Supreme SA Leader

The Supreme SA Leader (German: Oberster SA-Führer), was the titular head of the Nazi Party's paramilitary group, the Sturmabteilung (SA).

Supreme SA Leader
Oberster SA-Führer
Longest serving
Adolf Hitler
12 August 1930 – 30 April 1945
Sturmabteilung
Member ofOberste SA-Führung
Reports toAdolf Hitler
AppointerAdolf Hitler
Term lengthNot fixed
FormationFebruary 1920
First holderEmil Maurice
Final holderAdolf Hitler
Abolished30 April 1945
DeputyStabschef

History

To centralize the loyalty of the SA, Hitler personally assumed command of the entire organization in 1930 and remained Oberster SA-Führer for the duration of the group's existence. After 1931, those who held the rank of Stabschef, such as Ernst Röhm, were accepted as the commanders of the SA.[1]

Insignia

The Oberster SA-Führer had no particular uniform insignia and was a paramilitary title that could be denoted in a variety of ways. Göring, for instance, created an elaborate uniform, with swastika armband accompanied with white service stripes. In contrast, Maurice wore simply a brown Nazi stormtrooper shirt with no insignia, as did Hitler when he held the title of Oberster SA-Führer.

List of officeholders
No. Portrait Oberster SA-FührerTook officeLeft officeTime in officeRef
1
Maurice, EmilEmil Maurice
(1897–1972)		February 1920August 19211 year, 6 months[2]
2
Klintzsch, Hans UlrichHans Ulrich Klintzsch
(1898–1959)		October 1921February 19231 year, 4 months[2]
3
Göring, HermannHermann Göring
(1893–1946)		February 1923November 19239 months[2]
None
(November 1923 – 1 November 1926)[lower-alpha 1]
4
Pfeffer von Salomon, FranzFranz Pfeffer von Salomon
(1888–1968)		1 November 192629 August 1930[lower-alpha 2]3 years, 9 months[4]
5
Hitler, AdolfAdolf Hitler
(1889–1945)		2 September 193030 April 1945 †14 years, 7 months[4]

See also

Notes
  1. The NSDAP and its organs and instruments (including the Völkischer Beobachter and the SA) were banned in Bavaria (and other parts of Germany) following Hitler's abortive attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic in the Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. The Bavarian ban was lifted in February 1925 after Hitler pledged to adhere to legal and constitutional means in his quest for political power. See Verbotzeit. Though charged with the leadership of the SA in August 1926, Pfeffer von Salomon was not formally appointed Oberster SA-Führer until 1 November 1926.[3]
  2. Pfeffer von Salomon submitted a letter of resignation on 12 August 1929, effective 29 August. Hitler accepted the resignation and named himself as Oberste SA-Führer effective 2 September.[4]

References
  1. McNab 2009, pp. 14, 15.
  2. McNab 2009, p. 14.
  3. Miller & Schulz 2017, p. 353.
  4. Höffkes 1986, p. 249.

Bibliography
  • Höffkes, Karl (1986). Hitlers Politische Generale. Die Gauleiter des Dritten Reiches: ein biographisches Nachschlagewerk. Tübingen: Grabert-Verlag. ISBN 3-87847-163-7.
  • McNab, Chris (2009). The Third Reich. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-51-8.
  • Miller, Michael D.; Schulz, Andreas (2017). Gauleiter: The Regional Leaders of the Nazi Party and Their Deputies, 1925-1945. II (Georg Joel - Dr. Bernhard Rust). R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 1-932970-32-0.
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