Oswald Pohl - SS Career

SS Career

One year later, in 1925, Pohl became a member of the SA, then finally joined the re-founded Nazi party on 22 February 1926 as member #30842. He met Heinrich Himmler in 1933 and became his protégé. He was appointed chief of the administration department in the staff of the Reichsführer-SS ("National leader SS") and given the rank of SS-Standartenführer on 1 February 1934 and began to influence the administration of the concentration camps.

His career continued when he was made Verwaltungschef (chief of administration) and Reichskassenverwalter ("Reich treasurer") for the SS on 1 June 1935, then initiated the Inspektion der Konzentrationslager ("Concentration Camps Inspectorate"), an organization to organize and oversee the administration of the concentration camps. He also founded the "Gesellschaft zur Förderung und Pflege deutscher Kulturdenkmäler" ("Society for the preservation and fostering of German cultural monuments"), which was primarily dedicated to restoring Wewelsburg, an old castle that was supposed to be turned into a cultural and scientific headquarters of the SS at Himmler's request. The "society" soon became a part of Pohl's SS administration office. Pohl also left the Roman Catholic Church in 1935.