- Hauptsturmführer
"Hauptsturmführer" was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a
Captain ("Hauptmann ") in the German Army ("Wehrmacht Heer ") and about equivalent ofcaptain in foreign armies. Hauptsturmführer was the most commonly held SS officer rank during theSecond World War .The rank of Hauptsturmführer evolved from the much older rank of "
Sturmhauptführer ", created in 1928 as a rank of the "Sturmabteilung ". The SS used the rank of Sturmhauptführer from 1930 to 1934 at which time, following theNight of the Long Knives , the name of the rank was changed to Hauptsturmführer although the insignia remained the same.Some of the most infamous SS members are known to have held the rank of Hauptsturmführer. Among them are
Josef Mengele , the infamous doctor assigned to Auschwitz;Klaus Barbie , Gestapo Chief ofLyon ;Alois Brunner ,Adolf Eichmann 's assistant; andAmon Göth who was immortalized in the film "Schindler's List ".The insignia of Hauptsturmführer was three silver pips and two silver stripes on a black collar patch, worn opposite a unit insignia patch. On the field grey duty uniform, the shoulder boards of an Army Hauptmann were also displayed. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was senior to the rank of "
Obersturmführer " and junior to "Sturmbannführer ".
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