SS Regalia

Of the multitude of abbreviations which characterize twentieth century organizations none is more evocative than the letters SS. They stand for naked power, secret violence, for the knock on the door in the night, for the mass graves of millions of innocents. The uniform was black, a color which had important overtones in Germany. On that, the SS wore a vast variety of decorations, symbols, badges to distinguish rank, from the collar runes to the death's head. The appearance was both dramatic and menacing.