The SS Officer

BY

Of Personality

SHOULD WE in the Waffen-SS speak of “authority”? Does not a mysterious energy flow from the genuine leader, which shines through the whole unit and draws all to him? What kind of piti­ful authority was the one that Jews and Marxists tried to con­vince us of: authority as something not personal, rather only a function of the office or uniform of the holder? They them­selves only wanted to interpret the concept of authority so as to bestow the appearance of leadership on their pitiful inability. There is no officer among us who would claim authority, be­cause he wears the rank insignia of a superior, rather National Socialist authority declares the opposite — that is, he wears the rank insignia, because it documents the inner and outer worth for it. Hence our authority does not last as long as we wear the insig­nia, rather we wear the insignia as long as we possess the inner worth for it. Thus we must always strive to prove ourselves worthy, always work on ourselves, and the outer rise of a ca­reer can be nothing other than the equal rise of our accomplish­ment. Only so should we perceive the concept of authority. The content of our work, of our accomplishment, of our life, can alone be the measurement for the degree of our authority. Only its being made visible needs as external attribute the rank insig­nia. Thus perceived, every officer rank will demand respect from the start, for every subordinate knows that the difference in rank is only a criterion for the superior strength of accom­plishment.