Oberführer

Quality 0.50 · 4 views · Updated 2 months ago

Officer's rank in the Schutzstaffel (SS)

title: "Oberführer" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ss-oberführer", "ss-ranks"] description: "Officer's rank in the Schutzstaffel (SS)" topic_path: "general/ss-oberfuhrer" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberführer" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Officer's rank in the Schutzstaffel (SS) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military rank"]

Field	Value
name	Oberführer
image	SS-Oberführer Collar Rank.svg
caption	SS Gorget patch
country	Nazi Germany
service branch	Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg Schutzstaffel
Flag_of_the_SA_(Sturmabteilung).svg Sturmabteilung
NSKK Hausflagge.svg National Socialist Motor Corps
NSFK Wimpel Fördernde Mitglieder.svg National Socialist Flyers Corps
abbreviation	Oberf
NATO rank	OF-5
formation	1921
abolished	1945
higher rank	Brigadeführer
lower rank	Standartenführer
equivalents	Oberst
::

NOTOC

Oberführer (short: Oberf, , ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) dating back to 1921. An Oberführer was typically an NSDAP member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region. From 1921 to 1925, the phrase Oberführer was used as a title in the Sturmabteilung (SA), but became an actual SA rank after 1926.

Oberführer was also a rank of the Schutzstaffel (SS, at that time a branch of the SA), established in 1925 as Gauführer, a rank for SS officers in charge of SS personnel in the several Gaue throughout Germany; in 1928 the rank was renamed Oberführer, and used of the commanders of the three regional SS-Oberführerbereiche. In 1930, the SS was reorganized into SS-Gruppen and Brigaden, at which time Oberführer became subordinate to the higher rank of Brigadeführer. By 1932, Oberführer was an established rank of the SA, SS and NSKK.

Oberführer wore two oak leaves on the uniform collar rank patch, along with the shoulder boards and lapels of a general officer. In 1938, the status of SS-Oberführer began to change with the rise of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), which would later become the Waffen-SS. Since Brigadeführer was rated equal to a Generalmajor, and Standartenführer to an Oberst, Oberführer had no military equivalent and quickly became regarded as a senior colonel rank. This distinction continues in historical circles with most texts referring to Oberführer as a senior colonel rank while some others state it was a military equivalent to a British Army brigadier.

Rank insignia

::data[format=table] | Flag of the Schutzstaffel.svg Schutzstaffel (SS) | Flag_of_the_SA_(Sturmabteilung).svg Sturmabteilung (SA) | NSKK Hausflagge.svg NS Motor Corps (NSKK) | NSFK Wimpel Fördernde Mitglieder.svg NS Flyers Corps (NSFK) | |---|---|---|---| | [[File:WSS Inf OF5 Oberf Staf 1945.png|70px]] | [[File:WSS-Oberführer OF5a cam slv 1945.svg|60px]] | [[File:HH-SS-Oberfuhrer-Collar.png|120px]] | [[File:SA-Oberführer Collar tab.svg|50px| ru: Просьба за изготовлением и перемещеним картиу!]] | | Waffen-SS | | collar insignia | | ::

::data[format=table] | Junior Rank Standartenführer | SS rank and SA rank Oberführer | Senior Rank Brigadeführer | |---|---|---| ::

Notes

Bibliography

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::