Editing Schutzstaffel (section)

==SS in World War II==
By the outbreak of World War&nbsp;II, the SS had consolidated into its final form, which comprised three main organisations: the ''Allgemeine SS'', ''SS-Totenkopfverbände'', and the ''[[Waffen-SS]]'', which was founded in 1934 as the ''[[SS-Verfügungstruppe]]'' (SS-VT) and renamed in 1940.{{sfn|Stein|2002|p=23}}{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=156}} The ''Waffen-SS'' evolved into a second German army alongside the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' and operated in tandem with them, especially with the ''[[German Army (1935–1945)|Heer]]'' (German Army).{{sfn|Stein|2002|pp=285–287}} However, it never obtained total "independence of command", nor was it ever a "serious rival" to the German Army. Members were never able to join the ranks of the German High Command and it was dependent on the army for heavy weaponry and equipment.{{sfn|Stein|2002|pp=18, 287}} Although SS ranks generally had equivalents in the other services, the SS rank system did not copy the terms and ranks used by the ''Wehrmacht''{{'}}s branches. Instead, it used the ranks established by the post-World War I ''Freikorps'' and the SA. This was primarily done to emphasise the SS as being independent of the ''Wehrmacht''.{{sfn|Mollo|1991|pp=1–3}}

===Invasion of Poland===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-380-0069-33, Polen, Verhaftung von Juden, Transport.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Polish Jews arrested by the ''[[Sicherheitsdienst]]'' (SD) and police, September 1939]]
In the September 1939 [[invasion of Poland]], the LSSAH and SS-VT fought as separate mobile infantry regiments.{{sfn|Stein|2002|p=27}} The LSSAH became notorious for torching villages without military justification.{{sfn|Butler|2001|p=45}} Members of the LSSAH committed war crimes in numerous towns, including the murder of 50 Polish Jews in [[Błonie]] and the massacre of 200 civilians, including children, who were machine-gunned in [[Złoczew]]. Shootings also took place in [[Bolesławiec]], [[Torzeniec]], [[Goworowo, Płońsk County|Goworowo]], [[Mława]], and [[Włocławek]].{{sfn|Rossino|2003|pp=114, 159–161}} Some senior members of the ''Wehrmacht'' were not convinced the units were fully prepared for combat. Its units took unnecessary risks and had a higher casualty rate than the army.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=149}} ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Fedor von Bock]] was quite critical; following an April 1940 visit of the ''SS-Totenkopf'' division, he found their battle training was "insufficient".{{sfn|Hein|2015|p=82}} Hitler thought the criticism was typical of the army's "outmoded conception of chivalry."{{sfn|Stone|2011|p=127}} In its defence, the SS insisted that its armed formations had been hampered by having to fight piecemeal and were improperly equipped by the army.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=149}}

After the invasion, Hitler entrusted the SS with extermination actions codenamed [[Operation Tannenberg]] and [[German AB-Aktion in Poland|AB-Aktion]] to remove potential leaders who could form a resistance to German occupation. The murders were committed by ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' (task forces; deployment groups), assisted by local paramilitary groups. Men for the ''Einsatzgruppen'' units were drawn from the SS, the SD, and the police.{{sfn|Longerich|2010|pp=144–145}} Some 65,000 Polish civilians, including activists, [[intelligentsia]], scholars, teachers, actors, former officers, and others, were murdered by the end of 1939.{{sfn|Evans|2008|pp=14–15}}{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|pp=109–111}} When the army leadership registered complaints about the brutality being meted out by the ''Einsatzgruppen'', Heydrich informed them that he was acting "in accordance with the special order of the ''Führer''."{{sfn|Kershaw|2001|p=246}} The first systematic mass shooting of Jews by the ''Einsatzgruppen'' took place on 6 September 1939 during the attack on [[Kraków]].{{sfn|Laqueur|Baumel|2001|p=xxxi}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1968-034-19A, Exekution von polnischen Geiseln.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Murder of civilians by ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' in [[Kórnik]], Poland, 1939]]

Satisfied with their performance in Poland, Hitler allowed further expansion of the armed SS formations but insisted new units remain under the operational control of the army.{{sfn|Reynolds|1997|pp=6, 7}} While the ''SS-Leibstandarte'' remained an independent regiment functioning as Hitler's personal bodyguards, the other regiments—''SS-Deutschland'', ''SS-Germania,'' and ''SS-Der Führer''—were combined to form the ''[[2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich|SS-Verfügungs-Division]]''.{{sfn|Stein|2002|p=32}}{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=149}} A second SS division, the ''SS-Totenkopf'', was formed from SS-TV concentration camp guards, and a third, the [[4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division|''SS-Polizei'']], was created from police volunteers.{{sfn|Stein|2002|pp=33–35}}{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=66}} The SS gained control over its own recruitment, logistics, and supply systems for its armed formations at this time.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=66}} The SS, Gestapo, and SD were in charge of the provisional military administration in Poland until the appointment of [[Hans Frank]] as Governor-General on 26 October 1939.{{sfn|Hildebrand|1984|p=50}}{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=229}}

===Battle of France===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Weill-059-04, Metz, Heinrich Himmler neben Panzer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Himmler inspecting a {{Lang|de|[[Sturmgeschütz III]]|italic=no}} of the [[1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler|1st SS Panzer Division ''"Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"'']] in [[Metz]], France, September 1940]]
On 10 May 1940, Hitler launched the [[Battle of France]], a major offensive against France and the [[Low Countries]].{{sfn|Hellwinkel|2014|p=9}} The SS supplied two of the 89 divisions employed.{{sfn|Reitlinger|1989|p=147}} The LSSAH and elements of the SS-VT participated in the ground invasion [[German invasion of the Netherlands|of the Netherlands]].{{sfn|Stein|2002|p=61}} Simultaneously, airborne troops were dropped to capture key Dutch airfields, bridges, and railways. In the five-day campaign, the LSSAH linked up with army units and airborne troops after several clashes with Dutch defenders.{{sfn|Stein|2002|p=61}}

SS troops did not take part in the thrust through the [[Ardennes]] and the river [[Meuse]].{{sfn|Stein|2002|p=61}} Instead, the ''SS-Totenkopf'' was summoned from the army reserve to fight in support of ''[[Generalmajor]]'' [[Erwin Rommel]]'s [[7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|7th Panzer Division]] as they advanced toward the [[English Channel]].{{sfn|Butler|2003|p=64}} On 21 May, the British launched an armoured counterattack against the flanks of the 7th Panzer Division and ''SS-Totenkopf''. The Germans then trapped the British and French troops in a huge pocket at [[Dunkirk]].{{sfn|Manning|1999|p=59}} On 27 May, 4 Company, ''SS-Totenkopf'' perpetrated the [[Le Paradis massacre]], where 97 men of the 2nd Battalion, [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] were machine-gunned after surrendering, with survivors finished off with [[bayonet]]s. Two men survived.{{sfn|Sydnor|1977|p=93}} By 28 May the ''SS-Leibstandarte'' had taken [[Wormhout]], {{cvt|10|miles}} from Dunkirk. There, soldiers of the 2nd Battalion were responsible for the [[Wormhoudt massacre]], where 81 British and French soldiers were murdered after they surrendered.{{sfn|Weale|2012|p=251}} According to historian Charles Sydnor, the "fanatical recklessness in the assault, suicidal defence against enemy attacks, and savage atrocities committed in the face of frustrated objectives" exhibited by the ''SS-Totenkopf'' division during the invasion were typical of the SS troops as a whole.{{sfn|Sydnor|1977|p=102}}

At the close of the campaign, Hitler expressed his pleasure with the performance of the ''SS-Leibstandarte'', telling them: "Henceforth it will be an honour for you, who bear my name, to lead every German attack."{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=143}} The SS-VT was renamed the ''Waffen-SS'' in a speech made by Hitler in July 1940.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=156}} Hitler then authorised the enlistment of "people perceived to be of related stock", as Himmler put it, to expand the ranks.{{sfn|Stein|2002|pp=150, 153}} Danes, Dutch, Norwegians, Swedes, and Finns volunteered to fight in the ''Waffen-SS'' under the command of German officers.{{sfn|Koehl|2004|pp=213–214}} They were brought together to form the new division ''[[5th SS Panzer Division Wiking|SS-Wiking]]''.{{sfn|Stein|2002|pp=150, 153}} In January 1941, the ''SS-Verfügungs'' Division was renamed ''SS-Reich'' Division (Motorised), and was renamed as the [[2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich|2nd SS Panzer Division ''"Das Reich"'']] when it was reorganised as a ''[[Panzergrenadier]]'' division in 1942.{{sfn|Mattson|2002|pp=77, 104}}

===Campaign in the Balkans===
In April 1941, the German Army [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|invaded Yugoslavia]] and [[German invasion of Greece|Greece]]. The LSSAH and ''Das Reich'' were attached to separate army [[Panzer corps]]. [[Fritz Klingenberg]], a company commander in the ''Das Reich'' division, led his men across Yugoslavia to the capital, [[Belgrade]], where a small group in the vanguard accepted the surrender of the city on 13 April. A few days later Yugoslavia surrendered.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|pp=162, 163}}{{sfn|Weale|2012|p=297}} SS police units immediately began taking hostages and carrying out reprisals, a practice that became common. In some cases, they were joined by the ''Wehrmacht''.{{sfn|Bessel|2006|pp=110–111}} Similar to Poland, the war policies of the Nazis in the Balkans resulted in brutal occupation and racist mass murder. Serbia became the second country (after [[Estonia]]) declared ''[[Judenfrei]]'' (free of Jews).{{sfn|Bessel|2006|p=110}}

In Greece, the ''Wehrmacht'' and ''Waffen-SS'' encountered resistance from the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) and the [[Hellenic Army|Greek Army]].{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|pp=163, 165}} The fighting was intensified by the mountainous terrain, with its heavily defended narrow passes. The LSSAH was at the forefront of the German push.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|pp=163–166}} The BEF evacuated by sea to [[Crete]], but had to flee again in late May when the Germans arrived.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=155}} Like Yugoslavia, the conquest of Greece brought its Jews into danger, as the Nazis immediately took a variety of measures against them.{{sfn|Bessel|2006|p=111}} Initially confined in ghettos, most were transported to [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] in March 1943, where they were murdered in the [[gas chamber]]s on arrival. Of Greece's 80,000 Jews, only 20 per cent survived the war.{{sfn|Frusetta|2012|p=266}}