862.20/1081
The Ambassador in Germany ( Dodd ) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 1.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose a page of pictures appearing in the latest issue of the Schwarze Korps, the organ of the S.S., showing S.S. men practicing with machine and anti-aircraft guns. This is the first public hint of the process of intensive militarization of a section of the S.S. that has been going on secretly for several months, a development that it is now of considerable interest to review, particularly in the light of repeated assertions by the Führer that the Army are to be the only arms bearers of the nation.
In the Embassy’s despatch No. 1916 of April 9, 1935,24a it was mentioned that as of approximately that date, the number of S.S. men who were equipped with arms was about 10,000. The Military Attaché estimates that at present this number is nearer 16,000, that an increase to 18,000 may shortly be looked for, and that it is probably intended to set an ultimate strength corresponding roughly to an infantry division, consisting of some 20,000 men. He has been courteous enough to furnish me with the following details.
There appear to be at present four regiments of armed S.S. men: the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, stationed at Berlin, the Standarte Deutschland, at Munich, the Standarte Hansa, at Hamburg, and an additional Standarte stationed at a place as yet unknown. These men are the pick of all those belonging to the S.S. and are designated Verfügungstruppen, to denote their availability for special purposes. They are enrolled for a four-years’ term of service and their officers are trained for a year in two “leaders schools,” one in Brunswick and the other at Bad Tölz, in Bavaria, where the enclosed pictures were taken. Not only do these regiments possess machine and anti-aircraft guns, but it is also learned that they have just ordered three batteries of artillery, consisting of 77 mm. field pieces.
While these steps must conceivably have been taken with the knowledge and consent of the Army High Command, the Military Attaché states that they have caused considerable perturbation among Army officers; this was particularly evident at Nuremberg where, when one of the special S. S. corps marched by, certain officers expressed resentment at the favoritism shown these troops and the advantage they possess over the Army in the matter of a longer period of training, this being particularly noticeable in their appearance on parade. Another German Army officer of the Embassy’s acquaintance, however, stated he did not begrudge the S. S. their recruits as the Army sought the smaller, wiry, and more intelligent [Page 288] type of man, while the S. S. for the most part put emphasis upon massiveness of stature and a type of mind which would be susceptible to Nazi indoctrination. Be this as it may, the intensive militarization of a section of the S. S. is not welcomed greatly by the Army as a whole, although one officer doubted if any step would be taken to prevent it unless the S. S. leaders started to concern themselves with the teaching of higher military theory and policy. In this connection it was recalled that one factor in the downfall of Captain Roehm25 was that he had set up his own S. A. staff College.
The ostensible functions of the armed S. S. regiments are that they should serve as a bodyguard for the Führer, a task undertaken mostly by the Leibstandarte, and be generally available for possible public emergencies in which the intervention of the Army was not desired. The Military Attaché learns that a place in the war plans has been reserved for the armed regiments of the S. S. which, to the best of his knowledge, is to be as follows. It is apparently contemplated that in case of war, the larger part of the armed S. S. Corps should remain in the country to watch over internal tranquility and prevent sabotage, while a smaller portion would provide protection for General Headquarters. While on this point considerable resentment is again felt among Army officers, there would appear to be very good reasons for such a step in the light of experience during the last war, and particularly as Communists to-day count upon just such an occasion to overthrow the present regime (see Embassy’s despatch No. 1984 of May 17, 1935). One consideration that is also apparently being kept in mind is that the S. S. men, being as far as possible perfect Nordic biological specimens, should remain at home to propagate the race in time of war; this idea would be difficult to take seriously were it not for the fact that the S. S. gives very definite attention to race matters, having its own race office (Rassenamt) and exercising strict control over the marriages of its members. The same thought is implicit also in the text accompanying the enclosed pictures.
In the light of the character of the man in whose hands it is centered, this accession of power is not to be lost sight of from the point of view of internal politics. Herr Himmler, whose private army this is, is also Reichsleiter of the whole S. S., numbering probably some 300 to 400,000 men (the most of whom, it is true, perform only part-time duty), is commanding officer of the Gestapo (the Secret State Police), and is head of the entire concentration camp system, which is in the charge of the S. S. Herr Himmler is one of the men of mystery of the present regime, but one side of his character at least was revealed by the events of June 30, 1934. A man of consuming ambition, he is not likely to become involved in the petty squabbles of other Nazi [Page 289] leaders but is probably counting upon being ready to profit by their mistakes.
Himmler’s however, is not the only private army which obscures the future of German politics to-day. Another one is the Regiment Göring which has its distinctive green uniform, carries out its own maneuvers, and has two large barracks in Berlin. It seems originally to have played a part as police reserve in Göring’s consolidation of Prussia following the Nazi’s seizure of power in January 1933 but apparently now maintains some connection with the Army. While its present functions and numbers are not exactly clear, the Military Attaché understands that it may eventually be turned over to the Air Corps.
In a certain sense also, Dr. Goebbels, who in addition to being Minister of Propaganda, is Gauleiter for Berlin, possesses a private army in the municipal police; this supposition gains some plausibility from reports that Dr. Goebbels, fearing attacks upon his safety by rivals, maneuvered Count Helldorf, who is his personal friend, into the position of Berlin police president (see Embassy’s despatch No. 2171 of July 24, 193526).
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩
- See despatch No. 1000, July 7, 1934, from the Ambassador in Germany, Foreign Relations, 1934, vol. ii, p. 233.↩
- Post, p. 358.↩