[Popman]

These are pictures of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the Nazi party and not regular army or Luftwaffe.

Basically the Waffen-SS was the internal security forces in Germany and occupied countries who keep people in line.

These people have committed mass murder and horrific atrocities on scale unknown at the time.

Obama would have a similar force in place by now if this country was not so well armed.

[Tailback]

These are pictures of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the Nazi party and not regular army or Luftwaffe.

The Waffen SS were the elite fighting units of the military forces. They got the best officers, best recruits, and best equipment. They were used as the spearhead during attacks and were rushed to allied breakthroughs to block advances.

The security forces were the GESTAPO (Geheim Stadt Polizei), General SS, and SS Polizei units.

The pictures from the article are confusing because everyone is in the brownshirt SA (Sturm Abteilung) uniform. The SA was eradicated in "the night of the long knives" prior to 1941. Anyone left that was felt to be loyal enough was rolled into the SS. Anyone not trusted went to the concentration camps.