry between the branches of service lead reports to be somewhat exaggerated. The Polish campaign had been a resounding success for the German military as a whole, but SS combat units underperformed and the regular army let that be known.

An expansion of the new branch had begun in October of 1939 when the three Regiments Deutschland, Germania and Der Führer were strengthened and reorganized to become the SS-Verfügungs-Division. Also now of full divisional strength was the Leibstandarte AH, the SS Totenkopf Division, and a full strength police division. The German high command had done its best to smother the development of the Waffen SS formations but suddenly their numbers had risen from just 18,000 to well over 100,000 men.