The Nazi Wehrmacht and SS in Germany during World War II were terrifying, but what was the difference between them?

The Wehrmacht represents the German national military armed forces; the SS is Hitler’s personal property and serves as a thug. Let’s talk about the Wehrmacht first

Based on the time when the German army was established, the Wehrmacht is the first group, and its highest command is OKH (High Command). Due to political factors, it retained a great deal of independence and was a relatively closed organization until Hitler came to power.

Former German President Hindenburg supported the Wehrmacht behind the scenes, so they had the strength to select the German Prime Minister. Before Hitler came to power, the Wehrmacht had promoted its own prime minister, but he was eventually ousted due to fierce political struggles. There was too much controversy between the left and right factions in Germany at that time, and the Wehrmacht finally acquiesced in Hitler's appointment, but Hitler was still unable to command the Wehrmacht. SS

The emergence of the SS was mainly due to Hitler's dissatisfaction with the violent stormtroopers affiliated with the Nazi Party controlled by R?hm. Although the stormtroopers belonged to the Nazi Party, Hitler was still worried about R?hm's reorganization of the stormtroopers. Later, he formed the SS as a violent organization that he could control. When the SS was first formed, it was very small and its work was very low-key. After the SA was purged, the SS absorbed a large number of members of the original SA and became the only violent unit of the Nazi party.

Hitler was aware of the influence of the previous stormtroopers, so he raised the requirements for the members of the SS, such as origin, appearance, etc. This allowed the SS to gradually assume the ceremonial function of the Nazi Party, but At this moment, the SS has not yet entered the national level. Let’s talk about the Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht and Hitler had always been worried about the influence of the SA. After R?hm was killed, the SA was purged by the Nazi party, and Hindenburg was old, the Wehrmacht senior leaders reached an agreement with Hitler. The agreement supported Hitler's assumption of the position of head of state, and Hitler also tried to eliminate the constraints of the Treaty of Versailles on the Wehrmacht. From then on, the military establishment of the Wehrmacht and Hitler's administrative establishment began a political alliance to jointly manage Germany. Let’s talk about the SS

When Hitler became the head of Germany, the SS began to infiltrate the operation of the state machinery. Among them was the secret police department, the Gestapo. They appeared in the administrative establishment as a formal department of the state, but because the highest head of the Gestapo and key positions in the department were controlled by the SS, this resulted in the SS controlling this department.

At the same time, Hitler also began to form his armed forces, that is, the SS began to train their military department (armed SS). After the battle broke out, Hitler was still unable to command the Wehrmacht because the OKH was still the Wehrmacht. The highest command body has always maintained its independence. So Hitler established the OKW, the High Command of the Armed Forces, so that he could command the OKH, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the German Army, and the Waffen SS.

During the subsequent war, the conflict between Hitler and national defense became more and more intense. After the Battle of Moscow broke out, Hitler dismissed a large number of senior officials and the top leaders of OKH at once, and he concurrently served as the top leader of OKH (chief of the Army). commander). At this moment, the political alliance between Hitler and the Wehrmacht completely collapsed.

After Hitler was assassinated in 1944, he took the opportunity to purge the Wehrmacht. It was only then that Hitler fully took control of all Germany's armed forces and incorporated the Wehrmacht into the SS.

After the war broke out and the Wehrmacht lost power, the strength of the SS surged. After July 1944, SS commanders could directly command the Wehrmacht troops, but this was only the glory before destruction. Explain again the Wehrmacht and the SS. The Wehrmacht, the German regular army from the Second Reich of the Kingdom of Prussia, is a paramilitary organization under the Nazi Party. It was the earliest internal "police" of the former Nazi Party and later evolved into Germany's public security and national security. The Jewish Holocaust was organized and planned by him. The Gestapo was the German "secret police" under the SS. The SA was an early military organization of the Nazi Party. The SS was separated from the SA. Because the stormtroopers reorganized by R?hm posed a threat to the Wehrmacht and Hitler, they were later purged by Hitler. , is the "Night of the Long Knives". It would be simpler to compare these organizations to the various institutions of the Ming Dynasty: SS: Shenji Battalion (Junior Guards); Wehrmacht: Similar to the Nine-sided Gestapo: Dongchang and Jinyiwei: Stormtroopers: In fact, they are a miscellaneous army, abandoned by Hitler A political product, he was later recruited into the SS.

The responsibilities of the SS and the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht: Prepare, fire

SS: Prepare, set fire

This was a popular joke in Germany at the time, but It can also be seen what type of organization they are.