The first paramilitary unit to have the abbreviation SS (German: Schutz Staffel) in its name was the personal protection of the dictator of the Third Reich called Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, which was officially formed in 1933. From 1934, the SS was an independent formation headed by Heinrich Himmler. With time, further SS units were formed, including the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the SS-Verfügungstruppe. It is worth adding that the latter was trained similarly to regular Wehrmacht infantry units. On a relatively small scale, SS units were used in combat during the fighting in Poland in 1939 and in the French campaign in 1940. The first units intended from the beginning to fight at the front were created in mid-1940, giving them the name of the Waffen SS. Initially, they were recruited on a voluntary basis, also among non-German people, but over time, compulsory recruitment began to apply. Within the Waffen-SS, many divisions of different combat value were formed. Nevertheless, a few of them (e.g. the 1st SS LAH Panzer Division, the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division or the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division) can be considered elite units, with very high combat value and often equipped with the best available equipment. They demonstrated their considerable advantages not only on the Eastern Front (1941-1945), especially during the battles near Kharkiv in 1943, but also during the battles in France in 1944. Another thing is that the quality of the commanding staff of these units was in many cases debatable, and many Waffen-SS soldiers committed war crimes during World War II.
2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich (Ger. 2. SS-Panzerdivision "Das Reich" ) was formed in 1934 as SS-Division Verfügungstruppe to adopt its final name after using different names (e.g. SS-Division Reich or SS-Division Deutschland). The division began its combat route with the Western campaign in the summer of 1940. She also fought in the Balkans in 1941. In the same year she also participated in the Barbarossa and Typhoon operations, fighting, inter alia, at Jelnia and Moscow. The division also took part in the Battle of Kharkiv (February-March 1943) and in the Battle of the Kursk in July 1943. After this battle, she was transferred to France to make up for losses - both in people and equipment. She remained in this country until 1944 and in June of that year took part in the battles with the Allies in Normandy. In the course of operations in Normandy, she suffered heavy losses. After regenerating your strength, The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich took part in the offensive in the Ardennes at the end of 1944. From the beginning of 1945, it fought in Hungary, where it remained until the end of March. The unit was almost completely destroyed by the Red Army, and its remnants broke through to the west and surrendered to American troops. The soldiers of the division committed war crimes and crimes against the civilian population - especially the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre in June 1944.