77th SS-Standarte

Richard Glücks, early member and commander of the 77th Standarte

The 77th SS-Standarte was a regiment formation of the Allgemeine-SS that operated from the city of Schneidemühl in eastern Germany (now Poland). The Standarte was established in 1934, one year after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party assumed power, and by 1935 was at full complement.

One notable member of the Standarte was Richard Glücks who assumed command of the unit in 1935. Glücks would later rise to command Germany's concentration camp network as head of the SS-Totenkopfverbände.

In the late 1930s, the 77th Standarte mainly engaged in mustering drill formations and parades. At the start of World War II, most of the Standarte members were called up to serve in the regular Germany military (Wehrmacht) since the mustering formations were not exempt from conscription. The unit continued to actively operate until 1943 at which time the regiment had lost nearly all of its members and war-time activities in eastern Germany superseded the need for part-time musters and Nazi parades.

The last commander of the 77th SS-Standarate, SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul Becker, was detached on July 1, 1943 and from this point on the unit existed only on paper. The Standarte was formally disbanded in May 1945 with the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Commanders

• SS-Untersturmführer Hans-Georg Neumann (January 26, 1934 - May 3, 1934)
• SS-Obersturmführer Georg Schmidt (May 3, 1934 - June 6, 1934)
• SS-Hauptsturmführer Horst Felchner (June 6, 1943 - June 20, 1935)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Richard Glücks (June 20, 1935 - April 1, 1936)
• SS-Standartenführer Simon Füss (April 1, 1936 - March 21, 1938)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Ewald Strohm (March 21, 1938 - March 1, 1939)
• SS-Standartenführer Wilhelm Hiller (March 1, 1939 - July 1, 1939)
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Paul Becker (July 1, 1939 - July 1, 1943)

References

• Yerger, Mark C. Allgemeine-SS: The Commands, Units, and Leaders of the General SS, Schiffer Publishing (1997). ISBN 0-7643-0145-4