SS (short for Schutzstaffel) was a special combat unit of Hitler’s troops formed in the early 1930s. These paramilitary units belonged to the so-called reinforcement troops. The official name Waffen-SS began to be used in 1939.
The SS (Schutzstaffel), elite security units of the Nazi party, were created by order of A. Hitler was a stronghold of the Nazi totalitarian-police state, the so-called “Black Order. It began forming on May 11, 1923, as the Stosstrupps Adolf Hitler, but did not play any special role until 1925. In accordance with Hitler’s directive of November 7, 1930, the SS was to become an instrument for strengthening the unity of the NSDAP, subordinating all levels and instances of the party to the will and orders of the Fuhrer.
It is noteworthy that everyone who wanted to join the SS had to meet certain parameters, in particular, to be at least 175 cm tall.
Unlike other Nazi paramilitary formations, the SS soldiers did not wear the national emblem of the Wehrmacht on their uniforms. Instead, a special sign of the SS was used, where the wings of the eagle were more easily spread to the sides. The same image of the bird of prey was placed on the laurel wreath with a swastika in the center. The emblem was sewn with silk or aluminum thread on the sleeve of the uniform. There was a similar mark on the hood. In the right buttonhole of the jacket of the SS troops was a symbol of the rune “Sig” in the form of a schematic image of two lightning bolts.
All SS men who joined the SS before 1939 were required to study runic symbolism as part of their preliminary training. By 1945 the SS used 14 basic runes.
What is SS?
SS is the shortened name for Schuftzstaffel, a German combat unit, formed during the reign of Adolf Hitler. The SS were units formed in 1923 as Hitler’s guard. During World War II, the SS was subordinate to Himmler, who held the rank of Reichsfuhrer. SS soldiers were given preferential access to the best innovative equipment and weapons.
The double letter “S” from the SS symbol was first introduced in 1933 when the SS Sturmgauptführer Walter Heck combined the two Sig runes and got the well-known SS emblem. In the runic alphabet, Sig is a Symbol of Victory. The runes were of great importance in the philosophy of the Third Reich. Until 1939, a course of lectures on runic symbolism was mandatory for SS recruits.
The Sig rune is an Attribute to the god of war Thor. It symbolized power, energy, and struggle, as well as thunder, lightning, and the solar disk in motion. Walter Heck, a graphic artist in the studio of Ferdinand Hofstätter in Bonn, combined two sig runes to create the SS emblem. The right to use this emblem was purchased by the SS from Heck for the symbolic sum of 2,5 Reichsmarks.
The rune Sig is considered an occult tool. With its help, you can dramatically change the destiny. This rune concealed the desire to win and great inner strength. Its use has been resorted to intimidating enemies, to gain strength. It can be interpreted as a sign of protection, in favor of higher forces. Rune is a zigzag ancient letter belonging to the ancient runic script of the mid-II century BC, it was replaced by the Latin alphabet.
It resembles a lightning bolt or a beam of light without an arrow, which is drawn on electric boxes. Its meaning is associated with the stairway to the sky and the road to the new. The letter has a special shape, which explains the convenience of carving the sign on wood. It has elongated proportions, has no rounded elements and curls.
The double “S” from the logo of the SS unit is a hand-drawn symbol, which does not resemble any of the commercial fonts. As already mentioned above, the letters look more like zig-zags or lighting bolts, with sharp corners and straight lines, which were easy to engrave on wood.
As for the colors of the SS emblem, it was usually set in black and white, with both options available — black letters on a plain white background, or white letters on black. In the second case, the black background could turn into a roundel with a double-thin outline.