List of SA-Obergruppenführer

The List of SA-Obergruppenführer enumerates selected men who held the position of SA-Obergruppenführer. This was the second highest commissioned rank in the Sturmabteilung (SA), which was the largest paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party, numbering approximately 4.5 million members in June 1934. The rank was comparable to a three-star rank in English-speaking armed forces (today, equivalent to NATO OF-8). Due to the rapid growth of the organization, SA-Stabschef Ernst Röhm authorized a new large SA troop formation in July 1932, the SA-Obergruppe. Organized in September 1932, each of the five new formations (expanded to ten in January 1934) was roughly equivalent to an army corps. Each Obergruppe was made up of several SA-Gruppe, formerly the largest SA component, and was placed under the command of an SA-Obergruppenführer. This new rank was established as the senior SA general officer rank, directly above the existing rank of SA-Gruppenführer.

This is a partial list of notable individuals whose highest rank in the SA was SA-Obergruppenführer. It does not include the two individuals (Viktor Lutze and Wilhelm Schepmann) that held the rank and who subsequently attained the higher rank of SA-Stabschef. Included are not only full-time active duty SA officers, but also Nazi Party officials, politicians and government functionaries who were awarded inactive honorary (ehrenamtliche) commissions as well. Röhm instituted this practice as a means to build bridges to the Party organization after a period of great tension between the SA and the Party organization. Most of these honorary appointments went to Party officials who had some previous connection with the SA, who were military veterans and who had been active in other paramilitary or völkisch organizations.

This table lists the SA-Obergruppenführer by the date of appointment. The first promotions to the rank became effective in January 1933 and the last known promotions took place in November 1944. The table also notes their SA, government or Party post as of the appointment date and includes a comment on their ultimate fate.

Key:Full time or primarily an SA functionaryFull time or primarily a Nazi Party or government functionary

Name Date of Promotion Position at Promotion FateFranz Ritter von Epp 1 January 1933 Chief, NSDAP Office of Military Policy Died in American captivity, 1947Hermann Göring 1 January 1933 President, Reichstag Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; suicide, 1946Adolf Hühnlein 1 January 1933 Deputy Korpsführer,National Socialist Motor Corps Died of cancer, 1942Manfred von Killinger 1 January 1933 Führer, SA-Obergruppe V Suicide, 1944August Schneidhuber 1 January 1933 Führer, SA-Obergruppe III Executed by firing squad in the Night of the Long Knives, 1934Curt von Ulrich 1 January 1933 Generalinspekteur,Supreme SA Command (OSAF) Died in Soviet captivity, 1946Hans Georg Hofmann 1 April 1933 Police Director, Regensburg Died of a heart attack, 1942Edmund Heines 20 April 1933 Police President, Breslau Executed by firing squad in the Night of the Long Knives, 1934Paul Hocheisen 20 April 1933 Chief, SA Medical Office, (OSAF) Died of natural causes, 1944Hermann Reschny 20 April 1933 Führer, SA-Gruppe Österreich Died of natural causes, 1971Dietrich von Jagow 27 June 1933 Führer, SA-Gruppe Südwest Suicide, 1945Fritz Ritter von Kraußer 27 June 1933 Chief, SA Organization Office, (OSAF) Executed by firing squad in the Night of the Long Knives, 1934Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger 27 June 1933 Chief, SA Training Office, (OSAF) Suicide, 1945Karl-Siegmund Litzmann 27 June 1933 Führer, SA-Gruppe Ostland Died in unclear circumstances, ?1945; declared dead, 1949Werner von Fichte 20 July 1933 Police President, Erfurt Sentenced to 2 years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; released for time-served; died, 1955Franz Seldte 26 July 1933 Reichsminister of Labor Died in American captivity, 1947Johann Baptist Fuchs 9 November 1933 OSAF Plenipotentiary for Bavaria Died of natural causes, 1938Franz Xaver Schwarz 9 November 1933 Treasurer, Nazi Party Died in American captivity, 1947Heinrich Schoene 24 April 1934 Führer, SA-Gruppe Ostland Died in battle at the Battle of Konigsberg, 1945Wilhelm Brückner 9 November 1934 Chief Adjutant to Adolf Hitler Sentenced to 3-and-a-half years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; died, 1954Arthur Böckenhauer 9 November 1936 Chief, SA Courts and Legal Office, (OSAF) Died of natural causes, 1953Josef Bürckel 9 November 1936 Gauleiter, Gau Saarpfalz Died of natural causes, 1944Otto Herzog 9 November 1936 Stabsführer, (OSAF) Died in battle at the Battle of Breslau, 1945Siegfried Kasche 9 November 1936 Führer, SA-Gruppe Niedersachsen Sentenced to death by Croatia; hanged, 1947 Bernhard Rust 9 November 1936 Reichsminister,Science, Education & Culture Suicide, 1945Josef Terboven 9 November 1936 Gauleiter, Gau Essen Suicide, 1945Friedrich Karl Florian 30 January 1937 Gauleiter, Gau Düsseldorf Suicide, 1945Adolf-Heinz Beckerle 9 November 1937 Police President, Frankfurt Sentenced to 25 years by the Soviet Union, 1951; released, 1955; died, 1976Heinrich Bennecke 9 November 1937 Führer, SA-Gruppe Pommern Died of natural causes, 1972Hermann Brauneck 9 November 1937 Chief, SA Health Services, (OSAF) Died in an airstrike at Kerch, 1942Hans Frank 9 November 1937 Reichsminister without portfolio Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; hanged, 1946Wilhelm Helfer 9 November 1937 Führer, SA-Gruppe Hochland Died of natural causes, 1954Wilhelm Jahn 9 November 1937 Police President, Halle Died of natural causes, 1952Max Jüttner 9 November 1937 Chief, SA Leadership Office, (OSAF) Interned until 1947; died, 1963Hanns Kerrl 9 November 1937 Reichsminister, Church Affairs Died of a heart attack, 1941Hermann Kriebel 9 November 1937 German envoy to China Died of natural causes, 1941Hinrich Lohse 9 November 1937 Gauleiter, Gau Schleswig-Holstein Sentenced to 10 years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; released, 1951; died, 1964Hanns Ludin 9 November 1937 Führer, SA-Gruppe Südwest Sentenced to death by Czechoslovakia; hanged, 1947Max Luyken 9 November 1937 Chief, SA Education Main Office, (OSAF) Died in battle in the Battle of Berlin, 1945Joachim Meyer-Quade 9 November 1937 Führer, SA-Gruppe Nordmark Died in battle in the Invasion of Poland, 1939Martin Mutschmann 9 November 1937 Gauleiter, Gau Saxony Sentenced to death by the Soviet Union; shot, 1947Fritz Reinhardt 9 November 1937 State Secretary,Reich Finance Ministry Sentenced to 4 years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; reduced to 3 years; released for time-served; died, 1969Fritz Sauckel 9 November 1937 Gauleiter, Gau Thuringia Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; hanged, 1946Baldur von Schirach 9 November 1937 Reichsjugendführer Sentenced to 20 years by the Nuremberg trials, 1946; released, 1966; died, 1974Julius Streicher 9 November 1937 Gauleiter, Gau Franconia Sentenced to death by the Nuremberg trials; hanged, 1946Adolf Wagner 9 November 1937 Gauleiter,Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria Died of a stroke, 1944Gerhard Wagner 9 November 1937 Reich Health Leader Died of cancer, 1939Josef Wagner 9 November 1937 Gauleiter, Gau Silesiaand Gau Westphalia-South Arrested after the 20 July plot; executed by hanging, 1945Wilhelm Weiss 9 November 1937 Editor-in-Chief,Völkischer Beobachter Sentenced to 3 years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; released for time-served; died, 1950Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia 9 November 1938 Prussian State Councilor Sentenced to 2-and-a-half years by a denazification tribunal, 1949; released for time-served; died, 1949Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 9 November 1938 President, German Red Cross Interned until 1946; fined by a denazification tribunal, 1949; died, 1954Kurt Günther 9 November 1938 Führer, SA-Gruppe Thüringen Sentenced to death by Thuringia; executed by firing squad, 1947Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorff 9 November 1938 Police President, Berlin Arrested for participation in the 20 July plot; executed by hanging, 1944Rudolf Jordan 9 November 1938 Gauleiter, Gau Magdeburg-Anhalt Sentenced to 25 years by the Soviet Union 1950; released, 1955; died, 1988Emil Ketterer 9 November 1938 SA Liaison, Reich Health Leader Died of natural causes, 1959Erich Koch 9 November 1938 Gauleiter, Gau East Prussia Sentenced to death by Poland; commuted to life; died in captivity, 1986Christian Mergenthaler 9 November 1938 Ministerpräsident, Württemberg Interned, 1945; jailed by a denazification tribunal, 1948; released, 1949; died, 1980Alfred Meyer 9 November 1938 Gauleiter, Gau Westphalia-North Suicide, 1945Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse 9 November 1938 Oberpräsident, Hesse-Nassau Interned until 1947; died, 1980Karl Rover 9 November 1938 Gauleiter, Gau Weser-Ems Died of natural causes, 1942Franz Schwede 9 November 1938 Gauleiter, Gau Pomerania Sentenced to 9 years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; and 10 years by a German criminal court, 1951; released, 1956; died, 1960Ludwig Siebert 9 November 1938 Ministerpräsident, Bavaria Died of a heart attack, 1942Jakob Sprenger 9 November 1938 Gauleiter, Gau Hesse-Nassau Suicide, 1945Fritz Todt 9 November 1938 Chief, Organisation Todt Died in a plane crash, 1942Hans von Tschammer und Osten 9 November 1938 Reich Sports Leader Died of pneumonia, 1943Friedrich Haselmayr 11 April 1939 Führer, OSAF Staff Died of natural causes, 1965Heinrich Böhmcker 6 October 1940 Führer, SA-Gruppe Nordsee Died of a heart attack, 1944Heinrich-Georg Graf Finck von Finckenstein 30 January 1941 Führer, OSAF Staff Died of natural causes, 1984Herbert Fust 30 January 1941 Führer, SA-Gruppe Kurpfalz Died of natural causes, 1974Günther Gräntz 30 January 1941 Führer, SA-Gruppe Westmark Died in battle at the Battle of Berlin, 1945Arthur Hess 30 January 1941 Führer, OSAF Staff Died of natural causes, 1959Franz Ritter von Hörauf 30 January 1941 Führer, OSAF staff Died of natural causes, 1957Willy Liebel August 1941 Oberbürgermeister, Nuremberg Suicide, 1945Heinrich Haake 24 January 1942 Landeshauptmann,Rhine Province Died in British captivity, 1945Joseph Berchtold 30 January 1942 Deputy Editor-in-Chief,Völkischer Beobachter Interned, 1945; died, 1962Wilhelm Kleinmann 30 January 1942 State Secretary,Reich Ministry of Transport Died in Soviet captivity, 1945Paul Giesler 30 January 1943 Gauleiter,Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria Suicide, 1945Alfred Proksch 20 April 1943 Trustee of Labour,Vienna and Lower Austria Sentenced to 4 years by a Vienna court; died, 1981August Eigruber 9 November 1943 Gauleiter, Reichsgau Oberdonau Sentenced to death by the Dachau trials; hanged, 1947Walter Köhler 9 November 1943 Ministerpräsident, Baden Sentenced to 3 years by a denazification tribunal, 1948; released for time-served; died, 1989Willy Marschler 9 November 1943 Ministerpräsident, Thuringia Interned until 1946; died, 1952Siegfried Uiberreither 9 November 1943 Gauleiter, Reichsgau Styria Interned, 1945; escaped 1947; died, 1984.Fritz Bracht 20 April 1944 Gauleiter, Gau Upper Silesia Suicide, 1945Hartmann Lauterbacher 20 April 1944 Gauleiter, Gau Southern Hanover-Brunswick Acquitted at the Dachau trials; later worked as a West German spy; died, 1988Franz Bock 9 November 1944 Führer, SA-Gruppe Niederrhein Died of natural causes, 1974Leopold Damian 9 November 1944 Führer, SA-Gruppe Oberrhein Died of natural causes, 1971

Junior rankSA- SA rankSA- Senior rankSA-

List of SA-Obergruppenführer

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