Membership in the SS?

[Delta Tank]

To All,

I am at the World War II Conference at Gettysburg, Pa. A speaker on the Malmedy Massacre said some things that have confused me. I believe he stated that all German Army Officers were members of the Nazi Party, is that true? Were all members of the German Army members of the Nazi Party? Were all members of the SS members of the Nazi Party?

I really never paid much attention to this aspect of WWII history so, need your help.

Mike

[OpanaPointer]

As I understand it the SS was a special force of the Nazi party. More than paramilitary, but not traditional military due to party affiliations.

[j keenan]

To All,

I am at the World War II Conference at Gettysburg, Pa. A speaker on the Malmedy Massacre said some things that have confused me. I believe he stated that all German Army Officers were members of the Nazi Party, is that true? Were all members of the German Army members of the Nazi Party? Were all members of the SS members of the Nazi Party?

I really never paid much attention to this aspect of WWII history so, need your help.

Mike

No

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Just looking at the numbers alone shows this to be untrue. I'm being lazy and using Wikipedia numbers here, but the numbers are such that any minor errors are inconsequential.

The Nazi Party at its peak had about 8.5 million members, about 63 percent of whom were men (about 5.4 million men)

The German armed forces, including Waffen-SS, at its peak had 9.5 million members, no more than about 500 000 of whom were women.

It is therefore evident that party membership could not have been a requirement for members of the Wehrmacht.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrmacht

[Mafle]

What also contradicts the requirement of membership in the NSDAP to be part of the SS is, that there were quite a lot soldiers in the SS, who didn't join voluntarily and often had been non-germans (for example russian prisoners of war or norwegians etc.). These people couldn't be members of the NSDAP, since it was a german party.

[Delta Tank]

Thanks to all!!

Mike