Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was an "Obergruppenführer" in the Waffen-SS during World War II, who commanded several SS divisions and corps, together with which high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II,   he contributed significantly to the development and transformation of the Waffen-SS into a military force made up of volunteers and conscripts, and who played a key role in the post-war efforts by former members of the Waffen-SS to achieve historical and legal rehabilitation?
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Felix Steiner Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was an "Obergruppenführer" in the Waffen-SS during World War II, who commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Together with Paul Hausser, he contributed significantly to the development and transformation of the Waffen-SS into a military force made up of volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and un-occupied lands.
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Paul Hausser Paul Hausser (7 October 1880 – 21 December 1972) was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II who played a key role in the post-war efforts by former members of the Waffen-SS to achieve historical and legal rehabilitation.
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Government of Nazi Germany The Government of Nazi Germany was a dictatorship run according to the "Führerprinzip". As the successor to the government of the Weimar Republic, it inherited the government structure and institutions of the previous state. Although the Weimar Constitution technically remained in effect until Germany's surrender in 1945, there were no actual restraints on the exercise of state power. In addition to the already extant government of the Weimar Republic, the Nazi leadership created a large number of different organizations for the purpose of helping them govern and remain in power. They rearmed and strengthened the military, set up an extensive state security apparatus and created their own personal party army, which in 1940 became known as the Waffen-SS.
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Schnez-Truppe The "Schnez-Truppe" was an illegal clandestine army put together in Germany from 1949 by veterans of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS under the leadership of Albert Schnez, that intended to fight against the Soviet Union. It has been reported as having had around 2,000 officers, with a total strength of up to 40,000 members.
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Moritz von Drebber Moritz von Drebber (12 February 1892 – 30 May 1968) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 297th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
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Oswald Kaduk Oswald Kaduk (August 26, 1906 – May 31, 1997) was a German low-ranking SS commander (SS-Unterscharführer) and "Rapportführer" at Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.
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Panzer ace "Panzer ace" ("tank ace") is a contemporary term used in English-speaking popular culture to describe highly-decorated German tank ("Panzer") commanders and crews during World War II. While not prevalent in World War II within the Wehrmacht, it was at times used by the Waffen-SS to publicise its most successful personnel, as the SS organisation was far more attuned to the propaganda imperatives of Nazi Germany. These commanders were credited with the destruction of large numbers of tanks and other armoured vehicles. The British and United States militaries did not recognise any of their tank commanders for "tank kills" or publicise their achievements, though some were also responsible for destroying a large number of enemy tanks.
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Martin Sommer Walter Gerhard Martin Sommer (8 February 1915 – 7 June 1988) was an SS Hauptscharführer (master sergeant) who served as a guard at the concentration camps of Dachau and Buchenwald. Sommer, known as the "Hangman of Buchenwald" was considered a depraved sadist who reportedly ordered two Austrian priests, Otto Neururer and Mathias Spannlang, crucified upside-down.
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Ernst-Günther Krätschmer Ernst-Günther Krätschmer (July 2, 1920 – May 26, 1984) was a German SS-officer. After World War II he took part in efforts to shape a positive image of the Waffen-SS in popular culture. He published about the Knight's Cross recipients of the Waffen-SS, contributed to the publications of the HIAG, the revisionist veterans' organisation of the Waffen-SS, and organized support for Walter Reder, who was being imprisoned in Italy for war crimes
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30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS The 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (German: "30. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS" ) was a German Waffen SS infantry division formed largely from Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian personnel of the Schutzmannschaft-Brigade Siegling in August 1944 at Warsaw, Poland. The division was transferred to southeastern France by mid-August 1944 to combat the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). The division's performance in combat was poor, and two battalions mutinied, murdered their German leaders, and defected to the FFI. Other troops of the division crossed the Swiss border and were interned. Afterwards, some of the division's personnel were transferred to the Russian Liberation Army while others were retained to form the SS "White Ruthenian" infantry brigade from January 1945.
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7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen" was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht during World War II in Yugoslavia. Formed in 1941 from "Volksdeutsche" (ethnic German) volunteers and conscripts from the Banat, Independent State of Croatia (NDH), Hungary and Romania, it fought a counter-insurgency campaign against communist-led Yugoslav Partisan resistance forces in the occupied Serbia, NDH and Montenegro. It was given the title "Prinz Eugen" after Prince Eugene of Savoy, an outstanding military leader of the Habsburg Empire who liberated the Banat and Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18. It was initially named the SS-"Freiwilligen"-Division "Prinz Eugen" (SS-Volunteer Division "Prinz Eugen").
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Obersturmführer Obersturmführer (] , "senior storm leader") was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. Translated as “senior assault (or storm) leader”. The rank was akin in seniority to that of a "Oberleutnant" in the German Army and also the equivalent of 1st lieutenant in foreign armies.
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Leadership ranks of the Sturmabteilung Leadership ranks of the Sturmabteilung were the titles and positions held by the commanders of the "Sturmabteilung" (SA) of the Nazi Party between the years of 1920 and 1945.
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Kapo (concentration camp) A kapo or prisoner functionary (German: "Funktionshäftling" , see ) was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp who was assigned by the SS guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks. Also called "prisoner self-administration", the prisoner functionary system minimized costs by allowing camps to function with fewer SS personnel. The system was designed to turn victim against victim, as the prisoner functionaries were pitted against their fellow prisoners in order to maintain the favor of their SS overseers. If they were derelict, they would be returned to the status of ordinary prisoners and be subject to other kapos. Many prisoner functionaries were recruited from the ranks of violent criminal gangs rather than from the more numerous political, religious and racial prisoners; those were known for their brutality toward other prisoners. This brutality was tolerated by the SS and was an integral part of the camp system.
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Hermann Schaper "SS-Hauptsturmführer" Hermann Schaper (born 12 August 1911 at Strassburg im Elsass; deceased), was an SS functionary of Nazi Germany (card number 3484) and the German member of the NSDAP (No. 105606) during the Second World War. He was a Holocaust perpetrator responsible for atrocities committed by the "Einsatzgruppen" in German occupied Poland and the Soviet Union and was convicted after the war of numerous war crimes.
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Josef Diefenthal Josef Diefenthal (5 October 1915 – 13 April 2001) was a mid-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany and a war criminal during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 February 1945 for his actions during the Ardennes Offensive, while in command of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, SS Division Leibstandarte.
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Artur Phleps Artur Gustav Martin Phleps (29 November 1881 – 21 September 1944) was an Austro-Hungarian, Romanian and German army officer who held the rank of "SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS" (lieutenant general) in the "Waffen-SS" during World War II. An Austro-Hungarian Army officer before and during World War I, he specialised in mountain warfare and logistics, and had been promoted to "Oberstleutnant" (lieutenant colonel) by the end of the war. During the interwar period he joined the Romanian Army, reaching the rank of "General-locotenent" (major general), and also became an adviser to King Carol. After he spoke out against the government, he was sidelined and asked to be dismissed from the army.
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SS-Stabsscharführer SS-Stabsscharführer was a non-commissioned officer title which was used by the Waffen-SS between the years of 1938 to 1945. "SS-Stabsscharführer" was not an actual SS rank, but rather a positional title held by the senior SS-NCO of a company, battalion, or regiment. Typically, those holding the position of "Stabsscharführer" ranked "SS-Oberscharführer" (OR-6) or "SS-Hauptscharführer" (OR-7) above.
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Emilio Esteban Infantes Emilio Esteban-Infantes y Martín (May 18, 1892 – September 6, 1962) was a Spanish officer who served during the Spanish Civil War, and later in World War II as commander of the Wehrmacht's Blue Division (Spanish "División Azul", German: "Blaue Division" ), or the 250th Infantry Division of the German Wehrmacht. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
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Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ] ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German political and military leader as well as one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. A veteran World War I fighter pilot ace, he was a recipient of the "Pour le Mérite". He was the last commander of "Jagdgeschwader" 1, the fighter wing once led by Manfred von Richthofen.
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August Meyszner August Edler von Meyszner (3 August 1886 – 24 January 1947) was an Austrian gendarmerie officer, right-wing politician, and senior "Ordnungspolizei" (order police) officer who held the post of Higher SS and Police Leader in the German-occupied territory of Serbia from January 1942 to March 1944, during World War II. He has been described as one of "Reichsführer-SS" Heinrich Himmler's most brutal subordinates.
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Gustav Wagner Gustav Franz Wagner (18 July 1911 – 3 October 1980) was an Austrian member of the "SS" with the rank of Staff sergeant ("Oberscharführer"). Wagner was a starter deputy commander of the Sobibór extermination camp in German-occupied Poland, where more than 200,000 Jews were gassed during Operation Reinhard. Due to his brutality, he was known as "The Beast" and "Wolf".