SS-Totenkopfverbände

"SS-Totenkopfverbände" (SS-TV) was a German Nazi formation of concentration camps guards. Created before World War II, the SS-TV was a part of the Nazi military organization "Schutzstaffel" (SS). The formation numbered approximately 15,000.Fact|date=December 2007

History of SS-TV

The SS-TV was established by "Brigadeführer" Theodor Eicke to provide the personnel for the manning of the concentration camps, such as Dachau (where the first unit was established), Sachsenhausen and Oranienburg, the town north of Berlin where Eicke's office had been established.

Following the Night of the Long Knives, a purge ordered by Adolf Hitler of potential political rivals in the Sturmabteilung (SA) in June 1934, Eicke – who had played a major role in that affair – was appointed as the Inspector of Concentration Camps and Commander of SS guard formations. He was also promoted to the rank of "SS-Gruppenführer". On March 29, 1936, the "Reichsführer-SS" officially designated these units as the "SS-Totenkopfverbände".

During the war, the SS-TV also provided troops for SS Division Totenkopf, one of the first combat units of the
Waffen-SS.

The term "Totenkopf" (skull), or "death's head", remained in use until the dissolution of the SS in 1945, although the nature of the organization had changed dramatically before and during the war.Fact|date=December 2007

External links

* [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3301 SS-Totenkopfverbände at www.axishistory.com]
* [http://sturmvogel.orbat.com/ss-tk.html The Independent SS-Totenkopfstandarten and Infanterie-Regimenter] at Panzerkeil.orbat.com