Members of all of its branches committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during World War II (1939–45). The SS was also involved in commercial enterprises and exploited concentration camp inmates as slave labour.

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]

Dec 18, 2009 · By the start of World War II (1939-45), the SS had more than 250,000 members and multiple subdivisions, engaged in activities ranging from intelligence operations to running Nazi concentration...

Between 1925 and 1945, the German Schutzstaffel (SS) grew from eight members to over a quarter of a million Waffen-SS and over a million Allgemeine-SS members. Other members included the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV), which ran …

The Schutzstaffel was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. When Heinrich Himmler became leader of SS(1925.) it grew up to largest and most powerful organisation in Third Reich. There were lot of SS divisions in …

Sep 2, 2017 · In April 1929, Heinrich Himmler took charge of the SS. An agricultural chemist and veteran of WWI, Himmler was the man who gave the SS much of its distinct identity and character.

Jan 25, 2025 · During World War II the SS carried out massive executions of political opponents, Roma (Gypsies), Jews, Polish leaders, communist authorities, partisan resisters, and Russian prisoners of war. Following the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies, the SS was declared a criminal organization by the Allied Tribunal in Nürnberg in 1946.

SS Members after World War II. On May 6, 1945, Hitler's successor, Reich President and Admiral Karl Dönitz, formally relieved Himmler of his duties, in accordance with Hitler's orders.

By the end of WWII, over 1,000,000 soldiers in 38 divisions would serve in the Waffen-SS, including over 200,000 conscripts. The Waffen-SS was a part of the German Schutzstaffel or German SS, which saw its rise during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

In 1942 the SS-TK became members of the Waffen SS. In early 1945 when it became clear that Germany would lose the war, members of the SS-TK were given orders to destroy evidence of the camps’ existence.