Erhard Heiden was an early
member of the Nazi
Party and the third commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS). Heiden was a Nazi stormtrooper who, in 1925, joined
a small stormtrooper bodyguard unit known as the Schutzstaffel.
Heiden was an early advocate of separating the SS from
its master organization, the Sturmabteilung (SA), and
in March 1927 he was appointed as the Reichsführer-SS in an attempt to keep the SS from being disbanded under
SA desires.
Under Heiden’s leadership
the SS declined in membership from 1,000
to 280, with SA desires made public that
the SS should be disbanded. As Heiden attempted
to keep the tiny group from going under,
he hired a young chicken farmer, named Heinrich
Himmler, to serve as his deputy. Heiden
regarded Himmler as a “keen young
clerk” but did
not see him as leadership material. Nevertheless,
in 1929, Heiden stepped down as commander
of the SS and allowed Himmler to succeed
him. He faded into obscurity as the SS
grew to unprecedented levels with Heinrich
Himmler, who had once been an office clerk
under Heiden, became one of the most powerful
men in Nazi Germany.