SS and police leader

The title of SS and Police Leader (SS und Polizeiführer) designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (Ordnungspolizei), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the occupied territories.

Levels

Three levels of subordination were established for holders of this title:

SS and Police Leader (SS- und Polizeiführer, SSPF)
Higher SS and Police Leader (Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer, HSSPF)
Supreme SS and Police Leader (Höchster SS- und Polizeiführer, HöSSPF)

Establishment

The office of Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer (Higher SS and Police Leader, HSSPF) was authorized by a decree of 13 November 1937, signed by Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick. This decree authorized the creation of HSSPF in each of the 13 German armed forces Wehrkreise (Military Districts) in the German Reich, but only in the event of mobilization. At that time, the HSSPF would serve as deputies to Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer-SS and Chief of the German Police, for the purpose of coordinating and integrating all local and regional SS and police formations into the defense organization of the Reich. The first HSSPF activated were those appointed in the Wehrkreise bordering Austria during the Anschluss crisis in March 1938, and Czechoslovakia during the summer and autumn of the same year.^[1]

Appointments to these posts came from the ranks of existing SS-Oberabschnitte Führer (SS Main District Leaders), and in nearly all instances they held both positions simultaneously. The Oberabschnitte were the SS commands in each of the Wehrkreise. The purpose of the Higher SS and Police Leader was to be a direct command authority for every SS and police unit in these given geographical regions, answering only to Himmler and, through him, to Adolf Hitler. They were to act as Himmler's chief liaison to, and unifier of, all SS and police components in a region.^[2]

After the March 1938 Anschluss when Austria was absorbed into the German Reich, two new Wehrkreise and corresponding HSSPF were established there as well. Likewise, after the October 1939 conquest of Poland, two additional Wehrkreise and corresponding HSSPF were created for those Polish areas that were directly incorporated into the Reich.^[3]

In all other occupied territories, no Wehrkreise were established, so the HSSPF were independent commands with several subordinate SS- und Polizeiführer (SS and Police Leader, SSPF) commands reporting to them. These positions were created beginning in November 1939 to assist the HSSPF in administering the large areas under their jurisdiction.^[4]

Finally, in the autumn of 1943, Himmler created two Höchster SS- und Polizeiführer (Supreme SS and Police Leader, HöSSPF) posts with jurisdiction over very large territories; these were Italien (1943–1945) and Ukraine (1943–1944), each of which had both HSSPF and SSPF reporting to them.^[5]

Operations

The SS and Police Leaders directly commanded a headquarters staff with representatives from almost every branch of the SS and the police. This typically included the Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; regular police), SiPo (security police) including the Gestapo (secret police), Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; Nazi concentration camps), SD (intelligence service), and certain units of the Waffen-SS (combat units). Most of the HSSPF normally held the rank of SS-Gruppenführer or above, and answered directly to Himmler in all matters pertaining to the SS within their area of responsibility. Most SSPF normally held the rank of SS-Oberführer or SS-Brigadeführer and reported to their HSSPF. The role of all SS and Police Leaders was to be part of the SS control mechanism within their jurisdiction, policing the population and overseeing the activities of the SS men within each respective district.^[6] The HSSPF could bypass the chain of command of the administrative offices for the SS, SD, SiPo, SS-TV and Orpo in their district under the "guise of an emergency situation", thereby gaining direct operational control of these groups.^[7]

Himmler authorized SS and Police Bases (SS- und Polizeistützpunkte) to be established in occupied Poland and occupied areas of the Soviet Union. They were to be "armed industrialized agricultural complexes" to maintain order where they were established. This did not go beyond the planning stage.^[8]

In 1944 and 1945, many HSSPF were promoted to their corresponding general's rank in the Waffen-SS by Himmler. This was apparently an attempt to provide potential protection for them, by giving them combatant status under the Hague Convention rules of warfare.^[9]

War crimes and crimes against humanity

decrypted wireless telegram from "HSSPF Russland Mitte" (middle Russia) in 1942, reporting to Himmler the 'liquidation' of a village in Belarus (from NSA report^[10])

Another decrypt, 1941, HSSPF Russland Sud (south Russia), reporting to Himmler the 'liquidation' of Jewish people (from NSA report^[11])

The SS and Police Leaders were key figures in many of the war crimes committed by SS personnel. The HSSPF served as commanding SS generals for any Einsatzgruppen (death squads) operating in their area. This entailed ordering the deaths of tens of thousands of persons. In addition, they launched anti-partisan operations and directed police units to acquire forced labor for war-related projects.^[12]

The SS and Police Leaders were the overseeing authority of the Jewish ghettos in Poland and directly coordinated deportations to Nazi extermination camps. They had direct command over Order Police battalions and SD regiments that were assigned to guard the ghettos. The HSSPF regularly provided SS and police guards and other support personnel for the transports to the death camps, and also negotiated with the agencies and ministries of the Reich for rolling stock, supplies and provisions, rail schedules, and an array of other requirements necessary to keep the roundups and the death trains moving efficiently. And, in the satellite and client states, the HSSPF negotiated directly with the puppet or collaborationist governments to hand over their Jews for deportation to the East. Finally, the HSSPF were also directly involved in the construction and operation of the extermination camps.^[13] Following the end of the war, many SS and Police Leaders, particularly those who had served in Poland and the Soviet Union, either committed suicide or were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.^[14]

Tables

There were two HöSSPF commands and 38 HSSPF commands, 19 in the Reich and 19 in the occupied lands. Most of these had several different commanders over the lifetime of the post.^[15] Similarly, there were 49 SSPF commands subordinated to those HSSPF leaders in the occupied territories, also with multiple commanders over the years. Some of these areas were renamed, merged, or dissolved during the duration of their existence, particularly as German military control over the eastern territories was relentlessly eroded later in the war.^[16]

The tables below provide as complete an accounting of the SS and police commands and their leaders as is known. They list the permanent appointees, but omit any substitutes who temporarily acted in that capacity when the incumbent was on leave or on another assignment.

Table of Supreme SS and Police Leader (HöSSPF) Commands^[5]
SS Designation	Area	HQ	HöSSPF	Dates
Italien	Italy	Rome; Verona; Bolzano	Karl Wolff	September 1943 – May 1945
Ukraine	Ukraine	Kiev	Hans-Adolf Prützmann	October 1943 – September 1944

Table of Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) Commands in the German Reich
(By Wehrkreis)^[17]
SS Designation	Wehrkreis	Area	HQ	HSSPF	Dates
Nordost	I	East Prussia	Königsberg	Wilhelm Rediess Jakob Sporrenberg Hans-Adolf Prützmann	June 1938 – June 1940 June 1940 – May 1941 May 1941 – May 1945
Ostsee (Nord prior to April 1940)	II	Pomerania Mecklenburg	Stettin	Emil Mazuw	August 1938 – May 1945
Spree (Ost prior to November 1939)	III	Berlin Brandenburg	Berlin	August Heissmeyer	September 1939 – May 1945
Elbe	IV	Saxony Halle-Merseburg	Dresden	Theodor Berkelmann Udo von Woyrsch Ludolf-Hermann von Alvensleben	June 1938 – April 1940 April 1940 – February 1944 February 1944 – May 1945
Südwest	V	Württemberg Baden Alsace	Stuttgart	Kurt Kaul Otto Hofmann	September 1939 – April 1943 April 1943 – May 1945
West	VI	Westphalia Northern Rheinland	Düsseldorf	Fritz Weitzel Theodor Berkelmann Friedrich Jeckeln Karl Gutenberger	June 1938 – April 1940 April 1940 – July 1940 July 1940 – June 1941 July 1941 – May 1945
Süd	VII	Upper Bavaria Swabia	Munich	Karl von Eberstein Wilhelm Koppe	March 1938 – April 1945 April 1945 – May 1945
Südost	VIII	Silesia	Breslau	Ernst-Heinrich Schmauser Richard Hildebrandt	May 1941 – February 1945 February 1945 – May 1945
Fulda-Werra	IX	Hesse Hesse-Nassau Thuringia	Arolsen	Josias zu Waldeck und Pyrmont	October 1938 – May 1945
Nordsee (Nordwest prior to April 1940)	X	Schleswig-Holstein Northern Hanover Hamburg Oldenburg Bremen	Hamburg	Hans-Adolf Prützmann Rudolf Querner Georg-Henning Graf von Bassewitz-Behr	June 1938 – April 1941 May 1941 – January 1943 February 1943 – May 1945
Mitte	XI	Anhalt Brunswick Southern Hanover Magdeburg	Hanover	Friedrich Jeckeln Günther Pancke Wilhelm Fuchs Hermann Höfle Rudolf Querner	June 1938 – July 1940 July 1940 – July 1943 July 1943 – September 1943 September 1943 – October 1944 October 1944 – May 1945
Rhein (Merged with Westmark in May 1943 to form Rhein-Westmark)	XII	Southern Rheinland Palatinate Saarland (to July 1940) Luxembourg (from July 1940)	Wiesbaden	Richard Hildebrandt Jakob Sporrenberg Erwin Rösener Theodor Berkelmann	April 1939 – October 1939 October 1939 – July 1940 July 1940– November 1941 December 1941 – May 1943
Westmark (Lothringen-Saarpfalz prior to February 1941) (Merged with Rhein in May 1943 to form Rhein-Westmark)	XII	Saarland Lorraine	Metz; Saarbrücken	Theodor Berkelmann	July 1940 – May 1943
Rhein-Westmark	XII	Southern Rheinland Palatinate Luxembourg Saarland Lorraine	Wiesbaden	Theodor Berkelmann Jürgen Stroop	May 1943 – November 1943 November 1943 – May 1945
Main	XIII	Franconia Lower Bavaria Upper Palatinate	Nuremberg	Karl von Eberstein Benno Martin	March 1938 – December 1942 December 1942 – May 1945
Donau	XVII	Lower Austria Upper Austria	Vienna	Ernst Kaltenbrunner Rudolf Querner Walter Schimana	September 1938 – January 1943 January 1943 – October 1944 October 1944 – May 1945
Alpenland	XVIII	Carinthia Salzburg Styria Tyrol Vorarlberg	Salzburg	Alfred Rodenbücher Gustav Adolf Scheel Erwin Rösener	April 1939 – April 1941 April 1941 – November 1941 November 1941 – May 1945
Weichsel	XX	Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia	Danzig	Richard Hildebrandt Fritz Katzmann	September 1939 – April 1943 April 1943 – May 1945
Warthe	XXI	Reichsgau Wartheland	Posen	Wilhelm Koppe Theodor Berkelmann Heinz Reinefarth Willy Schmelcher	October 1939 – November 1943 November 1943 – December 1943 January 1944 – December 1944 December 1944 – May 1945

Table of Higher SS and Police Leader (HSSPF) Commands in the Occupied Territories^{[notes 1]}
(By date of establishment)^[18]
SS Designation	Area	HQ	HSSPF	Dates
Böhmen und Mähren	Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia	Prague	Karl Hermann Frank Richard Hildebrandt	April 1939 – April 1945 April 1945 – May 1945
Ost	General Government	Kracow	Theodor Eicke Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger Wilhelm Koppe	September 1939 October 1939 – November 1943 November 1943 – May 1945
Nord	Norway	Oslo	Fritz Weitzel Wilhelm Rediess	April 1940 – June 1940 June 1940 – May 1945
Nordwest	Netherlands	The Hague	Hanns Albin Rauter	June 1940 – May 1945
Ostland und Russland-Nord	Reichskommissariat Ostland	Riga	Hans-Adolf Prützmann Friedrich Jeckeln Hermann Behrends	June 1941 – October 1941 November 1941 – January 1945 February 1945 – May 1945
Russland-Mitte (To April 1943) Russland-Mitte und Weissruthenia	Belarus	Mogilev; Minsk	Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski Curt von Gottberg	June 1941 – June 1944 July 1944 – August 1944
Russland-Süd (Subordinated to HöSSPF Ukraine from October 1943)	Reichskommissariat Ukraine	Kiev	Friedrich Jeckeln Hans-Adolf Prützmann	June 1941 – October 1941 November 1941 – March 1944
Serbien, Montenegro und Sandschak	Serbia Montenegro	Belgrade	August Meyszner Hermann Behrends	January 1942 – April 1944 April 1944 – October 1944
Frankreich	Occupied France	Paris	Carl Oberg	May 1942 – November 1944
Kroatien	Croatia	Zagreb	Konstantin Kammerhofer	March 1943 – January 1945
Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland (Subordinated to HöSSPF Italien)	Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral	Trieste	Odilo Globocnik	September 1943 – May 1945
Griechenland	Greece	Athens	Jürgen Stroop Walter Schimana Hermann Franz	September 1943 – October 1943 October 1943 – September 1944 September 1944 – November 1944
Schwarzes Meer (Subordinated to HöSSPF Ukraine from October 1943)	Black Sea coast	Nikolajew	Ludolf-Hermann von Alvensleben Richard Hildebrandt	October 1943 – December 1943 December 1943 – September 1944
Dänemark	Denmark	Copenhagen	Günther Pancke	October 1943 – May 1945
Ungarn	Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)	Budapest	Otto Winkelmann	March 1944 – February 1945
Belgien-Nordfrankreich	Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France	Brussels	Richard Jungclaus Friedrich Jeckeln	August 1944 – September 1944 September 1944 – January 1945
Albanien	Albania	Tirana	Josef Fitzthum	August 1944 – December 1944
Slowakei	Slovak Republic (1939–1945)	Pressburg	Gottlob Berger Hermann Höfle	August 1944 – September 1944 September 1944 – May 1945
Siebenbürgen	Transylvania	–	Richard Hildebrandt Artur Phleps	August 1944 – September 1944 September 1944

Table of SS and Police Leader (SSPF) Commands^[16]
SS Designation	Reported to HSSPF or HöSSPF* of:	SS and Police Leader	Dates
Aserbeidschan**	Russland-Süd	Konstantin Kammerhofer	November 1942 – April 1943
Awdejewka**	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Karl-Heinz Bürger	October 1942 – December 1943
Bergvölker-Ordshonikidse**	Russland-Süd	Wilhelm Günther	May 1942 – August 1942
Bialystok	Russland-Mitte (To April 1943) Russland-Mitte und Weissruthenia	Werner Fromm Otto Hellwig Heinz Roch	January 1942 – January 1943 May 1943 – July 1944 July 1944 – October 1944
Bozen	Italien*	Karl Brunner	September 1943 – May 1945
Charkow	Russland-Süd	Willy Tensfeld Hans Haltermann Günther Merk	August 1941 – May 1943 May 1943 – September 1943 September 1943 – October 1943
Dnjepropetrowsk-Krivoi-Rog	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Georg-Henning Graf von Bassewitz-Behr Hermann Harm Waldemar Wappenhans Karl Schäfer	November 1941 – August 1942 August 1942 – October 1942 October 1942 – October 1943 October 1943 – November 1943
Estland	Ostland und Russland-Nord	Hinrich Möller Walther Schröder	August 1941 – April 1944 April 1944 – October 1944
Friaul (Renamed Adriatische-West, April 1945)	Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland	Ludolf Jakob von Alvensleben	October 1944 – May 1945
Görz	Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland	Karl Taus	May 1944 – May 1945
Istrien	Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland	Johann-Erasmus Freiherr von Malsen-Ponickau	October 1944 – May 1945
Kattowitz	Südost	Christoph Diehm	October 1944 – May 1945
Kaukasien-Kuban**	Russland-Süd	Konstantin Kammerhofer Theobald Thier	August 1942 – November 1942 November 1942 – May 1943
Kertsch-Tamanhalbinsel**	Russland-Süd	Theobald Thier	May 1943 – July 1943
Kiew	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Hans Haltermann Paul Hennicke	October 1941 – May 1943 May 1943 – December 1943
Krakau	Ost (General Government)	Karl Zech Hans Schwedler Julian Scherner Theobald Thier	November 1939 – October 1940 October 1940 – August 1941 August 1941 – March 1944 March 1944 – January 1945
Lemberg	Ost (General Government)	Fritz Katzmann Theobald Thier Christoph Diehm	August 1941 – April 1943 July 1943 – February 1944 February 1944 – September 1944
Lettland	Ostland und Russland-Nord	Walther Schröder	August 1941 – October 1944
Litauen	Ostland und Russland-Nord	Lucian Wysocki Hermann Harm Kurt Hintze	August 1941 – July 1943 July 1943 – April 1944 April 1944 – September 1944
Lublin	Ost (General Government)	Odilo Globocnik Jakob Sporrenberg	November 1939 – August 1943 August 1943 – November 1944
Metz	Rhein-Westmark	Anton Dunckern	October 1944 – November 1944
Mittelitalien-Verona	Italien*	Karl-Heinz Bürger	December 1943 – May 1945
Mitte-Norwegen	Nord	Richard Kaaserer	November 1944 – May 1945
Mogilew	Russland-Mitte (To April 1943) Russland-Mitte und Weissruthenia	Georg-Henning Graf von Bassewitz-Behr Franz Kutschera Hans Haltermann	August 1942 – April 1943 April 1943 – September 1943 September 1943 – July 1944
Montenegro	Serbien, Montenegro und Sandschak	Richard Fiedler	October 1943 – October 1944
Nikolajew	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Fritz Tittmann Waldemar Wappenhans Paul Zimmermann Ludolf-Hermann von Alvensleben	October 1941 – September 1942 September 1942 – April 1943 April 1943 – October 1943 October 1943 – February 1944
Nord-Kaukasien**	Russland-Süd	Karl-Heinz Bürger	August 1942 – October 1942
Nord-Norwegen	Nord	Heinz Roch	November 1944 – May 1945
Ober-Elsaß	Südwest	Friedrich Suhr	December 1944 – May 1945
Oberitalien-Mitte	Italien*	Ernst-Albrecht Hildebrandt	April 1944 – October 1944
Oberitalien-West	Italien*	Willy Tensfeld	January 1944 – May 1945
Pripet	Russland-Mitte und Weissruthenia	Ernst Hartmann	December 1943 – September 1944
Quarnero	Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland	Wilhelm Traub	October 1944 – May 1945
Radom	Ost (General Government)	Fritz Katzmann Carl Oberg Herbert Böttcher	November 1939 – August 1941 August 1941 – May 1942 May 1942 – January 1945
Rostow-Awdejewka	Russland-Süd	Richard Wendler Gerret Korsemann Paul Hennicke	January 1942 – May 1942 May 1942 – October 1942 October 1942 – May 1943
Rowno (Renamed Wolhynien-Luzk, September 1942)	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Gerret Korsemann Waldemar Wappenhans Wilhelm Günther Ernst Hartmann	August 1941 – January 1942 January 1942 – August 1942 September 1942 – June 1944 June 1944 – September 1944
Salzburg	Alpenland	Erwin Schulz	April 1945 – May 1945
Sandschak	Serbien, Montenegro und Sandschak	Karl von Krempler Richard Kaaserer	September 1943 – June 1944 June 1944 – November 1944
Saratow	Russland-Mitte	Walter Schimana	September 1941 – November 1941
Shitomir	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Otto Hellwig Willy Schmelcher Ernst Hartmann Christoph Diehm	October 1941 – May 1943 May 1943 – September 1943 October 1943 – January 1944 January 1944 – February 1944
Stalino-Donezgebiet	Russland-Süd	Hans Döring Willy Tensfeld	November 1941 – May 1943 May 1943 – September 1943
Stanislav-Rostow (Renamed Rostow-Awdejewka, January 1942)	Russland-Süd	Richard Wendler	August 1941 – January 1942
Süd-Norwegen	Nord	Jakob Sporrenberg	November 1944 – May 1945
Taurien-Krim-Simferopol	Russland-Süd Ukraine*	Ludolf-Hermann von Alvensleben Heinz Roch Richard Hildebrandt	November 1941 – October 1943 October 1943 – December 1943 December 1943 – September 1944
Triest	Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland	Georg Michalsen	October 1944 – May 1945
Tschernigow	Russland-Süd	Ludolf-Hermann von Alvensleben Willy Schmelcher Ernst Hartmann	October 1941 – November 1941 November 1941 – July 1943 July 1943 – October 1943
Warsaw	Ost (General Government)	Paul Moder Arpad Wigand Jürgen Stroop Franz Kutschera Paul Otto Geibel	November 1939 – July 1941 August 1941 – April 1943 April 1943 – September 1943 September 1943 – February 1944 March 1944 – February 1945
Weissruthenien (Also known as Minsk)	Ostland und Russland-Nord (To April 1943) Russland-Mitte und Weissruthenia	Jakob Sporrenberg Carl Zenner Karl Schäfer Curt von Gottberg Erich Ehrlinger	July 1941 – August 1941 August 1941 – May 1942 May 1942 – July 1942 July 1942 – September 1943 September 1943 – April 1944
Wolhynien-Brest-Litovsk (Merged with Rowno, 1 January 1942)	Russland-Süd	Waldemar Wappenhans	September 1941 – December 1941

**SSPF originally slated to be assigned to HSSPF Kaukasien.

References

Notes

^ A further HSSPF command, to be known as Kaukasien was planned for the Caucasus in 1942 to be commanded by Gerret Korsemann but was never activated. The six SSPF commands that were to be subordinated to it were instead assigned to HSSPF Russland-Süd. (Yerger, 1997, p.44)

Citations

^ On the Historiography of the SS in Museum of Tolerance Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^ Yerger 1997, p. 22.
^ Yerger 1997, pp. 36–37, 39–40.
^ Yerger 1997, pp. 22, 52.
^ ^a ^b Yerger 1997, pp. 23–25.
^ Koehl 2004, pp. 144, 148, 169, 176–177.
^ McNab 2009, p. 165.
^ Ingrao, Charles W.; Szabo, Franz A. J. (2008). The Germans and the East. Purdue University Press, p. 288. [1]
^ "Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Volume 20 day 195". Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
^ Robert J. Hanyok, CENTER FOR CRYPTOLOGIC HISTORY NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (2005). "Eavesdropping on Hell: Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust, 1939-1945" (PDF) (Second ed.). National Security Agency, United States Government. Retrieved 2011-03-20. UNITED STATES CRYPTOLOGIC HISTORY, Series IV, Volume 9 The message is on page 52 "Decrypt of Police message [National Archives and Records Administration] (NARA), RG 457, HCC, Box 1386)"
^ Hanyok, NSA, eavesdropping.pdf, Page 61, "German Police Decrypts, ZIP/G.P.D.353/14.9.41. Decrypt No.1 is from the Senior Commander of the SS and Police in Southern Russia to Heinrich Himmler, the Chiefs of the Order and Secret Police and the Himmler’s staff. (Source: [National Archives and Records Administration] (NARA), RG 457, Box 1386)"
^ McNab 2009, p. 166.
^ On the Historiography of the SS in Museum of Tolerance Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^ Yerger 1997, p. 23.
^ Yerger 1997, pp. 25–51.
^ ^a ^b Yerger 1997, pp. 52–81.
^ Yerger 1997, pp. 25–40.
^ Yerger 1997, pp. 39, 43–51.

Bibliography

Koehl, Robert (2004). The SS: A History 1919–45. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-75242-559-7.
McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923–1945. London: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-90662-649-5.
Yerger, Mark C. (1997). Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units and Leaders of the General SS. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7643-0145-4.