The Infamous "Death's Head"
The Reputation of the SS-Totenkopfdivision

The SS-Totenkopfdivision is one of the most infamous combat formations in history. The common conception today of this unit is that it was used to guard concentration camps and exterminate Jews behind the lines, and when it was in combat it was committing atrocities everywhere it went. Although this is not true, it is something that clouds the history of the division today. During the early years of the Division, it had a bad reputation among other German units, and although after their tenacity in combat changed that in many units, the bad reputation of the Division existed again after the war.
The SS-Totenkopfdivision has a reputation of brutality, stemming from its birth in the concentration camp system, the brutal acts committed during the Invasion of France, and it’s infamous collar insignia, which was also worn by the guards of concentration camps, leaving many believing the two entities were the same.
The Concentration camp system had existed in one form or another since 1933. The units that ran the camps were part of the SS-Totenkopfverbande, a branch of the SS. These troops wore the uniform of the SS, but instead with a skull on their collar tab instead of the traditional SS Runes worn by most SS units. This tradition continued until the end of the war. The SS-Totenkopfverbande was a separate organization from the SS-Totenkopfdivision, but many confuse the two.
From 1933-1938 the camps were used primarily for political and communist prisoners. The Holocaust, although in its early stages had not started yet on a mass scale. These were not camps filled with Jewish prisoners. In 1938, Jewish prisoners began to arrive. The camps were brutal and horrible places for those deemed “enemies of the state”. Treatment of prisoners by the guards was brutal, and the recruitment for the guards of these camps was lower, and there for the SS-Totenkopfverbande received the worst of the recruit candidates for the SS. Guards were brutalized and forced to punish prisoners to harden them.
The town of Dachau also served as a training facility for SS troops, and would later be the location of the formation of the Division. In 1939, troops of the SS-Totenkopfverbande were involved in mass executions during the Invasion of Poland, creating the initial stigma against the “Death’s Head” troops. These units were poorly trained, so the local Heer units complained about the combat in-effectiveness of the SS-Totenkopfverbande units, many having members in their 40’s. At this stage, they were certainly seen as second-line troops.
Following the Invasion of Poland, in the fall of 1939, the SS-Division “Totenkopf” was formed, placed under the command of Theodor Eicke, who was the man behind the construction and management of Dachau. Along with a large number of fresh recruits, three regiments formed the Division; SS-Totenkopfstandarten 1-3, coming from three camps, Dachau, Buchenwald, and Oranienburg. Before the Division was formed, these units were part of the SS-Totenkopfverbande. When the Division was formed, these units were transferred to the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS. Theodor Eicke himself was unpopular before he even formed the Division, and that caused issues in trying to acquire equipment and vehicles for the Division. Many of the trucks, weapons, and heavy equipment the Division had in the early days were actually stolen from local Heer units, which obviously caused issues
To make matters worse, once the Division was a full-fledged entity, it was transferred around Germany for training where it seemed to cause trouble everywhere it went. Early reports from the Division often mention soldiers getting into fights in local bars, beating up Heer NCO’s and Officers, and even going so far as to stealing side arms from these men. On one occasion, men from the Division stole a truck from the motorpool and drove into the nearby city to get drunk. After a night of drinking they wrecked the truck into a streetcar, flipping it over, and were found asleep in the back of it. Prior to the invasion of the France, most of the units that had come into contact with men from SS-Totenkopf did not have high opinions.
The Division trained extensively prior to the Invasion of France, but still had the highest casualty rates of any unit in the campaign. Their zealousness and tenacity, combined with their inexperience caused many men to die unneccisarily. Leadership was also poorly trained and inexperienced which led to poor tactical decisions. As many Heer commanders had predicted, many of the SS-Totenkopf units were not prepared for combat. However, aside from their high casualties, the Division succeeded in all it’s objectives during the campaign, and was involved in several notable actions including a very daring and success crossing of the Le Blassee Canal.
As stated, the unit was inexperienced in combat, but pre-conditioned to brutality by the officers and Divisional Commander, Eicke. The result of this was large numbers of “Totenkopf” men being killed and wounded in battle. In one instance, 97 British Prisoners of War were executed by members of the SS-Totenkopfdivision after they had been battered by this unit for days and took extensive casualties. After the war, veterans on both sides spoke of the use of ‘dum-dum’ or hollow-point ammunition used by the British, which caused a large amount of damage and caused a psychological impact on the SS men. Although there are many details about this case that add to the reasoning behind the execution, the matter remains that 97 British Prisoners of War were executed, and word of this spread throughout the other German units in the area, causing a huge black eye for the Division.
Members of the SS-Totenkopfdivision also executed a large number of French Moroccan troops after surrendering, and buried them in a mass grave near Lyon, in France. They also participated in the execution of French civilians in several towns, information about all these instances can be found in our section on the War Crimes of the SS-Totenkopfdivision.
The SS-Totenkopfdivision has a reputation of brutality, stemming from its birth in the concentration camp system, the brutal acts committed during the Invasion of France, and it’s infamous collar insignia, which was also worn by the guards of concentration camps, leaving many believing the two entities were the same.
The Concentration camp system had existed in one form or another since 1933. The units that ran the camps were part of the SS-Totenkopfverbande, a branch of the SS. These troops wore the uniform of the SS, but instead with a skull on their collar tab instead of the traditional SS Runes worn by most SS units. This tradition continued until the end of the war. The SS-Totenkopfverbande was a separate organization from the SS-Totenkopfdivision, but many confuse the two.
From 1933-1938 the camps were used primarily for political and communist prisoners. The Holocaust, although in its early stages had not started yet on a mass scale. These were not camps filled with Jewish prisoners. In 1938, Jewish prisoners began to arrive. The camps were brutal and horrible places for those deemed “enemies of the state”. Treatment of prisoners by the guards was brutal, and the recruitment for the guards of these camps was lower, and there for the SS-Totenkopfverbande received the worst of the recruit candidates for the SS. Guards were brutalized and forced to punish prisoners to harden them.
The town of Dachau also served as a training facility for SS troops, and would later be the location of the formation of the Division. In 1939, troops of the SS-Totenkopfverbande were involved in mass executions during the Invasion of Poland, creating the initial stigma against the “Death’s Head” troops. These units were poorly trained, so the local Heer units complained about the combat in-effectiveness of the SS-Totenkopfverbande units, many having members in their 40’s. At this stage, they were certainly seen as second-line troops.
Following the Invasion of Poland, in the fall of 1939, the SS-Division “Totenkopf” was formed, placed under the command of Theodor Eicke, who was the man behind the construction and management of Dachau. Along with a large number of fresh recruits, three regiments formed the Division; SS-Totenkopfstandarten 1-3, coming from three camps, Dachau, Buchenwald, and Oranienburg. Before the Division was formed, these units were part of the SS-Totenkopfverbande. When the Division was formed, these units were transferred to the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS. Theodor Eicke himself was unpopular before he even formed the Division, and that caused issues in trying to acquire equipment and vehicles for the Division. Many of the trucks, weapons, and heavy equipment the Division had in the early days were actually stolen from local Heer units, which obviously caused issues
To make matters worse, once the Division was a full-fledged entity, it was transferred around Germany for training where it seemed to cause trouble everywhere it went. Early reports from the Division often mention soldiers getting into fights in local bars, beating up Heer NCO’s and Officers, and even going so far as to stealing side arms from these men. On one occasion, men from the Division stole a truck from the motorpool and drove into the nearby city to get drunk. After a night of drinking they wrecked the truck into a streetcar, flipping it over, and were found asleep in the back of it. Prior to the invasion of the France, most of the units that had come into contact with men from SS-Totenkopf did not have high opinions.
The Division trained extensively prior to the Invasion of France, but still had the highest casualty rates of any unit in the campaign. Their zealousness and tenacity, combined with their inexperience caused many men to die unneccisarily. Leadership was also poorly trained and inexperienced which led to poor tactical decisions. As many Heer commanders had predicted, many of the SS-Totenkopf units were not prepared for combat. However, aside from their high casualties, the Division succeeded in all it’s objectives during the campaign, and was involved in several notable actions including a very daring and success crossing of the Le Blassee Canal.
As stated, the unit was inexperienced in combat, but pre-conditioned to brutality by the officers and Divisional Commander, Eicke. The result of this was large numbers of “Totenkopf” men being killed and wounded in battle. In one instance, 97 British Prisoners of War were executed by members of the SS-Totenkopfdivision after they had been battered by this unit for days and took extensive casualties. After the war, veterans on both sides spoke of the use of ‘dum-dum’ or hollow-point ammunition used by the British, which caused a large amount of damage and caused a psychological impact on the SS men. Although there are many details about this case that add to the reasoning behind the execution, the matter remains that 97 British Prisoners of War were executed, and word of this spread throughout the other German units in the area, causing a huge black eye for the Division.
Members of the SS-Totenkopfdivision also executed a large number of French Moroccan troops after surrendering, and buried them in a mass grave near Lyon, in France. They also participated in the execution of French civilians in several towns, information about all these instances can be found in our section on the War Crimes of the SS-Totenkopfdivision.