Heinrich Himmler : A Life (152 page)

59
. BAB, NS 19/4011, speech at the conference of Naval commanders, 16 December 1943.

60
. See above p. 105.

61
. BAB, NS 2/59, Brandt to all heads of Main Offices, 28 July 1942 (quoted from a letter from Himmler to Pohl of the same date).

62
. BAB, NS 19/3973, compilation of December 1940, published in Ackermann,
Himmler
, 262 ff. The booklet
Rassenpolitik
, edited in 1943 by the SS Main Office, gives as ‘basic laws of the SS’ the order to marry, the law of honour, dispositions for the Lebensborn, basic law concerning the care of widows and orphans, and the SS order to last surviving sons (pp. 57 ff.). The list of ‘Grundgesetze’ as of 30 October 1942 (Erlass-Sammlung, BAK, NSD 41/39, 232 ff., published in Bianca Vieregge,
Die Gerichtsbarkeit einer ‘Elite’. Nationalsozialistische Rechtsprechung am Beispiel der SS- und Polizeigerichtsbarkeit
(Baden-Baden and Berlin, 2002), 256 ff.) gives in addition the order concerning ‘ethnic self-respect’ of 19 April 1939, which forbade SS men and police to associate, and in particular to have sexual relations, with members of ‘populations of other races’, and also the instruction ‘Tactful attitude towards those of other faiths’ of 15 September 1934. The definitive list of basic laws, according to the head of the SS Main Office for the SS Court in April 1940, had been postponed by Himmler to the end of the war (BAB, NS 7/3, announcement of 1 April 1940).

63
. IfZ, PS-2204, note for the file by Himmler on his discussion with Hitler on 1 November 1935.

64
. See
Schied- und Ehrengerichtsordnung der SS
, Miesbach (
c.
1935). The arbitration courts decided cases that did not fall within the scope of disciplinary proceedings.

65
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Kaul. In view of the conflict between Brigadeführer Kaul and Oberführer Unger, the responsible Oberabschnittsführer von dem Bach-Zelewski had suggested a duel (von dem Bach-Zelewski, 12 May 1936, to Heissmeyer; Himmler’s decision of 31 May 1936).

66
. BAB, NS 19/4004, speech at the Gruppenführer meeting in Munich in the leaders’ quarters of the SS-Standarte Deutschland, 8 November 1937.

67
. BAB, NS 7/218, order from Himmler of 5 January 1943 re the preservation of honour in war. Himmler is quoting here from a Führer order for the Wehrmacht, which was also appropriate for the SS.

68
. BAB, NS 19/4004, speech to the Gruppenführer meeting in Munich in the leaders’ quarters of the SS-Standarte Deutschland, 8 November 1937.

69
. BAB, NS 19/3901, 15 August 1942.

70
. Ibid. 11 November 1935.

71
. BAB, NS 19/3903, 3 February 1940.

72
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Heydrich, note in the file, 2 May 1937. The ban was directed at Heydrich and Weitzel.

73
. BAB, NS 19/3901, 1 July 1936 and 4 May 1939.

74
. Ibid. 31 May 1939.

75
. Ibid. order of 13 June 1940.

76
. On ideological training in the SS see Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 62 ff., and also the volume of essays edited by Jürgen Matthäus
et al
.,
Ausbildungsziel Judenmord? ‘Weltanschauliche Erziehun’ von SS, Polizei und Waffen-SS im Rahmen der ‘Endlösung’
(Frankfurt a. M., 2003) and in particular Jürgen Matthäus’s own essay ‘Die “Judenfrage” als Schulungsthema von SS und Polizei. “Inneres Erlebnis” und Handlungslegitimation’, 35–86.

77
. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 116 ff.

78
. Ibid. 94 ff. The first number appeared at the end of 1935 but was then withdrawn.

79
. Ibid. 96 ff.

80
. BAB, NS 31/234, order of 1 September 1931; on the other hand, Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 99 ff., sees this order not as a step towards reducing the power of RuSHA but rather as motivated by financial difficulties.

81
. Listed in BAB, NS 2/64; Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 100.

82
. BAB, NS 19/580, Himmler’s order concerning the establishing of Mannschaftshäuser (team houses), 12 February 1939. In the file there is also a list of existing Mannschaftshäuser and of those to be set up in the near future, as on 22 June 1939; cf. Heinemann,
‘Rasse’
, 92 f.

83
. BAB, NS 2/277, directive from the head of the RuSHA, 16 October 1934, published in Matthäus
et al
.,
Ausbildungsziel Judenmord?
, doc. no. 1.

84
. BAB, NS 2/277, Himmler’s instruction on ideological training in the SS, 28 June 1937, published in Matthäus
et al.
,
Ausbildungsziel Judenmord?
, doc. no. 7.

85
. ‘Schulung hat nichts mit Schule zu tun’,
Das Schwarze Korps
of 17 February 1938.

86
. BAB, NS 2/277, instruction from the head of RuSHA on the implementation of ideological training, 17 February 1936, published in Matthäus
et al.
,
Ausbildungsziel Judenmord?
, doc. no. 3. It was not possible to keep to the original schedule; the time allowed for basic training had to be extended by another five months; see Matthäus, ‘“Judenfrage”’, 46.

87
. Booklets 1 and 2 were concerned with blood and soil and with the peasantry, booklet 3 with the Jews, booklet 4 with freemasonry and bolshevism, booklets 5 and 6 contain material on German history, booklet 7 deals with traditions.

88
. ‘Frühjahrswettkampf der SS’,
SS-Leitheft
, 3/1 (1937), 45–7; ‘Sonnenwendkämpfe der SS’,
SS-Leitheft
, 3/2 (1937), 62–4.

89
. Vol. 3 (1937), booklets 2 and 4–6 as well as in numerous other articles.

90
. ‘Das Sonntagsmädel. Eine Geschichte zur richtigen Frauenwahl’,
SS-Leitheft
, 7/4b(1941), 7–9, and also ‘Gegensätze ziehen einander an . . . oder: gleich und gleich gesellt sich gern. Eine Unterhaltung über die rechte Frauenwahl’,
SS-Leitheft
, 7/12a(1941), 23–4.

91
.
SS-Leitheft
6/6b(1940), supplement: Feier und Freizeit, containing ‘Für die Familie’; ‘Geburt und Namensgebung’,
SS-Leitheft
, 2/12 (1936), 53–6.

92
. ‘Held oder Tor?’,
SS-Leitheft
, 2/12 (1936), 9–12; ‘Canossa’,
SS-Leitheft
, 3/4 (1937), 40–6; ‘Heinrich der Löwe’,
SS-Leitheft
, 3/6 (1937), 9–19.

93
. BAB, NS 2/86, note by Caesar, reporting to Reichsführer-SS, 21 February 1938. On further instructions see also Himmler’s undated training instruction (cited according to the former Slg. Schumacher/238 I (BAB)).

94
. BAB, NS 19/4011, speech to the conference of naval commanders, 16 December 1943. In it Himmler expressly referred to the
Leithefte
. Similarly NS 19/4012, speech at the conference of Reich chief propaganda officers, 28 January 1944, and also NS 19/4014, speech to Wehrmacht generals, 21 June 1944.

95
. From booklet 4 onwards of volume 3 (1937) the
SS-Leithefte
each contained several such stories under the rubric ‘From German History’: in this booklet, for example, J. v. Leers, ‘Stellinga’, 13–18, and by the same author, ‘König Heinrich I’, 26–30; K. Pastenaci, ‘Der Wiking Leif entdeckt Amerika!’, 19–25. Though the format changed, this practice was continued in subsequent years.

1
. For this study all SS-Gruppenführer (and those holding higher ranks) were taken into consideration who had acquired their title between the middle of 1937 and 1944 (SS length-of-service lists of 1937, 1943, and 1944 in IfZ).

2
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Gille, curriculum vitae and letter from his brother Kurt Gille to Himmler, 7 May 1934.

3
. Ibid. Herbert Gille to Himmler, 6 May 1934; Kurt Gille to Himmler, 7 May 1934 (also on Herbert’s arrest).

4
. Ibid. assessment, 24 May 1934.

5
. Ibid. assessment, 1 October 1940.

6
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Lörner, c.v.

7
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Oberg, c.v., 12 March 1933.

8
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Pancke, c.v., 19 November 1935.

9
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Hofmann, c.v.

10
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Ebrecht, c.v., 9 March 1935; Birn,
Die Höheren SS- und Polizeiführer
, 333.

11
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Ebrecht, verdict of 28 November 1938.

12
. Ibid. birth announcement of his daughter Hela, 23 February 1940;on 14 July 1941 Ebrecht thanked Hildebrandt for his congratulations on the birth of his daughter Antje.

13
. BAB, BDC, SSO Rauter, c.v., 15 February 1935.

14
. See above pp. 134 ff.

15
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Behrends,
inter alia
c.v., 16 February 1932.

16
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Ohlendorf; Sowade, ‘Otto Ohlendorf’.

17
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Fegelein, c.v.

18
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Katzmann, c.v.

19
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Rösener, c.v., 4 March 1937.

20
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Jeckeln, Himmler to Jeckeln, 26 July 1939; Jeckeln’s reply of 28 July 1939; report of NSKK-Oberscharführer Heinz W. Hussmann of 26 June 1939.

21
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Kaul, Kaul to Schmitt, the head of Personnel, 22 May 1936; Ungerto the Personnel Office, 22 May 1936. The incident took place on 8 May 1936.

22
. Ibid. von dem Bach-Zelewski to Heissmeyer, 12 May 1936; Himmler to von demBach-Zelewski, 31 May 1936. In the view of von dem Bach-Zeleweski a duel would have been the appropriate way to resolve the conflict, but Himmler also rejected that.

23
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Bürger, Bürger to Himmler, 16 February 1942, and Himmler’s reply of 1 March 1942.

24
. BAB, NS 19/3939, RFSS instruction, 24 October 1942.

25
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Kleinheisterkamp, Himmler’s letter of 9 October 1942.

26
. BAB, NS 19/4005, speech of 11 December 1938.

27
. BAB, NS 19/4003, speech to the Hitler Youth on 22 May 1936, published in Himmler,
Geheimreden
, 89.

28
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Gottberg, von Gottberg’s declaration of acceptance, 12 August1936.

29
. BAB, BDC, SS-O Rahn, letter of 28 August 1937.

30
. BAB, NS 7/245, communication of SS judge on RFSS staff to the Main Office of the SS Court, 18 August 1942.

31
. In the case also of Harald Turner, the deputy head of the Race and Settlement Main Office, Himmler took a relatively gentle line when the former was involved in an alcohol-related lapse, sending Turner to the front. He emphasized that he had decided not to impose the punishment normally laid down, namely dismissal from the SS (BAB, BDC, SS-O-Turner, Himmler to Herff and Hildebrandt, 13 January 1945.).

32
. BAB, NS 7/245. On 22 January 1942 Himmler issued the instruction that in the case of offences committed by members of the SS and police alcohol abuse should not be taken as a reason to commute the punishment but rather as ‘one to make the punishment much more severe’.

33
. Doc. PS-1992 (A), lecture by Himmler on the nature and purpose of the SS as part of a Wehrmacht course on national politics, 15 to 23 January 1937, published in
IMT
, vol. 29, pp. 206 ff.