We all heard the names of the military in Germany, unusual for the Russian ear, however, few modern Russians can say what the rank of Standartenfuhrer means. Let's try to briefly answer this question.
How to translate this military rank? What does he mean?
If we turn to the translation, then this word can be considered as "the head of the military unit", which in German is called the "standard". This term arose after the revolution in Germany, when the Kaiser empire died. Historians attribute the appearance of this title to 1929. Then there was a period of active transformation of the German army. At this time, the German army was experiencing a turbulent period of return of former power, created new types of troops and units that needed leaders.
It should be noted that the Standartenfuhrer SS was a fairly high rank, which corresponded to today's colonel. Up to 4 thousand people could be subordinate to such a military man, moreover, as a rule, the standard included the male population of a small city. In addition to the leader, it was assumed that there were three more shtambanns (lieutenant colonels) and one reserve shtambann (who was in the rank of major in the Russian manner).
High military rank
Note that in Nazi Germany, the military rank of Standartenfuhrer was the dream of any military man. It opened up unlimited possibilities, allowed you to enter the circle of the elect of the Third Reich. In fact, such a person became the commander of an entire regiment and received not only a large salary for his service, but also additional privileges. The selection for such positions was very strict. As a rule, only a trustworthy person who had been in battle, a true Aryan and a member of the Nazi party could receive such a military rank.
So, we figured out what rank corresponds to the rank of Standartenfuhrer. Consider now the most famous representatives of Germany, who in different years wore this title.
Famous representatives of this rank in Germany
For several decades, many German officers have been honored with this rank. But we will remember those whose names have remained in history for a long time.
For example, this title was worn by Otto Skorzeny, a German military engineer who was carried away by the ideas of National Socialism and who became Hitler's faithful ally. It was Skorzeny who participated in the German offensive on Moscow. In 1941, he saw from his binoculars the golden domes of the Moscow Kremlin and dreamed that he would enter the city with a victorious march. However, this did not happen. Later, in his memoirs, the German colonel described the terrible cold, and the courage of Russian soldiers, as well as the discord in the German troops, which he first saw and was struck by.
An experienced military man, Skorzeny after 1942 realized that the Russians were very scary opponents, whose defeat would be extremely difficult. Therefore, the colonel, away from sin, tried to lead the SS troops, one of the units of which was responsible for intelligence. It was the brave Skorzeny who directed the operation, during which the Germans managed to steal Mussolini himself. True, for the great Italian dictator, the intercession of Germany was expensive: it led him to death.
Skorzeny managed to survive the Third Reich. After the war he was arrested, but fled in 1948, after which he wandered around Europe, wrote memoirs, trying to understand the reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany in the terrible World War II.
The most famous Russian intelligence
The picture of everything that happens will be incomplete if we do not turn to works of art about the war. But it was the Russian intelligence officer Stirlitz who was called the Standartenfuhrer. This can be seen in the military uniform of the actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov, who played this famous character. The very form of the actor is not only beautiful, but also historically reliable. From the buttonholes, shoulder straps and sleeve patches, it becomes clear that Stirlitz is far from the last person in the leadership of the Third Reich.
And although many critics even then and today speak with irony about this famous literary character, millions of readers and viewers sincerely believe that the Russian intelligence officer could rise to such a high rank in Germany. And the words behind the scenes tell us that Stirlitz was called Colonel Maxim Isaev in his homeland.
Standartenfuhrer title in history
Today, this military title has become the property of history. Modern people learn about him from literary works, thick volumes of memories of the war and movies. We often do not understand what this title really means, but we know about Hitler, and about his plans for the conquest of our country, and about Nazi Germany, who dreams of building her Reich on the blood of other nations, and that the SS troops did not spare anyone on his way.
And all this knowledge is bizarrely intertwined with the stories of the scout Stirlitz, who held such a high post and wore such a terrible, but beautiful uniform of the Standartenfuhrer.