Brigadeführer



SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank.

The rank was first created due to an expansion of the SS and assigned to those officers in command of SS-Brigaden. In 1933, the SS-Brigaden were changed in name to SS-Abschnitte; however, the rank of Brigadeführer remained the same.

Originally, Brigadeführer was considered the second general officer rank of the SS and ranked between Oberführer and Gruppenführer. This changed with the rise of the Waffen-SS and the Ordnungspolizei. In both of those organizations, Brigadeführer was the equivalent to a Generalmajor and ranked above an Oberst in the German Wehrmacht or police. Note that the rank of Generalmajor was the equivalent of brigadier general, a one-star general in the US Army.

The insignia for Brigadeführer was at first two oak leaves and a silver pip, however was changed in April 1942 to a three oak leaf design after the creation of the rank SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer.

Brigadeführer in the Waffen-SS or police also wore the shoulder insignia of a Generalmajor and were referred to as such after their SS rank (e.g. SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS und Polizei).


 * Insignia of rank of Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS: