Mann (military rank)

SS rank insignia patterns from 1933.

Mann (German for "man", "male", "husband", or "fellow"), was a paramilitary rank used by several Nazi Party paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the SS, and also as a rank of the SA where Mann was the lowest enlisted rank and was the equivalent of a private.^[1][2]

In 1938, with the rise of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (later renamed the Waffen-SS), the SS changed the rank of SS-Mann to Schütze, although it still retained the original SS rank of Mann for the Allgemeine-SS (general SS). The rank of Mann was junior to SS-Sturmmann.

In most Nazi Party organizations, the rank of Mann held no distinctive insignia. Some groups, however, granted a minor form of rank insignia such as a blank collar patch or simple shoulder board to denote the rank of Mann.^[3] (see right: SS rank insignia pattern from 1933)

Even lower ranks, e.g. Bewerber, Jungmann, Anwärter, Vollanwärter, were established in the mid-1930s as a recruit or candidate position, held by an individual seeking an appointment as a Mann in a Nazi Party paramilitary organization.^[1]

Insignia

• 

  SS-Mann Allgemeine SS, shoulder strap

• 

  SS-Schütze Waffen-SS, shoulder strap

• 

  SS-Mann/ SS-Schütze, collar patch (1940-1945)

Candidate status SS-Bewerber (Staffel-Bewerber) SS-Jungmann (Staffel-Jungmann) SS-Anwärter (Staffel-Anwärter) SS-Vollanwärter (Staffel-Vollanwärter)	1st rank Allgemeine SS SS-Mann	2nd rank no equivalent	3rd rank SS-Sturmmann
Volunteer for joining the Waffen-SS SS-Bewerber (Staffel-Bewerber) SS-Jungmann (Staffel-Jungmann) SS-Anwärter (Staffel-Anwärter)	1st Rank Waffen-SS SS-Schütze	2nd rank SS-Oberschütze	3rd rank SS-Sturmmann
Candidate status SA-Anwärter	1st SA rank SA-Mann	2nd rank no equivalent	3rd rank SA-Sturmmann
person liable to military service Wehrmacht	1st Wehrmacht rank Soldat	2nd rank Oberschütze	3rd rank Gefreiter

Notes

1. McNab 2009, p. 30.
2. McNab (II) 2009, p. 15.
3. Flaherty 2004, p. 148.

Bibliography

• Flaherty, T. H. (2004) [1988]. The Third Reich: The SS. Time-Life Books, Inc. ISBN 1 84447 073 3.
• McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923–1945. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-49-5.
• McNab (II), Chris (2009). The Third Reich. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-51-8.

External links

• SS Man killed in 1943