Reich: The Schutzstaffel

The Reichs-SS

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• Reichs-SS General Overview
  • The SS Honour Guard
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• The Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA)
• The Waffen-SS
• The Ahnenerbe Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft
• SS Military Awards

Unsere Ehre heisst Treue (Our Honour is named Loyalty)

The SS is split into two main divisions: the Reichs-SS, which is the elite group of the Party, made up of the most strict adherents to the Reich cause, and is dedicated to serving the security of the Reich in various ways; and the Waffen-SS, the organisation’s military arm. A third section exists, in the form of the Ahnenerbe Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft, which is nominally a branch of the Reichs-SS, but realistically comes under the direct command of the Reichsführer-SS.

The SS are devoted to the Kaiser, the Reichsführer-SS, their Kameraden and the State (not necessarily in that order), and will carry out their orders without any question and at any cost.

Rupert Delatz, the Reichsführer-SS has direct command of the Reichs-SS, which has its administrative headquarters at Hradcany Castle, in southern Berlin; and is official Commander-in-Chief of the Waffen-SS. He is advised (some of the time at least) by the SS Council, which is made up of the heads of all SS departments, including the three senior Waffen-SS generals.

The two halves of the organisation are closely related, following the same rank and officer structure, and both include a large number of men and women who grew up within the Lebensborn Eingetragener Verein. Cadets to both branches swear the same oath of allegiance on graduation:

I swear to Wilhelm König, as Kaiser of the Greater Reich, and Herzog Rupert Delatz, as its Protector, Loyalty and Bravery. I vow to Thee and to the superiors whom Thou shalt appoint, Obedience unto Death. May the gods help me.

An older version of the oath, which is still sometimes used, has the final line So help me God.

The SS, as a whole, is completely autonomous from the regular Reich Armed Forces, although it does have the right to investigate members of the military if it deems it necessary. SS officer training is undertaken at the SS-Junkerschule, which is part of the same complex as the SS-Schule Haus.

Overview

The Reichs-SS is split into three main areas: the SS-Hauptamt comprises the administration, operations and legal aspects of the SS; the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office or RSHA), deals with the police and security functions; and the Ahnenerbe Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft is concerned with the racial, genealogical and mystical elements of the organisation. Below the general banner of the Reichs-SS, the organisation is split into a number of departments and subdivisions.

The administration departments within the SS-Hauptamt deal with the day-to-day running of the whole organisation, including everything from personnel matters and records, to medical and healthcare provision, to administration of the Disziplinarstraf- und Beschwerdeordnung der SS (the SS disciplinary code). It also publishes the weekly SS newspaper, Das Schwarze Korps.

The equipment and personnel requirements for both the Reichs- and Waffen-SS divisions are handled by the SS Operations Main Office at Hradcany Castle, rather than the Wehrmacht quarter masters. Amt 2 is also responsible for the funding and equipping of the Reich Guild of Pilots.

The SS-Ehrenwächten (the SS Honour Guard)

The Honour Guard is a group of the most highly trained troops in the SS, and the Reich as a whole – reputedly better even than the Kaiser’s Imperial Knights – whose primary purpose is as the personal bodyguard to the Reichsführer-SS. They undertake both close protection and act as the advance party to ensure security when their principal is out on both official and unofficial business. However, they also work closely with both Delatz and his personal staff in various other specialist areas.  The Guard comprises eighteen completely loyal men and women – loyal enough to take a bullet for the most feared man in the Reich. In theory, it operates on an eight-hour shift system, with six on each shift, although this can vary depending on circumstances.

Contrary to popular belief, once a soldier joins the Honour Guard, they are not then obliged to serve until they die in the line of duty. Honour Guard members have a service period of seven years, which can be renewed as often as the individual wishes.

Standartenführer Rikart Schultz, KSS (W)

The current Guard Commander is Standartenführer Rikart Schultz, who inherited the position in February RY145, on the death of his predecessor, Walter Reinefarth, during an assassination attempt on the the RFSS and his wife.

Schultz is a pleasent young man with an difficult job. He was born at the Nürnberg Lebensborn Centre in RY093, and was always one of the smarter children in his platoon. He is Talented, and went to the Berlin Mage School before joining the SS on graduation. After leaving the SS-Junkerschule at Bad Tölz, he served with the Waffen-SS for several years, proving himself to be a tough, bright officer who could think outside the box, and get the best out of his men using encouragement rather than threats. Having been promoted quickly from Untersturmführer to Hauptsturmführer, he was invited to the SS-Schule Haus in RY125, to take his magical studies further. On graduation as a DMg in RY127, with specialities in defensive and combat magics, he joined the Honour Guard, and was promoted to deputy commander in RY139, and commander in RY145, at which point he was inducted as a Knight of the Winter Cicle.

In RY153 he married Carina Bretz, an officer within SS Operations, and they have two small daughters, Hanne and Rosemarie, who were born in RY154. As a wedding present, Conrad Berthelmes, presented a Writ of Acknowledgement to the Imperial Council, declaring that Rikart was his son, born within the Lebensborn System. As a result, he know has the Higher Nobility rank of Herzog.

Schultz’s 2iC is Obersturmbannführer Heinrike Karsten, the daughter of the hoher Adel Graf von Krakau. She joined the Honour Guard in RY131, and became Deputy Guard Commander in June RY148, when she was also made a Knight of the Summer Circle . The current 3iC and commander of the third shift is Sturmbannführer Sigisimund Berens, CSS. The other Honour Guard members hold the rank of Hauptsturmführer.

Schultz, Karsten and Berens are also all Priests of Protection.

SS-Specific Facilities

The Wewelsburg

The Wewelsburg

The spiritual home of the Schutzstaffel is the Wewelsburg, the Order Castle of the Knights of the SS, which is located within the demesne of the Herzog von Bremen. The organisation’s own officer training centre, the SS-Junkerschule, is at Bad Tölz, near the Wewelsburg , which is completely seperate from the Wehrmacht military academy.

In addition, there is an SS-specific, invitation-only mage school and university, the SS-Schule Haus, in the grounds of the Wewelsburg.

Brigadeführer Sigmund Delatz, KSS (S)

Sigmund Heusser-Delatz, is the Kommandant and Head of Security for both the Wewelsburg and the SS-Schule Haus/SS-Junkerschule. He was given the position after the death of his predecessor, Sophia Lange, in an attack on the castle in early-June RY154. His commission bridges the gap between the Waffen-SS and the Ahnenerbe, and he has the right to command officers of both to secure the safety of the castle and its inhabitants. He works closely with the Ahnenerbe’s Arcane Defence Group.

The Bremen Mountain Centre

Bremen Mountain Centre

Under the direct control of the RFSS, and shared between the Reichs-SS, the Waffen-SS and the The Ahnenerbe Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft, the Bremen Mountain Centre, up in the mountains, beside a lake, about twenty-five miles from the Wewelsburg, is an SS town that serves a number of purposes.

From the military side, it is a training ground for the Waffen-SS alpine troops. For other branches of the SS, it serves as a recuperation centre, a recreation area, and a place of retreat for any high-level meetings for which the Wewelsburg is unavailable.