Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler). Translated as "Senior Group Leader", the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer was held by members of the Oberste SA-Führung (Supreme SA Command) and also by veteran commanders of certain SA-Gruppen (SA Groups). The rank of Obergruppenführer was considered sen...
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Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler). Translated as "Senior Group Leader", the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer was held by members of the Oberste SA-Führung (Supreme SA Command) and also by veteran commanders of certain SA-Gruppen (SA Groups). The rank of Obergruppenführer was considered senior to the older title of Gruppenführer.
As an SS rank, Obergruppenführer was created due to the growth and expansion of the SS under Heinrich Himmler. Himmler was one of the first SS officers appointed to the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, and held the rank while simultaneously serving as the Reichsführer-SS. At the time Himmler held the rank of Obergruppenführer, Reichsführer was simply a title and not yet an actual rank.
In the early days of the SS, the rank of Obergruppenführer was occasionally used to make two SS leaders equal in seniority...
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