Schutzstaffel

The Schutzstaffel (PROSE: Wolfsbane) (colloquially referred to as the SS) was a Nazi security service and paramilitary that was prominent during Adolf Hitler's reign of Germany. It was commanded by Heinrich Himmler (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) and Reinhard Heydrich. (PROSE: Illegal Alien) The organisation sought to enforce Nazi ideology in Germany, and later throughout Europe during the Second World War. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)

The SS had various branches, its most significant being its military wing, the Waffen-SS. (AUDIO: A Thousand Tiny Wings) Under the command of Himmler, the SS was considered the most powerful yet feared group in the Third Reich. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus, Illegal Alien)

Organisation
The SS was led directly by Heinrich Himmler, in his capacity as Reichsfuehrer-SS. Through this position, he was regarded as being one of the most powerful men in Germany. Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's deputy, also played a role in the commanding of the SS. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus,  Illegal Alien)

Among the organisation's branches was the Waffen-SS, which served as the military wing of the Schutzstaffel. They operated with German forces during the Second World War. (AUDIO: A Thousand Tiny Wings) They played a role in the North Africa Campaign (PROSE: The Turing Test) and the Battle of the Bulge. The 1st SS Panzer Division was a tank division of the Waffen-SS. (PROSE: Autumn Mist)

The SS was responsible for the management of concentration camps, such as those built in occupied Poland. The SS used prisoners of concentration camps as slave labourers, (PROSE: The Crawling Terror) and orchestrated the genocide of Jews and other so-called "undesirables" in the Holocaust through the concentration camp system. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)

The uniform of the SS was typically black or grey. (TV: Lost in Time) SS insignia was represented by two lightning flashes, a symbol which was typically worn on the collars of its members. Other insignia included a silver death's head. (PROSE: Illegal Alien) The uniform also included a ring and a dagger. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass)

Membership of the SS was limited to Aryans only. Prospective members were checked for Aryan ancestry going back to the eighteenth century. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass) Initially, they had to have A-positive blood. (AUDIO: The Dying Room) In 1943 Paris, disguised himself as an SS commander, using a Teutonic psychic perception filter to hide his non-Aryan appearance. (TV: Spyfall)

The SS had a women's division, the SS-Gefolge. Elisabeth Volkenrath was a member. (AUDIO: Daleks Among Us)

Pre-war
In the early years of Hitler's reign in Germany, the SS played a significant role in enforcing his will. In 1934, this culminated in the Night of the Long Knives, in which the SS oversaw the executions of several members of the Sturmabteilung (SA). Hitler, believing the SA under Ernst Rohm was plotting a coup against him, ordered a quick and decisive strike against them before the threat could manifest itself. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus, Wolfsbane, Big Bang Generation) On the 29 and 30 June, the SA membership were tracked down in Wiessee, outside Munich, while staying at Wiessee hotel. They were among the many executed (PROSE: Wolfsbane) with Himmler reading the death lists and overseeing many of these executions himself. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) During the purge, Himmler and Heydrich met the Fifth Doctor, who was pursuing through Berlin at that time. The two men accompanied the Doctor and assisted him in finding the Master. The Doctor actually considered both men "pleasant company" but sometimes thought back to the occasion wishing he had asked for a gun and shot them both to prevent the crimes they would commit. (PROSE: The King of Terror) The SS effectively replaced the SA following the purge. (PROSE: Warlords of Utopia, Just War)

Under the command of Hans Grau, the SS seized control of the Institute of Alien Technology and hunted its director Dr Elbaum. The institute was later renamed to Project Hermod. Prior to SS intervention, it had significant autonomy to operate in Germany. Members of the project were forced to work in conjunction with the Third Reich government, while a number of other members were shot due to their tolerance of "lower races and degenerates". (AUDIO: The Dying Room)

The SS guarded the Reichschancellery in Berlin. In 1938, SS guards were present outside as Erich Zimmerman arrived at the building. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

Second World War
SS Brigadier General Kraus, a member of the Schutzstaffel, was sent by Himmler to the Le Mur Engineering compound in Nazi-occupied Jersey to receive a report on the Cybermen found there. (PROSE: Illegal Alien)

Koenig, an SS lieutenant, led a group of SS that landed on the British coast in 1941. They attempted to use a piece of Chronosteel which would block British radio signals, allowing German ships to attack without being detected. The plan was foiled by George Woods and the time-travelling Clyde Langer. (TV: Lost in Time)

In 1944, the SS commanded "Project Chronos", the German effort to create a Wunderwaffe known as Die Glocke, led by SS General Hans Kammler. The construction and testing took place in Wenceslas Mine in the Sudeten Mountains. The experiments were unsuccessful and numerous scientists died. Kammler ordered the concentration camp inmates working on the project murdered in the same way to keep the experiment a secret. By the end of the Second World War, Kammler and Die Glocke were secretly transported away from Poland in a U-boat bound for the secret Nazi base in Neuschwabenland, Antarctica. (PROSE: The Crawling Terror)

During the War Lords' attempt to assist Nazi Germany win the Second World War, they used their technology to control SS soldiers, to the point where they were able to reanimate their corpses. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus)

By the end of the war in 1945, the SS had lost most of its influence. Hitler had believed the SS had betrayed him, as Himmler in his capacity as Reichsfuehrer opened up negotiations with the Allied powers. Hitler, having retreated to his Führerbunker in Berlin, surrounded himself with his most loyal allies, such as Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann. Hermann Fegelein, one of Himmler's closest aides in the SS, was ordered to be executed by Hitler for leaving the bunker. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass)

Behind the scenes

 * In a deleted scene in The Impossible Astronaut, SS men hunt for the Eleventh Doctor as he escapes from a prisoner of war camp. A shot of this scene is seen in the Series 6 trailer at the end of A Christmas Carol.
 * In the real world, the SS was made up of multiple groups. Two of the most significant were the ' (General SS) and ' (Armed SS). So far, only the Waffen-SS has been mentioned by name in the DWU.
 * The were the real world women's SS organisation. They worked in conjunction with the  (Death's Head Units) in the administration of concentration camps and death camps. While the SS-Gefolge has been mentioned to exist in the DWU, its parent group has not.
 * The Republican Security Forces as seen in the TV story Inferno appears to take direct inspiration from the SS. The RSF appears to be an SS analogy, with Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart's Brigade Leader rank insignia being inspired by that of an SS .