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''Reichsführer-SS'' was both a title and a rank. The title of ''Reichsführer'' was first created in 1926 by the second commander of the SS, [[Joseph Berchtold]]. Berchtold's predecessor, [[Julius Schreck]], never referred to himself as ''Reichsführer,'' but the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became ''Reichsführer-SS'' and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank of ''[[Obergruppenführer]]''. This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called ''Reichsführer-SS''. |
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''Reichsführer-SS'' was both a title and a rank. The title of ''Reichsführer'' was first created in 1926 by the second commander of the SS, [[Joseph Berchtold]]. Berchtold's predecessor, [[Julius Schreck]], never referred to himself as ''Reichsführer,'' but the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became ''Reichsführer-SS'' and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank of ''[[Obergruppenführer]]''. This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called ''Reichsführer-SS''. |
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Prior to the [[Night of the Long Knives]], the SS was an elite corps of the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA or storm troopers), and the ''Reichsführer-SS'' was subordinate to the SA's operating head, the ''[[Stabschef]]''. On 20 July 1934, as part of the purge of the SA, the SS was made an independent branch of the [[Nazi Party]], responsible only to Hitler. From that point on, the title of ''Reichsführer-SS'' became an actual rank, and in fact the highest rank of the SS.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=316}} In this position, Himmler was on paper the equivalent of a ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' in the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]]. As Himmler's position and authority grew in [[Nazi Germany]], so did his rank in a "de facto" sense.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=9, 17, 26-27, 30, 46-47}} Further, there was never more than one ''Reichsführer-SS'' at any one time, with Himmler holding the position as his personal title from 1929 (becoming his actual rank in 1934) until April 1945.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=9, 17}} |
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Prior to the [[Night of the Long Knives]], the SS was an elite corps of the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA or storm troopers), and the ''Reichsführer-SS'' was subordinate to the SA's operating head, the ''[[Stabschef]]''. On 20 July 1934, as part of the purge of the SA, the SS was made an independent branch of the [[Nazi Party]], responsible only to Hitler. From that point on, the title of ''Reichsführer-SS'' became an actual rank, and in fact the highest rank of the SS.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=316}} In this position, Himmler was on paper the equivalent of a ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' in the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]]. As Himmler's position and authority grew in [[Nazi Germany]], so did his rank in a "de facto" sense.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=9, 17, 26-27, 30, 46-47}} Further, there was never more than one ''Reichsführer-SS'' at any one time, with Himmler holding the position as his personal title from 1929 (becoming his actual rank in 1934) until April 1945.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=9, 17}} He liked boys |