Stabschef

Earlier (left) and later (right) command flag
Best known officeholder Ernst Röhm 5 January 1931 – 1 July 1934
Status	Commanding officer of a paramilitary organisation
Member of
Reports to
Appointer	Adolf Hitler
Formation	October 1929
First holder	Otto Wagener
Final holder	Wilhelm Schepmann
Abolished	5 May 1945
Deputy

(, Template:Literally) was an office and paramilitary rank in the (SA), the paramilitary stormtroopers associated with the Nazi Party. It was a rank and position held by the operating chief of the SA. The rank was equivalent to the rank of in the German Army and to General in the U.S. Army.

Definition

The position of , not yet a rank, was established in 1929 to assist the (Supreme SA Leader) with the administration of the fast-growing organisation. Otto Wagener held the office under Franz Pfeffer von Salomon from 1928 to 1930, and effectively headed the SA from Hitler's assumption of the title in August until Ernst Röhm replaced him in January 1931.

The actual SA rank of was created by Röhm for himself in 1933 after Hitler became chancellor. Although Hitler became the supreme commander of the SA in 1930, the day-to-day running of the organisation was left to the chief of staff. Thus, the men who held the rank of after 1930 were the actual leaders of the SA.

Office holders

The office of was held by four different people between 1929 and 1945 and was, in all but the first case of succession, inherited due to the death of a predecessor. The following SA officers held the office of :

<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold; background:; color:;">1<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold; background:; color:;">2<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold; background:; color:;">3<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold; background:; color:;">–<td style="text-align:center; font-weight:bold; background:; color:;">4

No.	Portrait		Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	Ref.
Otto Wagener	Wagener, OttoOtto Wagener (1888–1971)	October 1929	31 December 1930	1 year, 2 months
Ernst Röhm	Röhm, ErnstErnst Röhm (1887–1934)	5 January 1931	1 July 1934 †	3 years, 177 days
Viktor Lutze	Lutze, ViktorViktor Lutze (1890–1943)	1 July 1934	2 May 1943 †	8 years, 305 days
Max Jüttner	Jüttner, MaxMax Jüttner (1888–1963) Acting	2 May 1943	August 1943	2 months
Wilhelm Schepmann	Schepmann, WilhelmWilhelm Schepmann (1894–1970)	August 1943	5 May 1945	1 year, 9 months

Timeline

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DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1929 till:01/06/1945 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1929 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1930

Colors =

 id:sa value:rgb(0.59,0.29,0)

BarData =

 barset:PM

PlotData =

 width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
 barset:PM

from: 01/10/1929 till: 31/12/1930 color:sa text:"Wagener" fontsize:10
from: 05/01/1931 till: 01/07/1934 color:sa text:"Röhm" fontsize:10
from: 01/07/1934 till: 02/05/1943 color:sa text:"Lutze" fontsize:10
from: 02/05/1943 till: 01/08/1943 color:sa text:"Jüttner (acting)" fontsize:10
from: 01/08/1943 till: 05/05/1945 color:sa text:"Schepmann" fontsize:10

</timeline>

Insignia

Early insignia for consisted of an oak leaf patch worn on the collar of the stormtrooper uniform. Photographic evidence shows Ernst Röhm wearing such an insignia in his early days as the SA Chief of Staff. As Röhm's authority increased, so did his insignia and by mid 1931 photographic evidence shows him wearing wreathed star that was designed after that of a Bolivian general's collar, due to Röhm's previous military experience as a military adviser in Bolivia.

After 1933, the insignia for consisted of a "crossed lances" pattern, wreathed by a half oak leaf circle. After 1934, the insignia was changed to a wreathed tri-foil oak leaf pattern similar to the SS rank insignia of . With the fall of Nazi Germany, the ceased to exist and with it the .

• Gorget patch (1933–1934)
  Gorget patch (1933–1934)
• Gorget patch (1934–1945)
  Gorget patch (1934–1945)
• Shoulder patch (1933–1945)
  Shoulder patch (1933–1945)

Junior rank SA-

SA rank

Senior rank

See also

• Supreme SA Leader

Bibliography

• Campbell, Bruce (1998). The SA Generals and The Rise of Nazism. The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813120478.
• Flaherty, T. H. (2004) [1988]. The Third Reich: The SS. Time-Life Books, Inc. ISBN 1-84447-073-3.
• Hamilton, Charles (1984). Leaders & Personalities of the Third Reich, Vol. 1. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138270.
• McNab, Chris (2009). The Third Reich. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-51-8.
• Zentner, Christian; Bedürftig, Friedemann (1997) [1991]. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-3068079-3-0.