Editing Schutzstaffel (section)

===Himmler appointed===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-054-53A, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Heinrich Himmler]] (with glasses, to the left of [[Adolf Hitler]]) was an early supporter of the Nazi Party.]]
With Hitler's approval, Himmler assumed the position of ''Reichsführer-SS'' in January 1929.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=18}}{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=47}} There are differing accounts of the reason for Heiden's dismissal from his position as head of the SS. The party announced that it was for "family reasons".{{sfn|Longerich|2012|p=113}} Under Himmler, the SS expanded and gained a larger foothold. He considered the SS an elite, ideologically driven National Socialist organisation, a "conflation of [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic knights]], the [[Jesuits]], and [[Samurai|Japanese Samurai]]".{{sfn|Burleigh|Wippermann|1991|pp=272–273}} His ultimate aim was to turn the SS into the most powerful organisation in Germany and the most influential branch of the party.{{sfn|Weale|2010|pp=45–47, 300–305}} He expanded the SS to 3,000 members in his first year as its leader.{{sfn|Burleigh|Wippermann|1991|pp=272–273}}

In 1929, the ''[[SS Main Office|SS-Hauptamt]]'' (main SS office) was expanded and reorganised into five main offices dealing with general administration, personnel, finance, security, and race matters. At the same time, the SS-Gaue were divided into three ''SS-Oberführerbereiche'' areas, namely the ''SS-Oberführerbereich Ost'', ''SS-Oberführerbereich West'', and ''SS-Oberführerbereich Süd''.{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2012|pp=2–3}} The lower levels of the SS remained largely unchanged. Although officially still considered a sub-organisation of the SA and answerable to the ''[[Stabschef]]'' (SA Chief of Staff), it was also during this time that Himmler began to establish the independence of the SS from the SA.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=308–314}} The SS grew in size and power due to its exclusive loyalty to Hitler, as opposed to the SA, which was seen as semi-independent and a threat to Hitler's hegemony over the party, mainly because they demanded a "second revolution" beyond the one that brought the Nazi Party to power.{{sfn|Baranowski|2010|pp=196–197}} By the end of 1933, the membership of the SS reached 209,000.{{sfn|Zentner|Bedürftig|1991|p=901}} Under Himmler's leadership, the SS continued to gather greater power as more and more state and party functions were assigned to its jurisdiction. Over time the SS became answerable only to Hitler, a development typical of the organisational structure of the entire Nazi regime, where legal norms were replaced by actions undertaken under the {{Lang|de|[[Führerprinzip]]}} (leader principle), where Hitler's will was considered to be above the law.{{sfn|Zentner|Bedürftig|1991|p=903}}

In the latter half of 1934, Himmler oversaw the creation of ''[[SS-Junker Schools|SS-Junkerschule]]'', institutions where SS officer candidates received leadership training, political and ideological indoctrination, and military instruction. The training stressed ruthlessness and toughness as part of the SS value system, which helped foster a sense of superiority among the men and taught them self-confidence.{{sfn|Laqueur|Baumel|2001|p=606}} The first schools were established at [[Bad Tölz]] and [[Braunschweig]], with additional schools opening at [[Klagenfurt]] and [[Prague]] during the war.{{sfn|Allen|2002|p=112}}