Arthur R. Butz archive
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century
Appendix B
SS Ranks
| U.S. Army | SS |
|---|---|
| Private | SS Mann |
| Private First Class | Sturmmann |
| Corporal | Rottenführer |
| Sergeant | Unterscharführer |
| Staff Sergeant | Scharführer |
| Technical Sergeant | Oberscharführer |
| Master Sergeant | Hauptscharführer |
| First Sergeant | Sturmscharführer |
| Second Lieutenant | Untersturmführer |
| First Lieutenant | Obersturmführer |
| Captain | Hauptsturmführer |
| Major | Sturmbannführer |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Obersturmbannführer |
| Colonel | Standartenführer |
| Colonel | Oberführer |
| Brigadier General | Brigadeführer |
| Lieutenant General | Gruppenführer |
| General | Obergruppenführer |
| General of the Army | Oberstgruppenführer |
One can exercise a certain amount of choice on this subject. The three grades of Gruppenführer are sometimes equated with Major General, Lieutenant General and General, respectively. An Oberführer is sometimes described as a Senior Colonel
or a Brigadier General; in the latter case a Brigadeführer is equated with a Major General.
These ranks had their origin in the early days when the SS was something of an offshoot of the SA, which had similar ranks.