German army buttonholes. Ranks and insignia of SS troops

One of the most cruel and merciless organizations of the 20th century is the SS. Ranks, distinctive insignia, functions - all this was different from those in other types and branches of troops in Nazi Germany. Reich Minister Himmler completely brought together all the scattered security detachments (SS) into a single army - the Waffen SS. In the article we will take a closer look at the military ranks and insignia of the SS troops. And first, a little about the history of the creation of this organization.

Prerequisites for the formation of the SS

In March 1923, Hitler was concerned that the leaders of the assault troops (SA) were beginning to feel their power and importance in the NSDAP party. This was due to the fact that both the party and the SA had the same sponsors, for whom the goal of the National Socialists was important - to carry out a coup, and they did not have much sympathy for the leaders themselves. Sometimes it even came to an open confrontation between the leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm, and Adolf Hitler. It was at this time, apparently, that the future Fuhrer decided to strengthen his personal power by creating a detachment of bodyguards - the headquarters guard. He was the first prototype of the future SS. They had no ranks, but insignia had already appeared. The abbreviation for the Staff Guard was also SS, but it came from the German word Stawsbache. In every hundred of the SA, Hitler allocated 10-20 people, supposedly to protect high-ranking party leaders. They personally had to take an oath to Hitler, and their selection was carried out carefully.

A few months later, Hitler renamed the organization Stosstruppe - this was the name of the shock units of the Kaiser's army during the First World War. The abbreviation SS nevertheless remained the same, despite the fundamentally new name. It is worth noting that the entire Nazi ideology was associated with an aura of mystery, historical continuity, allegorical symbols, pictograms, runes, etc. Even the symbol of the NSDAP - the swastika - Hitler took from ancient Indian mythology.

Stosstrup Adolf Hitler - strike force"Adolf Hitler" - acquired the final features of the future SS. They did not yet have their own ranks, but insignia appeared that Himmler would later retain - a skull on their headdress, a black distinctive color of the uniform, etc. The “Death's Head” on the uniform symbolized the readiness of the detachment to defend Hitler himself at the cost of their lives. The basis for future usurpation of power was prepared.

Appearance of Strumstaffel - SS

After the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler went to prison, where he remained until December 1924. The circumstances that allowed the future Fuhrer to be released after an attempted armed seizure of power are still unclear.

Upon his release, Hitler first of all banned the SA from carrying weapons and positioning itself as an alternative to the German army. The fact is that the Weimar Republic could only have a limited contingent of troops under the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty after the First World War. It seemed to many that armed SA units were a legitimate way to avoid restrictions.

At the beginning of 1925, the NSDAP was restored again, and in November the “shock detachment” was restored. At first it was called Strumstaffen, and on November 9, 1925 it received its final name - Schutzstaffel - “cover squadron”. The organization had nothing to do with aviation. This name was invented by Hermann Goering, a famous fighter pilot of the First World War. He liked to use aviation terms in Everyday life. Over time, the “aviation term” was forgotten, and the abbreviation was always translated as “security detachments.” It was headed by Hitler's favorites - Schreck and Schaub.

Selection for the SS

The SS gradually became an elite unit with good salaries in foreign currency, which was considered a luxury for the Weimar Republic with its hyperinflation and unemployment. All Germans of working age were eager to join the SS detachments. Hitler himself carefully selected his personal guard. The following requirements were imposed on candidates:

Age from 25 to 35 years.
Having two recommendations from current members of the CC.
Permanent residence in one place for five years.
Availability of such positive qualities like sobriety, strength, health, discipline.

New development under Heinrich Himmler

The SS, despite the fact that it was personally subordinate to Hitler and the Reichsführer SS - from November 1926, this position was held by Josef Berthold, was still part of the SA structures. The attitude towards the “elite” in the assault detachments was contradictory: the commanders did not want to have SS members in their units, so they shouldered various responsibilities, for example, distributing leaflets, subscribing to Nazi propaganda, etc.

In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became the leader of the SS. Under him, the size of the organization began to grow rapidly. The SS turns into an elite closed organization with its own charter, a mystical ritual of entry, imitating the traditions of medieval knightly Orders. A real SS man had to marry a “model woman.” Heinrich Himmler introduced a new mandatory requirement to join the renewed organization: the candidate had to prove evidence of purity of origin in three generations. However, that was not all: the new Reichsführer SS ordered all members of the organization to look for brides only with a “pure” genealogy. Himmler managed to nullify the subordination of his organization to the SA, and then completely leave it after he helped Hitler get rid of the leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm, who sought to turn his organization into a massive people's army.

The bodyguard detachment was transformed first into the Fuhrer's personal guard regiment, and then into the personal SS army. Ranks, insignia, uniforms - everything indicated that the unit was independent. Next, we’ll talk in more detail about insignia. Let's start with the rank of the SS in the Third Reich.

Reichsführer SS

At its head was the Reichsführer SS - Heinrich Himmler. Many historians claim that he intended to usurp power in the future. In the hands of this man was control not only over the SS, but also over the Gestapo - the secret police, the political police and the security service (SD). Despite the fact that many of the above organizations were subordinate to one person, they were completely different structures, which sometimes even were at odds with each other. Himmler well understood the importance of a branched structure of different services concentrated in the same hands, so he was not afraid of Germany’s defeat in the war, believing that such a person would be useful to the Western allies. However, his plans were not destined to come true, and he died in May 1945, biting into an ampoule of poison in his mouth.

Let's look at the highest ranks of the SS among the Germans and their correspondence with the German army.

Hierarchy of the SS High Command

The insignia of the SS high command consisted of Nordic ritual symbols and oak leaves on both sides of the lapels. The exceptions - SS Standartenführer and SS Oberführer - wore oak leaf, but belonged to senior officers. The more of them there were on the buttonholes, the higher the rank of their owner.

The highest ranks of the SS among the Germans and their correspondence with the ground army:

SS officers

Let's consider the features of the officer corps. The SS Hauptsturmführer and lower ranks no longer had oak leaves on their buttonholes. Also on their right buttonhole was the SS coat of arms - a Nordic symbol of two lightning bolts.

Hierarchy of SS officers:

SS rank	Lapels	Compliance in the military
SS Oberführer	Double oak leaf	No match
Standartenführer SS	Single sheet	Colonel
SS Obersturmbannführer	4 stars and two rows of aluminum thread	Lieutenant colonel
SS Sturmbannführer	4 stars
SS Hauptsturmführer	3 stars and 4 rows of thread	Hauptmann
SS Obersturmführer	3 stars and 2 rows	Chief Lieutenant
SS Untersturmführer	3 stars	Lieutenant

I would like to immediately note that the German stars did not resemble the five-pointed Soviet ones - they were four-pointed, rather reminiscent of squares or rhombuses. Next in the hierarchy are the SS non-commissioned officer ranks in the Third Reich. More details about them in the next paragraph.

Non-commissioned officers

Hierarchy of non-commissioned officers:

SS rank	Lapels	Compliance in the military
SS Sturmscharführer	2 stars, 4 rows of thread	Staff sergeant major
Standartenoberunker SS	2 stars, 2 rows of thread, silver edging	Chief Sergeant Major
SS Hauptscharführer	2 stars, 2 rows of thread	Oberfenrich
SS Oberscharführer	2 stars	Sergeant Major
Standartenjunker SS	1 star and 2 rows of thread (differing in shoulder straps)	Fanenjunker-sergeant-major
Scharführer SS	1 star and 2 rows of thread (differing in shoulder straps)	Non-commissioned sergeant major
SS Unterscharführer	2 threads at the bottom	Non-commissioned officer

Buttonholes are the main, but not the only insignia of ranks. Also, the hierarchy could be determined by shoulder straps and stripes. SS military ranks were sometimes subject to change. However, above we presented the hierarchy and the main differences at the end of World War II.

Prerequisites for the formation of the SS

Stosstrup Adolf Hitler - the Adolf Hitler strike force - acquired the final features of the future SS. They did not yet have their own ranks, but insignia appeared that Himmler would later retain - a skull on their headdress, a black distinctive color of the uniform, etc. The “Death's Head” on the uniform symbolized the readiness of the detachment to defend Hitler himself at the cost of their lives. The basis for future usurpation of power was prepared.

Appearance of Strumstaffel - SS

At the beginning of 1925, the NSDAP was restored again, and in November the “shock detachment” was restored. At first it was called Strumstaffen, and on November 9, 1925 it received its final name - Schutzstaffel - “cover squadron”. The organization had nothing to do with aviation. This name was invented by Hermann Goering, a famous fighter pilot of the First World War. He loved to apply aviation terms to everyday life. Over time, the “aviation term” was forgotten, and the abbreviation was always translated as “security detachments.” It was headed by Hitler's favorites - Schreck and Schaub.

Selection for the SS

Age from 25 to 35 years.
Having two recommendations from current members of the CC.
Permanent residence in one place for five years.
The presence of such positive qualities as sobriety, strength, health, discipline.

New development under Heinrich Himmler

In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became the leader of the SS. Under him, the size of the organization began to grow rapidly. The SS turns into an elite closed organization with its own charter, a mystical ritual of entry, imitating the traditions of medieval knightly Orders. A real SS man had to marry a “model woman.” Heinrich Himmler introduced a new mandatory requirement for joining the renewed organization: the candidate had to prove evidence of purity of descent in three generations. However, that was not all: the new Reichsführer SS ordered all members of the organization to look for brides only with a “pure” genealogy. Himmler managed to nullify the subordination of his organization to the SA, and then completely leave it after he helped Hitler get rid of the leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm, who sought to turn his organization into a massive people's army.

Reichsführer SS

Let's look at the highest ranks of the SS among the Germans and their correspondence with the German army.

Hierarchy of the SS High Command

The highest ranks of the SS among the Germans and their correspondence with the ground army:

SS officers

Hierarchy of SS officers:

SS rank	Lapels	Compliance in the military
SS Oberführer	Double oak leaf	No match
Standartenführer SS	Single sheet	Colonel
SS Obersturmbannführer	4 stars and two rows of aluminum thread	Lieutenant colonel
SS Sturmbannführer	4 stars
SS Hauptsturmführer	3 stars and 4 rows of thread	Hauptmann
SS Obersturmführer	3 stars and 2 rows	Chief Lieutenant
SS Untersturmführer	3 stars	Lieutenant

Non-commissioned officers

Hierarchy of non-commissioned officers:

SS rank	Lapels	Compliance in the military
SS Sturmscharführer	2 stars, 4 rows of thread	Staff sergeant major
Standartenoberunker SS	2 stars, 2 rows of thread, silver edging	Chief Sergeant Major
SS Hauptscharführer	2 stars, 2 rows of thread	Oberfenrich
SS Oberscharführer	2 stars	Sergeant Major
Standartenjunker SS	1 star and 2 rows of thread (differing in shoulder straps)	Fanenjunker-sergeant-major
Scharführer SS	1 star and 2 rows of thread (differing in shoulder straps)	Non-commissioned sergeant major
SS Unterscharführer	2 threads at the bottom	Non-commissioned officer

SS rank insignia

The insignia on the uniform of SS members indicated personal SS ranks, affiliation with the branch of the SS troops, services, departments, etc. The system of buttonholes indicating ranks - so familiar from the film - was introduced in 1926. Moreover, the signs themselves were similar to those that existed in the Assault Troops (SA) - at that time the SS was integral part SA. The buttonholes themselves were black, and the insignia was white, silver or gray. Privates, non-commissioned officers, as well as officers up to and including the SS-Obersturmbannführer, wore insignia only in the left buttonhole (in the right buttonhole they wore the number of their standard, with the exception of the 87th standard, whose members wore the image of an edelweiss, and the 105th standard, where since 1939 they wore the image of elk antlers), and officers from the Standartenführer - in both buttonholes. SD and Security Police officers with the rank of Obersturmbannführer had clean right buttonholes - the well-known double Zig runes that became business card The SS were introduced in 1933, initially exclusively for the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, and then extended to all other German SS units. The “belonging” of the lapel runes to the SS troops was taken into account. And so it happened that those who had no relation to the SS troops also began to wear them on any SS field uniform. In “Moments,” all RSHA employees, without exception, wear black, gray, and field uniforms wear double zig runes, although the vast majority do not have the right to do so.

Beginning in May 1933, SS men wore one shoulder strap on the right shoulder with their black uniform.

There were six types of shoulder straps, five of which indicated that their owner belonged to a certain category of ranks: SS-manns (private), Scharführer (non-commissioned officers), junior, middle and senior commanders. At the same time, the specific rank in pursuit was not indicated. The sixth type of shoulder strap was worn only by the Reichsführer SS. Ranks were indicated by insignia on the buttonholes in the form of a combination of soutache stripes and cones (four-pointed stars) -and not smooth cubes, like in a movie. On the left sleeve, SD officers wore a sleeve patch in the form of a black diamond (for officers with a silver edging) and the letters “SD” - these are clearly visible in the film.

On their buttonholes, SS ranks initially wore the following insignia:

Private SS-manns had an empty buttonhole;

Sturmmann - two soutache stripes;

Rottenführer - four soutache stripes;

Unterscharführer - one lump;

Scharführers - one cone and two soutache stripes;

Oberscharführer - two bumps diagonally;

Hauptscharführer - two cones and two soutache stripes;

Sturmscharführer - two cones and four soutache stripes;

Untersturmführer - three bumps diagonally;

Obersturmführer - three cones and two soutache stripes;

Hauptsturmführer - three cones on the diagonal and four soutache stripes;

Sturmbannführers - four bumps in the corners;

Obersturmbannführer - four cones and two soutache stripes;

Standartenführer - straight oak leaves diagonally with acorns at the stem;

Oberfuhrers - double curved oak leaves;

Brigadeführers - double curved oak leaves and cone;

Gruppenführer - triple curved oak leaves;

Obergruppenführer - triple curved oak leaves and cone;

Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler wore on his buttonholes a triple bunch of oak leaves, surrounded by an open wreath of oak branches.

But not all of these insignia survived until 1945 without changes. On April 7, 1942, a small reform was carried out, and their design was slightly changed by the senior command staff, starting with the SS Oberführer. In this form they already existed until the end of the war. Thus, ranks up to and including Standartenführer retained the old insignia, and senior officers received the following:

Oberfuhrers - double straight oak leaves;

Brigadefuhrers - triple straight oak leaves with acorns in the gaps and at the junction;

Gruppenführer - triple straight oak leaves and cone;

Obergruppenführer - triple straight oak leaves and two cones;

Oberstgruppenführer (this title was introduced just at this time) - three straight oak leaves and three cones.

In the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” the authors were unable to avoid errors in insignia, and in some cases it is simply impossible to explain why they were made. Most of the higher ranks (“generals”) in the film wear buttonholes from the 1942 model that are quite appropriate for the moment. The only exception for completely unknown reasons was Stirlitz's boss, Walter Schellenberg. Already in the 1st episode, in the scene of the meeting with Hitler, he appears in a black uniform with the insignia of an SS Brigadeführer, abolished in April 1942. At the same time, one cannot even assume that he kept the old insignia out of a whim - Schellenberg never wore such buttonholes as mine, since he received his rank of SS Brigadeführer more than two years after the reform, namely on June 23, 1944!

Also, all the Obersturmbannführers in the film wear the wrong buttonholes - including Eisman and Holthoff - although they have four knobs on their buttonholes, as they should, but only one soutache strip(in general, this strip is somewhat strange, it seems that it is simply the raised lower edge of the buttonhole). Such buttonholes did not exist at all - with four knobs, there were either no stripes at all (for Sturmbannführers), or there were two stripes (for Obersturmbannführers). Rolf has it in the film the buttonholes are the same as Holthoff's, but in his description he is called Sturmbannführer(this is the 6th episode of the film).

30.09.2007 22:54

In Germany from the autumn of 1936 to May 1945. As part of the Wehrmacht, there was a completely unique military organization - the SS Troops (Waffen SS), which were part of the Wehrmacht only operationally. The fact is that the SS Troops were not the military apparatus of the German state, but were an armed organization of the Nazi Party. But since the German state since 1933 has become an instrument for achieving the political goals of the Nazi Party, the German armed forces also carried out the tasks of the Nazis. That is why the SS Troops were operationally part of the Wehrmacht.

To understand the SS rank system, it is necessary to understand the essence of this organization. Many people believe that the SS Troops are the entire SS organization. However, the SS Troops were only part of it (albeit the most visible). Therefore, the table of ranks will be preceded by a brief historical background. In order to understand the SS, I recommend that you first familiarize yourself with historical information according to SA.

In April 1925, Hitler, concerned about the growing influence of SA leaders and the aggravation of contradictions with them, instructed one of the SA commanders, Julius Schreck, to create the Schutzstaffel (literal translation “defense squad”), abbreviated as SS. For this purpose, it was planned to allocate in each SA Hundert (SA hundred) one SS Gruppe (SS department) in the amount of 10-20 people. The newly created SS units within the SA were assigned a small and insignificant role - the physical protection of senior party leaders (a kind of bodyguard service). On September 21, 1925, Schreck issued a circular on the creation of SS units. At this time there was no need to talk about any SS structure. However, the SS rank system was immediately born; however, these were not yet ranks, but job titles. At this time the SS was one of the many structural divisions SA.

SS ranks from IX-1925 to XI-1926

* Read more about rank encoding .

In November 1926, Hitler began secretly separating SS units from the SA. For this purpose, the position of SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer) is being introduced, i.e. senior leader of SS groups. Thus, the SS received dual control (through the SA and directly along their line). Josef Bertchtold becomes the first Obergruppenführer. In the spring of 1927 he was replaced by Erhard Heiden.

SS ranks from XI-1926 to I-1929.

Code*
	SS Mann (SS Mann)
	SS Gruppenfuehrer (SS Gruppenfuehrer)

In January 1929, Heinrich Himmler (H. Himmler) was appointed head of the SS. SS begins to grow rapidly. If in January 1929 there were only 280 SS men, then by December 1930 there were already 2,727.

At the same time, an independent structure of SS units emerged.

Hierarchy of SS units from I-1929 to 1932


Rotten
Scharen	abteilung (branch)
Truppen	zug (platoon)
Stuerme	company (company)
Sturmbanne	battalion (battalion)
Standard	regiment (regiment)
Abschnitt	besatzung (garrison)

Note:Speaking about the equivalence of SS units (SS organizations (!), not SS Troops) to army units, the author means similarity in numbers, but not in the tasks performed, tactical purpose and combat capabilities

The rank system is changing accordingly. However, these are not titles, but positions.

SS rank system from I-1929 to 1932.

Code*	Names of titles (positions)
	SS Mann (SS Mann)







	SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer)

The last title was awarded to himself by A. Hitler. It meant something like “Supreme Leader of the SS.”

This table clearly shows the influence of the SA rank system. In the SS at this moment there are no formations like Gruppe or Obergruppe, but there are ranks. They are worn senior managers SS.

In mid-1930, Hitler prohibited the SA from interfering in the activities of the SS with an order that stated “... no SA commander has the right to give orders to the SS.” Although the SS still remained within the SA, in fact it was independent.

In 1932, the largest unit Oberabschnitte (Oberabschnitte) was introduced into the SS structure and SS structure acquires its completeness. Please note that we are not talking about the SS troops (there is no trace of them yet), but about public organization, which is part of the Nazi party, and all SS men are engaged in this activity on a voluntary basis in parallel with their main work activity (workers, shopkeepers, artisans, the unemployed, peasants, minor employees, etc.)

Hierarchy of SS units since 1932

SA division name	Equivalent to an army unit….
Rotten	there is no equivalent. Approximately a cell of 3-5 people.
Scharen	abteilung (branch)
Truppen	zug (platoon)
Stuerme	company (company)
Sturmbanne	battalion (battalion)
Standard	regiment (regiment)
Abschnitt	besatzung (garrison)
Oberabschnitte	kreise (military district)

The table of ranks takes on the following form (although these are still more job titles than ranks):

SS rank system from 1932 to V-1933

Code*	Names of titles (positions)
	SS Mann (SS Mann)
	SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer)
	SS Sharfuehrer (SS Sharfuehrer)
	SS Truppfuehrer (SS Truppführer)
	SS Sturmfuehrer (SS Sturmführer)
	SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer)
	SS Standartenfuehrer (SS Standartenfuehrer)

	SS Gruppenfuehrer (SA Gruppenfuehrer)
	SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer)
	Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel. (Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel)

Only A. Hitler held the latter title. It meant something like “Supreme Leader of the SS.”

On January 30, 1933, German President Field Marshal Hindenburg appointed A. Hitler as Reich Chancellor, i.e. Power in the country passes into the hands of the Nazis.

In March 1933, Hitler ordered the formation of the first armed SS unit, the Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH). This was Hitler's personal guard company (120 people). From now onSS is divided into its two components:

1.Allgemeine-SS - general SS.
2.Leibstandarte-SS - armed formation of the SS.

The difference was that membership in the CC was voluntary, and the SS men were engaged in SS affairs in parallel with their main activities (workers, peasants, shopkeepers, etc.). And those who were members of the Leibstandarte-SS, being also members of the CC, were already in service (not in the state service, but in the service of the Nazi Party), and received uniforms and pay at the expense of the NSDAP. Members of the CC, being people personally loyal to Hitler (Himmler took care of the selection of such people in the CC), after the Nazis came to power, began to be appointed to key positions in the state apparatus, starting with the heads of the district post office, police, telegraph, railway stations, etc. up to the highest government positions. Thus, the Allgemeine-SS began to gradually turn into a source of managerial personnel for the state, while simultaneously including a number of state institutions. Thus, the original role of the CC as a purely security unit was emasculated, and the CC quickly turned into the political and administrative basis of the Nazi regime, becoming a supranational organization, an organization that monitored the activities of state institutions in the interests of the Nazis. With the beginning of the creation of concentration camps by Himmler, concentration camp guard units were allocated from the rapidly growing Leibstandarte-SS. The SS organization now began to consist of three components:

1.Allgemeine-SS - general SS.
2.Leibstandarte-SS - armed formation of the CC.

The previous scale of ranks became insufficient and on May 19, 1933, a new scale of ranks was introduced:

SS rank system from May 19, 1933 to October 15, 1934.

Code*	Names of titles (positions)
	SS Mann (SS Mann)
	SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann)
	SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer)
	SS Sharfuehrer (SS Sharfuehrer)

	SS Truppfuehrer (SS Truppführer)
	SS Obertruppfuehrer (SS Obertruppführer)
	SS Sturmfuehrer (SS Sturmführer)

	SS Sturmhauptfuehrer (SS Sturmhauptfuehrer)
	SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer)

	SS Standartenfuehrer (SS Standartenfuehrer)
	SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer)

	SS Gruppenfuehrer (SA Gruppenfuehrer)
	SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer)
	Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel. (Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel)

On the night of June 30, 1934, the SS, on Hitler's orders, destroy the top of the SA. After this night, the role of the SA in the political life of the country was reduced to zero, and the role of the SS increased many times over. On July 20, 1934, Hitler finally removed the SS from the SA structure and gave it the status of an independent organization within the NSDAP. The role of the SS in the life of the country continued to grow, there were many people who wanted to join this now powerful organization, and on October 15, 1934, Himmler again changed the scale of SS ranks. New ranks SS-Bewerber and SS-Anwarter are introduced, the first for an applicant for entry into the SS and the second for a person undergoing candidate training. The names of some ranks are changing. The title SS Reichsfuehrer (SS Reichsfuehrer) was introduced specifically for Himmler.

This scale existed until 1942. There was no official division into privates, non-commissioned officers, officers, and generals in the Allgemeine-SS. This seemed to emphasize the SS camaraderie and equality. Until 1936, the same scale of ranks was used in the Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler" and in the concentration camp guard units

General SS ranks from October 15, 1934 to 1942.

Code*	Names of titles (positions)
	SS Bewerber (SS Beverber)
	SS Anwarter (SS Anvaerter)
	SS Mann (SS Mann)
	SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann)
	SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer)

	SS Sharfuehrer (SS Sharfuehrer)
	SS Obersharfuehrer (SS Obersharfuehrer)


	SS Obersturmfuehrer (SS Obersturmführer)

	SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer)
	SS Oberturmbannfuehrer (SS Obersturmbannfuehrer)
	SS Standartenfuehrer (SS Standartenfuehrer)
	SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer)
	SS Brigadenfuehrer (SS Brigadefuehrer)
	SS Gruppenfuehrer (SA Gruppenfuehrer)
	SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer)

In October 1936, the creation of the SS troops (Waffen SS) began on the basis of the Leibstandarte-SS. From this time on, the SS finally acquired its three main components:
1.Allgemeine-SS - general CC.
2. Waffen SS - CC troops.
3.SS-Totenkopfrerbaende - concentration camp guard units.

Moreover, the Allgemeine-SS actually merges with the state apparatus, some state institutions become departments and departments of the Allgemeine-SS, and the SS Troops and the concentration camp guards, in the minds of many modern readers, merge into a single whole. Hence the fallacy of the idea that the SS is the SS Troops, especially since since 1936 they and the camp guards have received their own rank system, which differs from the general SS one. The idea that the SS troops were involved in guarding concentration camps is also erroneous. The camps were guarded by specially created units called SS-Totenkopfrerbaende, which were not part of the SS Troops. The structure of the Waffen SS units itself was not a general SS structure, but an army model (squad, platoon, company, battalion, regiment, division). There were no permanent formations larger than a division in the Waffen SS. More information about SS divisions can be read on the Arsenal website .

Waffen SS and SS-Totenkopfrerbaende ranks from X-1936 to 1942

Code*		Titles
	Mannschaften	SS Schutze (SS Schutze)

		SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann)
		SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer)
	Unterfuehrer	SS Unterscharfuehrer (SS Unterscharfuehrer)
		SS Sharfuehrer (SS Sharfuehrer)
		SS Obersharfuehrer (SS Obersharfuehrer)
		SS Hauptscharfuehrer (SS Hauptscharfuehrer)
	Untere Fuehrer	SS Untersturmfuehrer (SS Untersturmführer)

		SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (SS Hauptsturmfuehrer)
	Mittlere Fuehrer	SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer)

		SS Standartenfuehrer (SS Standartenfuehrer)
		SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer)
	Hoehere Fuehrer

Why the Waffen SS generals added the words “... and general... of police” to their general SS rank is unknown to the author, but in most primary sources available to the author in German (official documents) these ranks are called that way, although the SS men who remain in the Allgemeine-SS have general ranks did not have this supplement.

In 1937, four officer schools were created in the Waffen SS, the students of which had the following ranks:

In May 1942, the ranks SS-Sturmscharfuehrer and SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer were added to the SS rank scale. These were last changes in the SS rank scale. There were three years left until the end of the thousand-year Reich.

General SS ranks from 1942 to 1945

Code*	Names of titles (positions)
	SS Bewerber (SS Beverber)
	SS Anwarter (SS Anvaerter)
	SS Mann (SS Mann)
	SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann)
	SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer)
	SS Unterscharfuehrer (SS Unterscharfuehrer)
	SS Sharfuehrer (SS Sharfuehrer)
	SS Obersharfuehrer (SS Obersharfuehrer)
	SS Hauptscharfuehrer (SS Hauptscharfuehrer)
	SS Sturmscharfuehrer (SS Sturmscharfuehrer)
	SS Untersturmfuehrer (SS Untersturmführer)
	SS Obersturmfuehrer (SS Obersturmführer)
	SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (SS Hauptsturmfuehrer)
	SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer)
	SS Oberturmbannfuehrer (SS Obersturmbannfuehrer)
	SS Standartenfuehrer (SS Standartenfuehrer)
	SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer)
	SS Brigadenfuehrer (SS Brigadefuehrer)
	SS Gruppenfuehrer (SA Gruppenfuehrer)
16a	SS Obergruppenfuehrer (SS Obergruppenfuehrer)
16b	SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer (SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer)
	SS Reichsfuehrer (SS Reichsfuehrer) Only G. Himmler had this title
	Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel. (Der Oberste Fuehrer der Schutzstaffel) Only A. Hitler had this title

Waffen SS and SS-Totenkopfrerbaende ranks from V-1942 to 1945.

Code*		Titles
	Mannschaften	SS Schutze (SS Schutze)
		SS Oberschutze (SS Oberschutze)
		SS Sturmann (SS Sturmann)
		SS Rottenfuehrer (SS Rottenfuehrer)
	Unterfuehrer	SS-Unterscharfuehrer (SS Unterscharfuehrer)
		SS Sharfuehrer (SS Sharfuehrer)
		SS Obersharfuehrer (SS Obersharfuehrer)
		SS Hauptscharfuehrer (SS Hauptscharfuehrer)
		SS-Sturmscharfuehrer (SS Sturmscharfuehrer)
	Untere Fuehrer	SS Untersturmfuehrer (SS Untersturmführer)
		SS Obersturmfuehrer (SS Obersturmführer)
		SS Hauptsturmfuehrer (SS Hauptsturmfuehrer)
	Mittlere Fuehrer	SS Sturmbannfuehrer (SS Sturmbannfuehrer)
		SS Obersturmbannfuehrer (SS Obersturmbannfuehrer)
		SS Standartenfuehrer (SS Standartenfuehrer)
		SS Oberfuehrer (SS Oberfuehrer)
	Hoehere Fuehrer	SS Brigadenfuehrer und der General-maior der Polizei (SS Brigadenfuehrer und der General-maior der Polizei)
		SS Gruppenfuehrer und der General-leutnant der Polizei (SA Gruppenfuehrer und der General-leutnant der Polizei)
16a		SS Obergruppenfuehrer und der General der Polizei (SS Obergruppenfuehrer und der General der Polizei)
16b		SS-Oberstgruppenfuehrer und der General-oberst der Polizei (SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer und der General-Oberst der Polizei)

At the final stage of the war, the activities of SS organizations ceased with the occupation of this territory by the Red Army or Allied troops. Formally, the activities of the SS were discontinued, and the organization itself was dissolved in the fall of 1945 based on the decisions of the Potsdam Allied Conference on the denazification of Germany. By the verdict of the international tribunal in Nuremberg in the fall of 1946. The SS was recognized as a criminal organization, and membership in it was a crime. However, only senior leaders and part of the middle SS personnel, as well as soldiers and officers of the SS Troops and concentration camp guards, were subjected to real criminal prosecution. They were not recognized as prisoners of war when captured, and were treated as if they were criminals. Convicted SS soldiers and officers were released from USSR camps under an amnesty at the end of 1955

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

The table contains the ranks and insignia of the SS troops, as well as their comparison with other armed SS units and with the military ranks of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. When comparing, it is necessary to take into account affiliation:

as well as the historical origin and succession of ranks in Germany from the beginning of November 1939 until the end of the Third Reich in 1945.

In March 1938, members of the Leibstandarte, Deutschland and Deutschland regiments were allowed to replace their SS shoulder straps with combined arms ones; as a result, the left buttonhole became redundant, since the rank began to be indicated by shoulder straps. On May 10, 1940, it was finally established for the SS troops that soldiers of the Leibstandarte and “reserve divisions” wear a badge of SS runes on the right buttonhole, and exclusively rank insignia on the left; the exception was the Death's Head Division, which was allowed to continue to wear the skull emblem on both sides. The pre-war buttonholes, which depicted SS runic insignia and skulls with numbers, letters and symbols, were banned "for reasons of secrecy" by an SS order of May 10, 1940 and replaced with the standard badges known today.

The title of Reichsführer SS in the Third Reich was held by two people - Heinrich Himmler and Karl Hanke (until 1934, “Reichsführer SS” meant a position, not a rank).

Special rules and exceptions existed for officer candidates, non-commissioned officers and SS cadets.

So, for example, in the SS rank Hauptscharführer awarded usually to the acting sergeant major in an SS company, the commander of the third (sometimes second) platoon in a company, or was a rank used for non-commissioned officer rank personnel serving on SS headquarters or security services (such as the Gestapo and SD). The rank of Hauptscharführer was also often used for concentration camp personnel and Einsatzgruppen personnel. SS Hauptscharführer was older than SS Oberscharführer and younger than SS Sturmscharführer, with the exception of the General SS, where Hauptscharführer was a junior rank, coming immediately after SS Untersturmführer.

Rank Sturmscharführer was established in June 1934, after the Night of the Long Knives. During the reorganization of the SS, the rank of Sturmscharführer was created as the highest rank of non-commissioned officers in the "Troops at the disposal of the SS" instead of the rank of Haupttruppführer, used in the SA. In 1941, on the basis of “Troops at the disposal of the SS”, an organization of SS troops arose, which inherited the title of Sturmscharführer from its predecessor.

Rank Untersturmführer in the SS, corresponding to the rank of lieutenant in the Wehrmacht, arose in 1934 from the position of head of an SS unit - troupe (German. SS-Truppe). The troupe covered an urban area, a rural district, was about the size of an army platoon - from 18 to 45 people, consisted of three sections - balls (German. SS-Schar), headed by Troupführer (German. SS-Truppführer) or Untersturmführer (German) SS-Untersturmführer), depending on the number. In the SS troops, the Untersturmführer, as a rule, held the position of platoon commander.

Buttonhole	Rank of the SS troops	Relevant ranks in ground forces Wehrmacht (German) Heer)
Insignia	Rank of the SS troops	Relevant ranks in ground forces Wehrmacht (German) Heer)
Generals and marshals
	Reichsführer-SS and Field Marshal of the SS (German) SS-Reichsführer und Generalfeldmarschall der Waffen-SS )	Field Marshal General
	SS Oberstgruppenführer and Colonel General of the SS troops (German. SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS )	Oberst General
	SS-Obergruppenführer and general of the SS branch of the armed forces (German). SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS )	General of the military branch
	SS Gruppenführer and Lieutenant General of the SS troops (German. SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS )	Lieutenant General
	SS Brigadeführer and Major General of the SS troops (German. SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS )	Major General
Officers
	Oberfuhrer (by rank of SS troops) (German. SS-Oberführer)	No match
	Standartenführer (military and police officers) (German. Standartenführer)	Colonel (German) Oberst)
	Obersturmbannführer (German) SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer)	Lieutenant Colonel (Oberst-Lieutenant) (German) Oberstleutnant)
	Sturmbannführer (German) SS-Sturmbannfuehrer)	Major
	Hauptsturmführer (German) SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer)	Hauptmann/captain
	Obersturmführer (German) SS-Obersturmfuhrer)	Chief Lieutenant
	Untersturmführer (German) SS-Untersturmfuehrer)	Lieutenant
Non-commissioned officers
	Sturmscharführer (German) SS-Sturmscharführer). In the Waffen-SS, unlike the SA, even more high rank- SS Sturmscharführer.	Staff sergeant major
	Hauptscharführer (German) SS-Hauptscharführer). Rank Hauptscharführer became a rank in the SS following the reorganization of the SS following the Night of the Long Knives. This rank was first awarded in June 1934, when it replaced the old rank of Obertrupführer, which was used in the SA. In the General SS, Hauptscharführer was a junior rank, immediately after SS-Untersturmführer. In the SS troops, Hauptscharführer was the second most senior rank of non-commissioned officer after Sturmscharführer. There was also a position Staffscharführer, corresponding in its range of responsibilities to the position of company or battalion sergeant major in the Soviet army. In the SS, the rank of Hauptscharführer was usually awarded to the acting sergeant major in an SS company, the commander of the third (sometimes second) platoon in the company, or was a rank used for non-commissioned officer rank personnel serving on SS headquarters or security services (such as the Gestapo and SD ). The title Hauptscharführer was also often used for concentration camp personnel and Einsatzgruppen personnel.	Chief Sergeant Major
	Standartenoberunker SS (German) SS-Standartenoberjunker)	Oberfenrich
	Oberscharführer (German) SS-Oberscharführer). After the Night of Long Knives, the rank of SS Oberscharführer “rose” and became equal to the rank of SA Troupführer. The SS rank buttonhole was changed to have two silver squares, as opposed to the SA's single square with a silver stripe. The rank of Troupführer SS was replaced by Oberscharführer SS. In the SS troops, Oberscharführers served as commanders of third (and sometimes second) platoons of infantry, sapper and other companies, and company foremen. In tank units, Oberscharführers were often tank commanders.	Sergeant Major
	Standartenjunker SS (German) SS-Standartenjunker)	Fanenyunker-Sergeant-Major
	Scharführer (German) SS-Scharführer). In 1934, with the reorganization of the SS rank structure following the Night of the Long Knives, the old rank of SS Scharführer became known as SS Unterscharführer, and SS Scharführer began to correspond to the rank of SA Oberscharführer. In the SS troops, the Scharführer, as a rule, held the position of squad commander (crew, tank) or deputy platoon commander (headquarters squad commander).	Non-commissioned sergeant major
	Oberünker SS (German) SS-Oberjunker)	Fenrich
	Unterscharführer CC (German) SS-Unterscharführer) In the SS troops, the rank of Unterscharführer was one of the ranks of junior command personnel at the company and platoon level. The rank was also equal to the first candidate rank of SS officer - SS Junker. The requirements for combat non-commissioned officers were higher than for general SS non-commissioned officers	Non-commissioned officer
	Junker SS (German) SS-Junker) Initially, the cadets were equated in legal status to SA Scharführers, then to SS Unterscharführers.	Fanenjunker - non-commissioned officer
Privates
No match		Staff corporal
	Rottenführer (German) SS-Rottenführer). The Hitler Youth also had the title of Rottenführer. In the Luftwaffe, there was the position of Rottenführer - the commander of a pair (leader) in fighter and attack aircraft.	Chief Corporal
	Sturmmann (German) SS-Sturmmann). Rank Sturmmann assigned after service in the ranks of the SA from 6 months to 1 year, subject to basic knowledge and abilities. Sturmmann is senior over rank Mann, with the exception of the SS, where the rank was separately introduced in 1941 Obermann, and in the SS troops - rank Oberschütz.	Corporal
	Oberschutze SS (German) SS-Oberschuetze).	Chief Soldier
	Mann SS (German) SS-Mann). In 1938, due to the increase in SS troops, the rank Mann was replaced by military rank Schutze(shooter) SS (German) SS-Schuetze), but in the general SS the rank was retained Mann.	Soldier, Schutze, Grenadier.
General SS Anverter Buttonhole	Candidate (German) SS-Anwärter) Candidate for entry into the SS troops before the start of the training and preparation process. With the start of training anverter the title was automatically awarded Schutze.	No match
SS-Beverber challenger (German) SS-Bewerber)			Wehrmacht volunteer

Color coding of military branches

White Flag of the 40th Panzergrenadier Regiment

Oberführer (Standartenführer) shoulder straps of the Waffen-SS Scarlet Artillery pennant of the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler"

Waffen-SS Obersturmbannführer's shoulder straps Veterinary service Carmine Tribunal and prosecutor's office Burgundy Military Geological Service [check the translation ! ] Light pink Automobile transport Pink (salmon color) Armored forces, including tank destroyers Pink

Shoulder strap of a Scharführer-SS tankman Communications units, war correspondents, propaganda companies Lemon yellow

Waffen-SS Oberscharführer shoulder straps Cavalry; motorized (1942-1945) and tank reconnaissance units; units with a cavalry background Gold

Waffen-SS Obersturmführer's shoulder straps Field gendarmerie and special services Orange

Waffen-SS Unterscharführer shoulder straps Intelligence units (1938-1942) Light brown

Shoulder strap of Hauptsturmführer Waffen-SS * Death's Head units
* Concentration camp personnel Pale brown

Hauptscharführer concentration camp shoulder straps Security Service Poison green

SD Sturmscharführer shoulder straps Mountain troops Green

Waffen-SS Untersturmführer shoulder straps Sonderfuehrers and personnel reserve units Dark green

Waffen-SS Obersturmführer's shoulder straps Supply and transportation units, field mail Blue Waffen-SS Hauptsturmführer's shoulder straps Control Blue

Waffen-SS Hauptsturmführer's shoulder straps Sanitary service Cornflower

Waffen-SS Standartenführer shoulder straps Corps of Engineers Black

Shoulder strap of Standartenführer Waffen-SS

Sources

Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia. Die deutsche Wehrmacht, Uniformierung und Ausrüstung 1933-1945
- Vol. 1: Das Heer (ISBN 3613013908), Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1992
- Vol. 3: Die Luftwaffe (ISBN 3-613-02001-7), Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1999
. Retrieved June 7, 2016. .
. Retrieved June 7, 2016. .
Cook, Stan and Bender, R. James. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - Volume One: Uniforms, Organization, & History. San Jose, CA: R. James Bender Publishing, 1994. ISBN 978-0-912138-55-8
Hayes, A. SS Uniforms, Insignia and Accessories. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 2000. ISBN 978-0-7643-0046-2
Lumsden, Robin. A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS, Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. 2002. ISBN 0-7110-2905-9
Mollo, Andrew. Uniforms of the SS, Collected Edition Vol. 1-6. MotorbooksIntl. 1997. ISBN 978-1-85915-048-1

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“You know, I think,” Natasha said in a whisper, moving closer to Nikolai and Sonya, when Dimmler had already finished and was still sitting, weakly plucking the strings, apparently indecisive to leave or start something new, “that when you remember like that, you remember, you remember everything.” , you remember so much that you remember what happened before I was in the world...
“This is Metampsic,” said Sonya, who always studied well and remembered everything. – The Egyptians believed that our souls were in animals and would go back to animals.
“No, you know, I don’t believe it, that we were animals,” Natasha said in the same whisper, although the music had ended, “but I know for sure that we were angels here and there somewhere, and that’s why we remember everything.” ...
-Can I join you? - said Dimmler, who approached quietly and sat down next to them.
- If we were angels, then why did we fall lower? - said Nikolai. - No, this cannot be!
“Not lower, who told you that lower?... Why do I know what I was before,” Natasha objected with conviction. - After all, the soul is immortal... therefore, if I live forever, that’s how I lived before, lived for all eternity.
“Yes, but it’s hard for us to imagine eternity,” said Dimmler, who approached the young people with a meek, contemptuous smile, but now spoke as quietly and seriously as they did.
– Why is it difficult to imagine eternity? - Natasha said. - Today it will be, tomorrow it will be, it will always be and yesterday it was and yesterday it was...
- Natasha! now it's your turn. “Sing me something,” the countess’s voice was heard. - That you sat down like conspirators.
- Mother! “I don’t want to do that,” Natasha said, but at the same time she stood up.
All of them, even the middle-aged Dimmler, did not want to interrupt the conversation and leave the corner of the sofa, but Natasha stood up, and Nikolai sat down at the clavichord. As always, standing in the middle of the hall and choosing the most advantageous place for resonance, Natasha began to sing her mother’s favorite piece.
She said that she did not want to sing, but she had not sung for a long time before, and for a long time since, the way she sang that evening. Count Ilya Andreich, from the office where he was talking with Mitinka, heard her singing, and like a student, in a hurry to go play, finishing the lesson, he got confused in his words, giving orders to the manager and finally fell silent, and Mitinka, also listening, silently with a smile, stood in front of count. Nikolai did not take his eyes off his sister, and took a breath with her. Sonya, listening, thought about what a huge difference there was between her and her friend and how impossible it was for her to be even remotely as charming as her cousin. The old countess sat with a happily sad smile and tears in her eyes, occasionally shaking her head. She thought about Natasha, and about her youth, and about how there was something unnatural and terrible in this upcoming marriage of Natasha with Prince Andrei.
Dimmler sat down next to the countess and closed his eyes, listening.
“No, Countess,” he said finally, “this is a European talent, she has nothing to learn, this softness, tenderness, strength...”
- Ah! “how I’m afraid for her, how afraid I am,” said the countess, not remembering who she was talking to. Her maternal instinct told her that there was too much of something in Natasha, and that this would not make her happy. Natasha had not yet finished singing when an enthusiastic fourteen-year-old Petya ran into the room with the news that the mummers had arrived.
Natasha suddenly stopped.
- Fool! - she screamed at her brother, ran up to the chair, fell on it and sobbed so much that she could not stop for a long time.
“Nothing, Mama, really nothing, just like this: Petya scared me,” she said, trying to smile, but the tears kept flowing and sobs were choking her throat.
Dressed up servants, bears, Turks, innkeepers, ladies, scary and funny, bringing with them coldness and fun, at first timidly huddled in the hallway; then, hiding one behind the other, they were forced into the hall; and at first shyly, and then more and more cheerfully and amicably, songs, dances, choral and Christmas games began. The Countess, recognizing the faces and laughing at those dressed up, went into the living room. Count Ilya Andreich sat in the hall with a radiant smile, approving of the players. The youth disappeared somewhere.
Half an hour later, an old lady in hoops appeared in the hall between the other mummers - it was Nikolai. Petya was Turkish. Payas was Dimmler, hussar was Natasha and Circassian was Sonya, with a painted cork mustache and eyebrows.
After condescending surprise, lack of recognition and praise from those not dressed up, the young people found that the costumes were so good that they had to show them to someone else.
Nikolai, who wanted to take everyone along an excellent road in his troika, proposed, taking ten dressed up servants with him, to go to his uncle.
- No, why are you upsetting him, the old man! - said the countess, - and he has nowhere to turn. Let's go to the Melyukovs.
Melyukova was a widow with children of various ages, also with governesses and tutors, who lived four miles from Rostov.
“That’s clever, ma chère,” the old count picked up, getting excited. - Let me get dressed now and go with you. I'll stir up Pashetta.
But the countess did not agree to let the count go: his leg hurt all these days. They decided that Ilya Andreevich could not go, but that if Luisa Ivanovna (m me Schoss) went, then the young ladies could go to Melyukova. Sonya, always timid and shy, began to beg Luisa Ivanovna more urgently than anyone not to refuse them.
Sonya's outfit was the best. Her mustache and eyebrows suited her unusually. Everyone told her that she was very good, and she was in an unusually energetic mood. Some inner voice told her that now or never her fate would be decided, and she, in her man’s dress, seemed like a completely different person. Luiza Ivanovna agreed, and half an hour later four troikas with bells and bells, squealing and whistling through the frosty snow, drove up to the porch.
Natasha was the first to give the tone of Christmas joy, and this joy, reflected from one to another, intensified more and more and reached highest degree at a time when everyone went out into the cold, and, talking, calling to each other, laughing and shouting, sat down in the sleigh.
Two of the troikas were accelerating, the third was the old count’s troika with an Oryol trotter at the root; the fourth is Nikolai's own with his short, black, shaggy root. Nikolai, in his old woman's outfit, on which he put on a hussar's belted cloak, stood in the middle of his sleigh, picking up the reins.
It was so light that he saw the plaques and eyes of the horses glinting in the monthly light, looking back in fear at the riders rustling under the dark awning of the entrance.
Natasha, Sonya, m me Schoss and two girls got into Nikolai’s sleigh. Dimmler and his wife and Petya sat in the old count’s sleigh; Dressed up servants sat in the rest.
- Go ahead, Zakhar! - Nikolai shouted to his father’s coachman in order to have a chance to overtake him on the road.
The old count's troika, in which Dimmler and the other mummers sat, squealed with their runners, as if frozen to the snow, and rattled a thick bell, moved forward. The ones attached to them pressed against the shafts and got stuck, turning out the strong and shiny snow like sugar.
Nikolai set off after the first three; The others made noise and screamed from behind. At first we rode at a small trot along a narrow road. While driving past the garden, shadows from bare trees often lay across the road and hid bright light moon, but as soon as we left the fence, a diamond-shiny, bluish-gray snowy plain, all bathed in a monthly glow and motionless, opened up on all sides. Once, once, a bump hit the front sleigh; in the same way, the next sleigh and the next were pushed and, boldly breaking the chained silence, one after another the sleighs began to stretch out.
- A hare's trail, a lot of tracks! – Natasha’s voice sounded in the frozen, frozen air.
– Apparently, Nicholas! - said Sonya's voice. – Nikolai looked back at Sonya and bent down to take a closer look at her face. Some completely new, sweet face, with black eyebrows and mustache, looked out from the sables in the moonlight, close and far.
“It was Sonya before,” thought Nikolai. He looked at her closer and smiled.
– What are you, Nicholas?
“Nothing,” he said and turned back to the horses.
Having arrived on a rough, large road, oiled with runners and all covered with traces of thorns, visible in the light of the moon, the horses themselves began to tighten the reins and speed up. The left one, bending its head, twitched its lines in jumps. The root swayed, moving its ears, as if asking: “should we start or is it too early?” – Ahead, already far away and ringing like a thick bell receding, Zakhar’s black troika was clearly visible on the white snow. Shouting and laughter and the voices of those dressed up were heard from his sleigh.
“Well, you dear ones,” Nikolai shouted, tugging on the reins on one side and withdrawing his hand with the whip. And only by the wind that had become stronger, as if to meet it, and by the twitching of the fasteners, which were tightening and increasing their speed, was it noticeable how fast the troika flew. Nikolai looked back. Screaming and screaming, waving whips and forcing the indigenous people to jump, the other troikas kept pace. The root steadfastly swayed under the arc, not thinking of knocking it down and promising to push it again and again when necessary.
Nikolai caught up with the top three. They drove down some mountain and onto a widely traveled road through a meadow near a river.
“Where are we going?” thought Nikolai. - “It should be along a slanting meadow. But no, this is something new that I have never seen. This is not a slanting meadow or Demkina Mountain, but God knows what it is! This is something new and magical. Well, whatever it is!” And he, shouting at the horses, began to go around the first three.
Zakhar reined in the horses and turned around his face, which was already frozen to the eyebrows.
Nikolai started his horses; Zakhar, stretching his arms forward, smacked his lips and let his people go.
“Well, hold on, master,” he said. “The troikas flew even faster nearby, and the legs of the galloping horses quickly changed. Nikolai began to take the lead. Zakhar, without changing the position of his outstretched arms, raised one hand with the reins.
“You’re lying, master,” he shouted to Nikolai. Nikolai galloped all the horses and overtook Zakhar. The horses covered the faces of their riders with fine, dry snow, and near them there was the sound of frequent rumblings and the tangling of fast-moving legs and the shadows of the overtaking troika. The whistling of runners through the snow and women's squeals were heard from different directions.
Stopping the horses again, Nikolai looked around him. All around was the same magical plain soaked through with moonlight with stars scattered across it.
“Zakhar shouts for me to take a left; why go left? thought Nikolai. Are we going to the Melyukovs, is this Melyukovka? God knows where we are going, and God knows what is happening to us - and it is very strange and good what is happening to us.” He looked back at the sleigh.
“Look, he has a mustache and eyelashes, everything is white,” said one of the strange, pretty and alien people with a thin mustache and eyebrows.
“This one, it seems, was Natasha,” thought Nikolai, and this one is m me Schoss; or maybe not, but I don’t know who this Circassian with the mustache is, but I love her.”
-Aren't you cold? - he asked. They did not answer and laughed. Dimmler shouted something from the back sleigh, probably funny, but it was impossible to hear what he was shouting.
“Yes, yes,” the voices answered laughing.
- However, here is some kind of magical forest with shimmering black shadows and sparkles of diamonds and with some kind of enfilade of marble steps, and some kind of silver roofs of magical buildings, and the piercing screeching of some animals. “And if this really is Melyukovka, then it’s even stranger that we were traveling God knows where, and came to Melyukovka,” thought Nikolai.
Indeed, it was Melyukovka, and girls and lackeys with candles and joyful faces ran out to the entrance.
- Who it? - they asked from the entrance.
“The counts are dressed up, I can see it by the horses,” answered the voices.

Pelageya Danilovna Melyukova, a broad, energetic woman, wearing glasses and a swinging hood, was sitting in the living room, surrounded by her daughters, whom she tried not to let get bored. They were quietly pouring wax and looking at the shadows of the emerging figures when the footsteps and voices of visitors began to rustle in the hall.
Hussars, ladies, witches, payassas, bears, clearing their throats and wiping their frost-covered faces in the hallway, entered the hall, where candles were hastily lit. The clown - Dimmler and the lady - Nikolai opened the dance. Surrounded by screaming children, the mummers, covering their faces and changing their voices, bowed to the hostess and positioned themselves around the room.
- Oh, it’s impossible to find out! And Natasha! Look who she looks like! Really, it reminds me of someone. Eduard Karlych is so good! I didn't recognize it. Yes, how she dances! Oh, fathers, and some kind of Circassian; right, how it suits Sonyushka. Who else is this? Well, they consoled me! Take the tables, Nikita, Vanya. And we sat so quietly!
- Ha ha ha!... Hussar this, hussar that! Just like a boy, and his legs!... I can’t see... - voices were heard.
Natasha, the favorite of the young Melyukovs, disappeared with them into the back rooms, where they needed cork and various dressing gowns and men's dresses, which through the open door received the naked girlish hands from the footman. Ten minutes later, all the youth of the Melyukov family joined the mummers.
Pelageya Danilovna, having ordered the clearing of the place for the guests and refreshments for the gentlemen and servants, without taking off her glasses, with a restrained smile, walked among the mummers, looking closely into their faces and not recognizing anyone. Not only did she not recognize the Rostovs and Dimmler, but she also could not recognize either her daughters or her husband’s robes and uniforms that they were wearing.
-Whose is this? - she said, turning to her governess and looking into the face of her daughter, who represented the Kazan Tatar. - It seems like someone from Rostov. Well, Mr. Hussar, what regiment do you serve in? – she asked Natasha. “Give the Turk, give the Turk some marshmallows,” she said to the bartender who was serving them: “this is not prohibited by their law.”
Sometimes, looking at the strange but funny steps performed by the dancers, who had decided once and for all that they were dressed up, that no one would recognize them and therefore were not embarrassed, Pelageya Danilovna covered herself with a scarf, and her entire corpulent body shook from the uncontrollable, kind, old lady’s laughter . - Sashinet is mine, Sashinet is that! - she said.
After Russian dances and round dances, Pelageya Danilovna united all the servants and gentlemen together, in one large circle; They brought a ring, a string and a ruble, and general games were arranged.
An hour later, all the suits were wrinkled and upset. Cork mustaches and eyebrows were smeared across sweaty, flushed and cheerful faces. Pelageya Danilovna began to recognize the mummers, admired how well the costumes were made, how they suited especially the young ladies, and thanked everyone for making her so happy. The guests were invited to dine in the living room, and the courtyard was served in the hall.
- No, guessing in the bathhouse, that’s scary! - said the old girl who lived with the Melyukovs at dinner.
- From what? – asked the eldest daughter of the Melyukovs.
- Don’t go, you need courage...
“I’ll go,” said Sonya.
- Tell me, how was it with the young lady? - said the second Melyukova.
“Yes, just like that, one young lady went,” said the old girl, “she took a rooster, two utensils, and sat down properly.” She sat there, just heard, suddenly she was driving... with bells, with bells, a sleigh drove up; hears, comes. He comes in completely in human form, like an officer, he came and sat down with her at the device.
- A! Ah!...” Natasha screamed, rolling her eyes in horror.
- How can he say that?
- Yes, as a person, everything is as it should be, and he began and began to persuade, and she should have occupied him with conversation until the roosters; and she became shy; – she just became shy and covered herself with her hands. He picked it up. It's good that the girls came running...
- Well, why scare them! - said Pelageya Danilovna.
“Mother, you yourself were guessing...” said the daughter.
- How do they tell fortunes in the barn? – asked Sonya.
- Well, at least now, they’ll go to the barn and listen. What will you hear: hammering, knocking - bad, but pouring bread - this is good; and then it happens...
- Mom, tell me what happened to you in the barn?
Pelageya Danilovna smiled.
“Oh, well, I forgot…” she said. - You won’t go, will you?
- No, I'll go; Pepageya Danilovna, let me in, I’ll go,” said Sonya.
- Well, if you're not afraid.
- Luiza Ivanovna, may I? – asked Sonya.
Whether they were playing ring, string or ruble, or talking, as now, Nikolai did not leave Sonya and looked at her with completely new eyes. It seemed to him that today, only for the first time, thanks to that corky mustache, he fully recognized her. Sonya really was cheerful, lively and beautiful that evening, like Nikolai had never seen her before.
“So that’s what she is, and I’m a fool!” he thought, looking at her sparkling eyes and her happy, enthusiastic smile, making dimples on her cheeks from under her mustache, a smile that he had never seen before.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” said Sonya. - Can I do it now? - She stood up. They told Sonya where the barn was, how she could stand silently and listen, and they gave her a fur coat. She threw it over her head and looked at Nikolai.
“What a beauty this girl is!” he thought. “And what have I been thinking about so far!”
Sonya went out into the corridor to go to the barn. Nikolai hurriedly went to the front porch, saying that he was hot. Indeed, the house was stuffy from the crowded people.
It was the same motionless cold outside, the same month, only it was even lighter. The light was so strong and there were so many stars on the snow that I didn’t want to look at the sky, and the real stars were invisible. In the sky it was black and boring, on earth it was fun.
“I’m a fool, a fool! What have you been waiting for so far? thought Nikolai and, running onto the porch, he walked around the corner of the house along the path that led to the back porch. He knew that Sonya would come here. Halfway along the road there were stacked fathoms of firewood, there was snow on them, and a shadow fell from them; through them and from their sides, intertwining, the shadows of old bare linden trees fell onto the snow and the path. The path led to the barn. A chopped barn wall and a roof covered with snow, as if carved from some kind of gemstone, sparkled in the monthly light. A tree cracked in the garden, and again everything was completely silent. The chest seemed to breathe not air, but some kind of eternally youthful strength and joy.
Feet clattered on the steps from the maiden porch, there was a loud creaking sound on the last one, which was covered with snow, and the voice of an old girl said:
- Straight, straight, along the path, young lady. Just don't look back.
“I’m not afraid,” answered Sonya’s voice, and Sonya’s legs squealed and whistled in her thin shoes along the path, towards Nikolai.