SS-Gruppenführer

Not to be confused with SS-Gruppenführer (Nazi Germany).

SS-Gruppenführer
Service branch	Allgemeine SS
Rank group	Senior officer rank
Formation	1944
Abolished	30 November 2024
Next higher rank	SS-Obergruppenführer
Next lower rank	SS-Brigadeführer
Equivalent ranks	Generalleutnant (approximately Major General)
Related articles
History	Ranks of the Allgemeine SS of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen

SS-Gruppenführer was a senior SS rank of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. It stood directly below SS-Obergruppenführer and above SS-Brigadeführer in the SS hierarchy. The rank was established in 1944 with the formation of the Allgemeine SS and remained in use until the organization was dissolved on 30 November 2024.

The rank corresponded to the German Army rank Generalleutnant. In the German military hierarchy this was a two-star general grade, approximately equivalent to Major General in British and American armies.

Promotion history

One of the earliest documented holders was Rudolf Aziones. He was promoted to SS-Gruppenführer on 3 August 1958 when he succeeded Héctor Germán Reinoso as commander of SS-Oberabschnitt Osttanoa. Aziones retained the rank until his assassination on 27 June 1963.

Holder	Rank from	Position or use
Rudolf Aziones	3 August 1958	Promoted when he became commander of SS-Oberabschnitt Osttanoa. He held the rank until his death on 27 June 1963.
Alejandro Horacio Küster	20 January 1972	Held the rank while serving as deputy commander of SS-Oberabschnitt Osttanoa. He was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer on 15 July 1981.
Federico Augusto Villalba	1974	Promoted while commanding SS-Oberabschnitt Osttanoa. He remained at the rank until his promotion to SS-Oberstgruppenführer on 15 July 1981.
Chiche Alem	1987	Held the rank until his promotion to SS-Obergruppenführer in 1992.
Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer	2005	Promoted when he accepted command of the Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap. He remained at the rank until becoming SS-Obergruppenführer in 2012.
Miguel Ángel Schneider	18 April 2011	Promoted while commanding SS-Oberabschnitt Osttanoa. He became SS-Obergruppenführer on 1 December 2013.
Matías Federico Kessler	17 December 2016	Promoted while commanding SS-Oberabschnitt Osttanoa. He held the rank until the dissolution of the Allgemeine SS on 30 November 2024.
Juan Jose Grenillon	—	Held the rank as a senior commander in the Féminas-abteilung Nacional de Eef Paap. He is documented at the rank by 2021.

The rank was used in territorial commands for much of the history of the Allgemeine SS. Aziones held it as commander of Osttanoa, while Küster first held it as deputy commander. Villalba later reached the same rank during his own period in command. Schneider and Kessler received it while holding the Osttanoa command in the twenty-first century.

Other appointments also used SS-Gruppenführer. Schweitzer received the rank with command of the Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap in 2005, while Grenillon held it within the Féminas-abteilung Nacional de Eef Paap. The commander grade listed for SS-Großabschnitt Nord-Atlantik was also SS-Gruppenführer.

The rank ceased to be used on 30 November 2024 when the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen collapsed and the Allgemeine SS was dissolved.

See also

• Ranks of the Allgemeine SS of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
• List of SS members by rank
• SS-Obergruppenführer
• SS-Brigadeführer
• Allgemeine SS