Waffen-SS

Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS troops in the Soviet Union, 1941
Active	17 March 1933–10 May 1945
Country	Germany
Allegiance	Adolf Hitler
Branch	Schutzstaffel
Type	Panzerdivision Panzergrenadier SS-Kavallerie-Brigade Gebirgsjäger
Size	900,000 including foreign volunteers and conscripts[1] List of Waffen SS units
Part of	SS: under operational control of the OKW and Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS
Garrison/HQ	SS-Führungshauptamt, Berlin
Motto(s)	Meine Ehre heißt Treue[2] (transl. "My honor is called loyalty")
Colours	Black   White   Red
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Ceremonial chief	Heinrich Himmler
Notable commanders	Sepp Dietrich Paul Hausser Felix Steiner

The Waffen-SS (German: [ˈvafn̩ʔɛsˌʔɛs]; lit. 'Armed SS') was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands.^[3] It was disbanded in May 1945.

The Waffen-SS grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II. Combining combat and police functions, it served alongside the German Army (Heer), Ordnungspolizei (Order Police), and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS operational command office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, "High Command of the Armed Forces"),^[4] with some units being subordinated to the Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS (Command Staff Reichsführer-SS) directly under Himmler's control.^[5]

Initially, in keeping with the racial policy of Nazi Germany, membership was open only to people of Germanic origin (so-called "Aryan ancestry").^[6] The rules were partially relaxed in 1940,^[7][8] and after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Nazi propaganda claimed that the war was a "European crusade against Bolshevism" and subsequently units consisting largely or solely of foreign volunteers and conscripts were also raised.^[9] These Waffen-SS units were made up of men mainly from among the nationals of Nazi-occupied Europe. Despite relaxation of the rules, the Waffen-SS was still based on the racist ideology of Nazism, and ethnic Poles (who were viewed as subhumans) were specifically barred from the formations.^[10][11][12]

The Waffen-SS were involved in numerous atrocities.^[13] Due to its involvement in the Holocaust, the Porajmos, and numerous war crimes and crimes against the civilian population, including torture,^[14] human experimentation,^[15][16] kidnapping of children,^[17] mass rape,^[18] child sexual abuse^[19] and mass murder,^[20][21] it was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1946. Therefore Waffen-SS members, with the exception of conscripts, who comprised about one third of the membership, were denied many of the rights afforded to military veterans.^[22][23][24]