SS Personalhauptamt

Main office for SS Personnel

SS Personalhauptamt
The Personalhauptamt was a main office of the SS.
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler
Agency overview
Formed	c.1939
Dissolved	May 8, 1945
Jurisdiction	Germany Occupied Europe
Headquarters	SS Personalhauptamt, Wilmersdorfer Straße, Charlottenburg, Berlin 52°30′28.16″N 13°18′22.44″E / 52.5078222°N 13.3062333°E
Employees	150
Minister responsible	Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, (1939–1945)
Agency executives	SS-Gruppenführer Walter Schmitt, Chef fur Personalhauptamt, (1939–1942) SS-Obergruppenführer Maximilian von Herff, Chef fur Personalhauptamt, (1942–1945)
Parent agency	Allgemeine-SS

The SS Personalhauptamt was the central recording office for all officers and potential officers for the SS in Nazi Germany.^[1]

Formation

The Personalhauptamt was responsible maintaining the service records for all commissioned Waffen-SS and Allgemeine-SS personnel. However it did not keep extensive details of non-commissioned or rank and file SS members. Likewise it was not responsible for promotions or appointments.

Its headquarters were originally located on Wilmersdorfer Straße, Berlin but by1943 the Allied bombing campaign against the German capital had forced the various departments of the Personalhauptamt to relocate throughout Nazi Germany.

Organization

The SS-Personalhauptamt consisted of two main departments (German: Ämter or Amtsgruppen). They were:

• Amt für Führerpersonalien (English: Office of Officer Personnel Records)
• Amt für Führernachwuchs (English: Office for Potential Officers)

Within the Office of Officer Personnel Records there were three sub departments. They were:

• Amtsgruppe A
  • Amt I Zentralkartei (English: Central Records)
  • Amt II Führernachwuchs und Schulen (English: Awards and Schooling)
  • Amt III Disziplinar- und Ehrenangelegenheiten (English: Discipline and honours)
• Amtsgruppe B (Personalamt Allgemeine SS) (English: Allgemeine SS Personnel Office)
• Amtsgruppe C (Personalamt Waffen-SS) (English: Waffen-SS Personnel Office)

Legacy

The Berlin headquarters of the Personalhauptamt was bombed several times during World War II, but most of the SS records survived the collapse of Nazi Germany. As such, the files of SS personnel have become an invaluable resource for present-day historians studying the Third Reich.

The archive has allowed researchers to carry out detailed examinations into the roles that major Nazis played in the Second World War and The Holocaust. For example, the service records of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich show how he organised the Wannsee Conference, masterminded the Final Solution and managed the Einsatzgruppen.

References

1. United States. War Dept/Stephen E. Ambrose (2006-06-26). "Handbook on German military forces".