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| | Axis History Factbook: Waffen-SS Unit Names and Honor Titles |
 | | The death’s head was one of the SS’ oldest and most widely recognized symbols, appearing, for example, as a cap badge in every branch of the SS as well as on the SS honor ring; it had even been adopted by the forerunner of the SS, the Stoßtrupp Adolf Hitler, as early as 1923. |
 | | A dismissed former naval officer, Heydrich was the founder and head of the Sicherheitsdienst or SD (the SS’ security service) and, from 1939, the head of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA, (the Reich Security Main Office) to which, apart from the SD, both the Gestapo and the Criminal Police were subordinated. |
 | | This was a regiment of SS war correspondents; initially a company formed in 1940, the formation was upgraded to battalion strength in 1941 and finally became and independent regiment in 1943. |
| www.axishistory.com /index.php?id=1516 (5508 words) |
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