The Schutzstaffel, or SS, was one of the most powerful and feared organizations in all of Nazi Germany. Established in 1925, the SS was regarded as the Nazi Party's elite unit. With Heinrich Himmler at its head, the SS expanded its role beyond that of Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard to perpetrate some of the worst atrocities recorded in modern history. Indeed, its leadership planned, coordinated, and directed the so-called Final Solution to the Jewish Question.
But how did a small group of beer hall thugs evolve into one of the most sinister and reviled paramilitary formations of the Second World War? Click through and chart the dark history of the SS.