DER ss-JUNKER
WHAT IS AN SS-JUNKER?
What is a “Junker” you may ask? Well the answer is that it was the term for the SS rank of Officer Candidate. Officer Candidates attended a Junkerschule where they would learn the tasks of leading troops in the field.
This combined with actual field experience would allow one to be commissioned as an Officer in the Waffen-SS Officer corps. The process for a soldat to become an Officer usually took between 20 to 30 months to complete. Usually by the time a soldat reached the rank of Rottenfuhrer they would be given the choice to become a career soldier, either as a non-commissioned officer or to embark on the path of joining the officer corps. If one wanted the chance to become an officer he would have to obtain written approval from his Kompanie commander and undergo a political as well as racial screening process. If selected, the member would be assigned to one of several Junkerschulen. As stated, there were several Junkerschule’s however, for our purposes we will refer to Bad Tölz, as it was the most common school for Junkers of the 3. SS. |
Early during the war and even before, there were height and weight requirements that the Junker had to meet. However, unlike Heer officer candidates, the SS did not have any schooling requirements. A SS-Junker did not have to achieve a secondary education to become an officer.
Each officer candidate did have to serve a minimum of 6 months as an enlisted man in the SS before being considered. When a soldat arrived at the schule they would retain their most current rank until they passed the probationary period, at which point they would be appointed to the rank of SS-Junker.
Let us talk about levels of rank within the Junker system. An SS Junker would typically wear the rank of an SS-Unterscharfuhrer. So if one entered into Junkerschule as a Rottenfuhrer and passed the probationary phase they would essentially be promoted to Unterscharfuhrer. The only insignia showing that they were an officer candidate would be the white strip that was worn on the shoulder boards.
Each officer candidate did have to serve a minimum of 6 months as an enlisted man in the SS before being considered. When a soldat arrived at the schule they would retain their most current rank until they passed the probationary period, at which point they would be appointed to the rank of SS-Junker.
Let us talk about levels of rank within the Junker system. An SS Junker would typically wear the rank of an SS-Unterscharfuhrer. So if one entered into Junkerschule as a Rottenfuhrer and passed the probationary phase they would essentially be promoted to Unterscharfuhrer. The only insignia showing that they were an officer candidate would be the white strip that was worn on the shoulder boards.
SS-Junker wore the rank of SS-Unterscharfuhrer
SS-Oberjunker wore the rank of SS-Scharfuhrer SS-Standartenjunker wore the rank of Oberscharfuhrer SS-Standartenoberjunker wore the rank of SS-Hauptscharfuhrer Each one of these ranks had been part of a process within the Junkers officer candidacy and he would have to complete each step to reach the next. To reach the next step one would have to pass several examinations. During wartime, a candidate would also be moved to a field unit for observation. Upon reaching the rank of Standartenoberjunker the candidate was permitted to display the silver chin strap of an SS-Officer upon their Schirmütze or Feldmütze älterer Art. Typically it was not until the candidate reached this rank when they were moved to a field combat unit for final examination. They would be placed in charge of a platoon and would be examined by the kompanie commander during their time leading. Upon successful completion, a Standartenoberjunker would be promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmfuhrer. They had an ornate graduation ceremony for graduates. |
Each one of these ranks had been part of a process within the Junkers officer candidacy and he would have to complete each step to reach the next. To reach the next step one would have to pass several examinations.
During wartime, a candidate would also be moved to a field unit for observation. Upon reaching the rank of Standartenoberjunker the candidate was permitted to display the silver chin strap of an SS-Officer upon their Schirmütze or Feldmütze älterer Art. Typically it was not until the candidate reached this rank when they were moved to a field combat unit for final examination. They would be placed in charge of a platoon and would be examined by the kompanie commander during their time leading. Upon successful completion, a Standartenoberjunker would be promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmfuhrer. They had an ornate graduation ceremony for graduates.
Each graduating Untersturmfuhrer would be assigned to field unit where they would be platoon leaders, beginning their career as commissioned officers in the Waffen-SS officer corps. As the war progressed the standards of the school changed in many ways. As stated, early on the typical completion time was up to 30 months but in late 1944 and 1945 this decreased to 6, and finally 3 months. Some officers were even given their promotion in the field without having to attain any formal training!
The 3. SS has a history of having many SS-Junkers. During it's time in Russia, Totenkopf had extremely high officer casualties, and the result was a large numbers of Junkers being sent to the division as replacements, starting in Fall 1941.. The division had such a high officer casualty rates that many platoons, and in select cases, even companies were led by Junkers and Oberjunkers. This trend was a lasting one, and in many pictures of the division after Demjansk one can see the abundance of Junkers within the ranks.
The standard uniform for a Junker was that of any SS-Untersturmfuhrer. Unlike enlisted men, where they were issued all required uniforms and equipment, SS officers had to purchase their uniform privately. So there was a wide variety of personally tailored uniforms but most followed standard guidelines. As a Junker, they would have been given a salary increase and required to obtain all officers uniforms privately. The standard uniform during the early war period was the typical M36 Feldbluse, Steingrau M37 or Feldgrau M40 trousers or riding breeches and riding boots or jackboots. A typical Junker would be found wearing a Schirmmütze if they could afford it, but many wore the overseas cap or einheitsfeldmütze. They would have worn an officer’s belt and buckle with this, as well as carried a standard pistol such as the Walther P-38.
During wartime, a candidate would also be moved to a field unit for observation. Upon reaching the rank of Standartenoberjunker the candidate was permitted to display the silver chin strap of an SS-Officer upon their Schirmütze or Feldmütze älterer Art. Typically it was not until the candidate reached this rank when they were moved to a field combat unit for final examination. They would be placed in charge of a platoon and would be examined by the kompanie commander during their time leading. Upon successful completion, a Standartenoberjunker would be promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmfuhrer. They had an ornate graduation ceremony for graduates.
Each graduating Untersturmfuhrer would be assigned to field unit where they would be platoon leaders, beginning their career as commissioned officers in the Waffen-SS officer corps. As the war progressed the standards of the school changed in many ways. As stated, early on the typical completion time was up to 30 months but in late 1944 and 1945 this decreased to 6, and finally 3 months. Some officers were even given their promotion in the field without having to attain any formal training!
The 3. SS has a history of having many SS-Junkers. During it's time in Russia, Totenkopf had extremely high officer casualties, and the result was a large numbers of Junkers being sent to the division as replacements, starting in Fall 1941.. The division had such a high officer casualty rates that many platoons, and in select cases, even companies were led by Junkers and Oberjunkers. This trend was a lasting one, and in many pictures of the division after Demjansk one can see the abundance of Junkers within the ranks.
The standard uniform for a Junker was that of any SS-Untersturmfuhrer. Unlike enlisted men, where they were issued all required uniforms and equipment, SS officers had to purchase their uniform privately. So there was a wide variety of personally tailored uniforms but most followed standard guidelines. As a Junker, they would have been given a salary increase and required to obtain all officers uniforms privately. The standard uniform during the early war period was the typical M36 Feldbluse, Steingrau M37 or Feldgrau M40 trousers or riding breeches and riding boots or jackboots. A typical Junker would be found wearing a Schirmmütze if they could afford it, but many wore the overseas cap or einheitsfeldmütze. They would have worn an officer’s belt and buckle with this, as well as carried a standard pistol such as the Walther P-38.