Ranks and Insignia of The Nazi Party - Nazi Ranks During World War II

Nazi Ranks During World War II

The final pattern of Nazi Party ranks was designed in 1938 by Robert Ley, who personally oversaw the development of Nazi Party insignia through his position as head of the German Labour Front, and put into effect in mid 1939. The new insignia pattern was a vast overhaul of previous designs beginning with a standardized set of twenty eight Nazi Party ranks that were to be uniform across all levels of the Party. To denote membership in a particular "level" of the Nazi Party (local, county, regional, or national) collar tabs would display a particular color on which the actual rank insignia would then be displayed.

This new design was intended to eliminate the manner in which different levels of the Nazi Party separated themselves and allow for command across all Party lines. For instance, an Abschnittsleiter (Section Leader) in the Ortsgruppen (local) level would now be seen as outranking and could issue directives to a junior rank, such as Arbeitsleiter (Work Leader) even if the junior rank served in a higher echelon of the Nazi Party, such as on the Gau (Regional) or Reich (National) level. The vast array of new ranks also allowed for a military appearance to the Nazi Party, in particular during World War II when political leaders were exempt for the conscription. More ranks also involved more opportunity for promotion and served as a means to distinguish highly successful political leaders from others who might hold the same position in the Nazi Party.

Within each level of the Party, there was a cap on the highest possible rank one could achieve. The heads of the lower levels, the Ortsgruppenleiter and the Kreisleiter, now held standard Nazi Party ranks in addition to their leadership titles. The positions of Gauleiter and Reichsleiter held their own special insignia and these two positions were considered outside the promotion tier and were available only by direct appointment from Hitler. Gauleiters and Reichsleiters also outranked all other Party members, regardless of standard Nazi Party ranks. Thus, the highest possible rank in each level of the Party was as follows:

(*) The rank of Gauleiter was the senior most rank of the Gau level but outside the regular promotion tier
(**) The rank of Reichsleiter was the senior most rank of the Reich level but outside the regular promotion tier

Between 1939 and 1942, these new uniform regulations were slow to be implemented and Nazi Party leaders can frequently be seen in photographic evidence wearing pre-1939 insignia well after Ley had introduced the final insignia pattern. In was not until 1943 that most Nazi Party members had completely converted to the new insignia patterns.

By the start of World War II, Nazi Party paramilitary groups had also been expanding and developing their own uniform designs, such as SS uniforms and insignia as well as uniforms used by such other Nazi groups such as the National Socialist Motor Corps, the Organization Todt, and many others. In addition, as the Nazi Party and the German government became one and the same, each German ministry had the option to develop a standardized uniform and dress code with a state employee also having the choice to wear a Nazi party uniform, a uniform of a Nazi paramilitary group (such as the SS or SA), or (if the person was a reservist in the military) a uniform of the Wehrmacht. This created an extremely confusing array of titles, ranks, and uniforms which has also caused historical difficulty in determining the various positions and titles which senior members of the German government held.

In addition to the array of Nazi titles and ranks there also existed the original government of Germany to include such historic positions as Burgermeister (town mayor). Such individuals could also hold the approximate equivalent of a Nazi Party position or be unconnected to the Party. Through the process of Gleichschaltung, Nazi officials existed side by side with local government authorities with the local government existing as a rubber stamp to Nazi designs.