The List of SA-Obergruppenführer enumerates selected men who held the position of SA-Obergruppenführer. This was the second highest commissioned rank in the Sturmabteilung (SA), which was the largest paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party, numbering approximately 4.5 million members in June 1934.[1] The rank was comparable to a three-star rank in English-speaking armed forces (today, equivalent to NATO OF-8). Due to the rapid growth of the organization, SA-Stabschef Ernst Röhm authorized a new large SA troop formation in July 1932, the SA-Obergruppe. Organized in September 1932, each of the five new formations (expanded to ten in January 1934) was roughly equivalent to an army corps.[2] Each Obergruppe was made up of several SA-Gruppe, formerly the largest SA component, and was placed under the command of an SA-Obergruppenführer.[3] This new rank was established as the senior SA general officer rank, directly above the existing rank of SA-Gruppenführer.[4]
| SA-Obergruppenführer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Service branch | Sturmabteilung |
| Abbreviation | Ogruf. |
| NATO rank code | OF-8 |
| Formation | January 1933 |
| Abolished | 8 May 1945 |
| Next higher rank | SA-Stabschef |
| Next lower rank | SA-Gruppenführer |
| Equivalent ranks | General der Waffengattung |
This is a partial list of notable individuals whose highest rank in the SA was SA-Obergruppenführer. It does not include the two individuals (Viktor Lutze and Wilhelm Schepmann) that held the rank and who subsequently attained the higher rank of SA-Stabschef. Included are not only full-time active duty SA officers, but also Nazi Party officials, politicians and government functionaries who were awarded inactive honorary (ehrenamtliche) commissions as well. Röhm instituted this practice as a means to build bridges to the Party organization after a period of great tension between the SA and the Party organization. Most of these honorary appointments went to Party officials who had some previous connection with the SA, who were military veterans and who had been active in other paramilitary or völkisch organizations.[5]
List of SA-Obergruppenführer
editThis table lists the SA-Obergruppenführer by the date of appointment. The first promotions to the rank became effective in January 1933 and the last known promotions took place in November 1944. The table also notes their SA, government or Party post as of the appointment date and includes a comment on their ultimate fate.
| Key: | Full time or primarily an SA functionary | Full time or primarily a Nazi Party or government functionary |
| Name | Date of Promotion | Position at Promotion | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franz Ritter von Epp | 1 January 1933 | Chief, NSDAP Office of Military Policy | Died in American captivity, 1947 |
| Hermann Göring | 1 January 1933 | President, Reichstag | Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; suicide, 1946 |
| Adolf Hühnlein | 1 January 1933 | Deputy Korpsführer, National Socialist Motor Corps |
Died of cancer, 1942 |
| Manfred von Killinger | 1 January 1933 | Führer, SA-Obergruppe V | Suicide, 1944 |
| August Schneidhuber | 1 January 1933 | Führer, SA-Obergruppe III | Executed by firing squad in the Night of the Long Knives, 1934 |
| Curt von Ulrich | 1 January 1933 | Generalinspekteur, Supreme SA Command (OSAF) |
Died in Soviet captivity, 1946 |
| Hans Georg Hofmann | 1 April 1933 | Police Director, Regensburg | Died of a heart attack, 1942 |
| Edmund Heines | 20 April 1933 | Police President, Breslau | Executed by firing squad in the Night of the Long Knives, 1934 |
| Paul Hocheisen | 20 April 1933 | Chief, SA Medical Office, (OSAF) | Died of natural causes, 1944 |
| Hermann Reschny | 20 April 1933 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Österreich | Died of natural causes, 1971 |
| Dietrich von Jagow | 27 June 1933 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Südwest | Suicide, 1945 |
| Fritz Ritter von Kraußer | 27 June 1933 | Chief, SA Organization Office, (OSAF) | Executed by firing squad in the Night of the Long Knives, 1934 |
| Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger | 27 June 1933 | Chief, SA Training Office, (OSAF) | Suicide, 1945 |
| Karl-Siegmund Litzmann | 27 June 1933 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Ostland | Died in unclear circumstances, ?1945; declared dead, 1949 |
| Werner von Fichte | 20 July 1933 | Police President, Erfurt | Sentenced to 2 years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; released for time-served; died, 1955 |
| Franz Seldte | 26 July 1933 | Reichsminister of Labor | Died in American captivity, 1947 |
| Johann Baptist Fuchs | 9 November 1933 | OSAF Plenipotentiary for Bavaria | Died of natural causes, 1938 |
| Franz Xaver Schwarz | 9 November 1933 | Treasurer, Nazi Party | Died in American captivity, 1947 |
| Heinrich Schoene | 24 April 1934 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Ostland | Died in battle at the Battle of Konigsberg, 1945 |
| Wilhelm Brückner | 9 November 1934 | Chief Adjutant to Adolf Hitler | Sentenced to 3-and-a-half years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; died, 1954 |
| Arthur Böckenhauer | 9 November 1936 | Chief, SA Courts and Legal Office, (OSAF) | Died of natural causes, 1953 |
| Josef Bürckel | 9 November 1936 | Gauleiter, Gau Saarpfalz | Died of natural causes, 1944 |
| Otto Herzog | 9 November 1936 | Stabsführer, (OSAF) | Died in battle at the Battle of Breslau, 1945 |
| Siegfried Kasche | 9 November 1936 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Niedersachsen | Sentenced to death by Croatia; hanged, 1947 |
| Bernhard Rust | 9 November 1936 | Reichsminister, Science, Education & Culture |
Suicide, 1945 |
| Josef Terboven | 9 November 1936 | Gauleiter, Gau Essen | Suicide, 1945 |
| Friedrich Karl Florian | 30 January 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Düsseldorf | Suicide, 1945 |
| Adolf-Heinz Beckerle | 9 November 1937 | Police President, Frankfurt | Sentenced to 25 years by the Soviet Union, 1951; released, 1955; died, 1976 |
| Heinrich Bennecke | 9 November 1937 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Pommern | Died of natural causes, 1972 |
| Hermann Brauneck | 9 November 1937 | Chief, SA Health Services, (OSAF) | Died in an airstrike at Kerch, 1942 |
| Hans Frank | 9 November 1937 | Reichsminister without portfolio | Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; hanged, 1946 |
| Wilhelm Helfer | 9 November 1937 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Hochland | Died of natural causes, 1954 |
| Wilhelm Jahn | 9 November 1937 | Police President, Halle | Died of natural causes, 1952 |
| Max Jüttner | 9 November 1937 | Chief, SA Leadership Office, (OSAF) | Interned until 1947; died, 1963 |
| Hanns Kerrl | 9 November 1937 | Reichsminister, Church Affairs | Died of a heart attack, 1941 |
| Hermann Kriebel | 9 November 1937 | German envoy to China | Died of natural causes, 1941 |
| Hinrich Lohse | 9 November 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Schleswig-Holstein | Sentenced to 10 years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; released, 1951; died, 1964 |
| Hanns Ludin | 9 November 1937 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Südwest | Sentenced to death by Czechoslovakia; hanged, 1947 |
| Max Luyken | 9 November 1937 | Chief, SA Education Main Office, (OSAF) | Died in battle in the Battle of Berlin, 1945 |
| Joachim Meyer-Quade | 9 November 1937 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Nordmark | Died in battle in the Invasion of Poland, 1939 |
| Martin Mutschmann | 9 November 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Saxony | Sentenced to death by the Soviet Union; shot, 1947 |
| Fritz Reinhardt | 9 November 1937 | State Secretary, Reich Finance Ministry |
Sentenced to 4 years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; reduced to 3 years; released for time-served; died, 1969 |
| Fritz Sauckel | 9 November 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Thuringia | Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; hanged, 1946 |
| Baldur von Schirach | 9 November 1937 | Reichsjugendführer | Sentenced to 20 years by the Nuremberg trials, 1946; released, 1966; died, 1974 |
| Julius Streicher | 9 November 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Franconia | Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; hanged, 1946 |
| Adolf Wagner | 9 November 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria |
Died of a stroke, 1944 |
| Gerhard Wagner | 9 November 1937 | Reich Health Leader | Died of cancer, 1939 |
| Josef Wagner | 9 November 1937 | Gauleiter, Gau Silesia and Gau Westphalia-South |
Arrested after the 20 July plot; executed by hanging, 1945 |
| Wilhelm Weiss | 9 November 1937 | Editor-in-Chief, Völkischer Beobachter |
Sentenced to 3 years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; released for time-served; died, 1950 |
| Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia | 9 November 1938 | Prussian State Councilor | Sentenced to 2-and-a-half years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; released for time-served; died, 1949 |
| Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 9 November 1938 | President, German Red Cross | Interned until 1946; fined by a denazification tribunal, 1949; died, 1954 |
| Kurt Günther | 9 November 1938 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Thüringen | Sentenced to death by Thuringia; executed by firing squad, 1947 |
| Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff | 9 November 1938 | Police President, Berlin | Arrested for participation in the 20 July plot; executed by hanging, 1944 |
| Rudolf Jordan | 9 November 1938 | Gauleiter, Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt | Sentenced to 25 years by the Soviet Union 1950; released, 1955; died, 1988 |
| Emil Ketterer | 9 November 1938 | SA Liaison, Reich Health Leader | Died of natural causes, 1959 |
| Erich Koch | 9 November 1938 | Gauleiter, Gau East Prussia | Sentenced to death by Poland; commuted to life; died in captivity, 1986 |
| Christian Mergenthaler | 9 November 1938 | Ministerpräsident, Württemberg | Interned, 1945; jailed by a denazification tribunal, 1948; released, 1949; died, 1980 |
| Alfred Meyer | 9 November 1938 | Gauleiter, Gau Westphalia-North | Suicide, 1945 |
| Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse | 9 November 1938 | Oberpräsident, Hesse-Nassau | Interned until 1947; died, 1980 |
| Karl Rover | 9 November 1938 | Gauleiter, Gau Weser-Ems | Died of natural causes, 1942 |
| Franz Schwede | 9 November 1938 | Gauleiter, Gau Pomerania | Sentenced to 9 years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; and 10 years by a German criminal court, 1951; released, 1956; died, 1960 |
| Ludwig Siebert | 9 November 1938 | Ministerpräsident, Bavaria | Died of a heart attack, 1942 |
| Jakob Sprenger | 9 November 1938 | Gauleiter, Gau Hesse-Nassau | Suicide, 1945 |
| Fritz Todt | 9 November 1938 | Chief, Organisation Todt | Died in a plane crash, 1942 |
| Hans von Tschammer und Osten | 9 November 1938 | Reich Sports Leader | Died of pneumonia, 1943 |
| Friedrich Haselmayr | 11 April 1939 | Führer, OSAF Staff | Died of natural causes, 1965 |
| Heinrich Böhmcker | 6 October 1940 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Nordsee | Died of a heart attack, 1944 |
| Heinrich-Georg Graf Finck von Finckenstein | 30 January 1941 | Führer, OSAF Staff | Died of natural causes, 1984 |
| Herbert Fust | 30 January 1941 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Kurpfalz | Died of natural causes, 1974 |
| Günther Gräntz | 30 January 1941 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Westmark | Died in battle at the Battle of Berlin, 1945 |
| Arthur Hess | 30 January 1941 | Führer, OSAF Staff | Died of natural causes, 1959 |
| Franz Ritter von Hörauf | 30 January 1941 | Führer, OSAF staff | Died of natural causes, 1957 |
| Willy Liebel | August 1941 | Oberbürgermeister, Nuremberg | Suicide, 1945 |
| Heinrich Haake | 24 January 1942 | Landeshauptmann, Rhine Province |
Died in British captivity, 1945 |
| Joseph Berchtold | 30 January 1942 | Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Völkischer Beobachter |
Interned, 1945; died, 1962 |
| Wilhelm Kleinmann | 30 January 1942 | State Secretary, Reich Ministry of Transport |
Died in Soviet captivity, 1945 |
| Paul Giesler | 30 January 1943 | Gauleiter, Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria |
Suicide, 1945 |
| Alfred Proksch | 20 April 1943 | Trustee of Labour, Vienna and Lower Austria |
Sentenced to 4 years by a Vienna court; died, 1981 |
| August Eigruber | 9 November 1943 | Gauleiter, Reichsgau Oberdonau | Sentenced to death by the Dachau trials; hanged, 1947 |
| Walter Köhler | 9 November 1943 | Ministerpräsident, Baden | Sentenced to 3 years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; released for time-served; died, 1989 |
| Willy Marschler | 9 November 1943 | Ministerpräsident, Thuringia | Interned until 1946; died, 1952 |
| Siegfried Uiberreither | 9 November 1943 | Gauleiter, Reichsgau Styria | Interned, 1945; escaped 1947; died, 1984. |
| Fritz Bracht | 20 April 1944 | Gauleiter, Gau Upper Silesia | Suicide, 1945 |
| Hartmann Lauterbacher | 20 April 1944 | Gauleiter, Gau Southern Hanover-Brunswick | Acquitted at the Dachau trials; later worked as a West German spy; died, 1988 |
| Franz Bock | 9 November 1944 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Niederrhein | Died of natural causes, 1974 |
| Leopold Damian | 9 November 1944 | Führer, SA-Gruppe Oberrhein | Died of natural causes, 1971 |
| Junior rank SA-Gruppenführer |
SA rank SA-Obergruppenführer |
Senior rank SA-Stabschef |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Zentner & Bedürftig 1997, p. 931.
- ^ Littlejohn 1990, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Lepage 2016, pp. 110, 140.
- ^ McNab 2009, p. 15.
- ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 111, 216 n. 126.
Sources
edit- Campbell, Bruce (1998). The SA Generals and the Rise of Nazism. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-813-12047-8.
- Klee, Ernst (2007). Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Frankfurt-am-Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8
- Lepage, Jean-Denis (2016). Hitler's Stormtroopers: The SA, The Nazi's Brownshirts, 1922–1945. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-399-07721-7.
- Littlejohn, David (1990). The SA 1921-45: Hitler's Stormtroopers (Men-At Arms Series, 220). Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-850-45944-9.
- McNab, Chris (2009). The Third Reich: 1933-1945. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906-62651-8.
- Miller, Michael D. & Schulz, Andreas (2012). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945, Volume 1 (Herbert Albrecht – H. Wilhelm Hüttmann). R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-1-932-97021-0.
- Miller, Michael D. & Schulz, Andreas (2017). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945, Volume 2 (Georg Joel – Dr. Bernhard Rust). R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 978-1-932-97032-6.
- Miller, Michael D. & Schulz, Andreas (2021). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925–1945, Volume 3 (Fritz Sauckel – Hans Zimmermann). Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1-781-55826-3.
- Miller, Michael D. & Schulz, Andreas (2015). Leaders of the Storm Troops, Volume 1. Solihull, England: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-909-98287-1.
- Siemens, Daniel (2017). Stormtroopers: A New History of Hitler's Brownshirts. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-19681-8.
- Stockhorst, Erich (1985). 5000 Köpfe: Wer War Was im 3. Reich. Arndt. ISBN 978-3-887-41116-9.
- Zentner, Christian; Bedürftig, Friedemann, eds. (1997) [1991]. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80793-0.