Mann was a paramilitary rank used by several Nazi
Party paramilitary organizations between 1925 and 1945. The rank is most often associated with the SS,
and also as a rank of the SA where Mann was the lowest
enlisted rank and was the equivalent of a Private.
In 1938, with the rise of
the SS-Verfügungstruppe (later called the Waffen-SS), the SS changed the rank
of Mann to Schütze, although still retained
the original SS rank of Mann for the Allgemeine-SS
(General SS). The rank of Mann was junior
to SS-Obermann.
In most Nazi Party organizations,
the rank of Mann held no distinctive insignia.
Some groups, however, granted a minor form
of rank insignia such as a blank collar
patch or bare shoulder board to denote the
rank of Mann. An even lower rank, known as
Anwärter,
was established in the mid-1930s as a recruit
or candidate position, held by an individual
seeking an appointment as a Mann in a Nazi
Party paramilitary organization.
