Joseph Berchtold

Joseph Berchtold
Berchtold in his SA uniform
Reichsführer-SS
In office 15 April 1926 – 1 March 1927
Leader	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Julius Schreck
Succeeded by	Erhard Heiden
Personal details
Born	6 March 1897 Ingolstadt, German Empire
Died	23 August 1962(1962-08-23) (aged 65) Herrsching, West Germany
Political party	National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party; NSDAP)
Religion	Catholic
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Army
Battles/wars	World War I

Joseph Berchtold (6 March 1897 – 23 August 1962) was an early senior Nazi Party member and a co-founder of both the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS).

Berchtold served in World War I and upon Germany's defeat joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), a small extremist organization at the time. He remained in the party after it became known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party; NSDAP) and went on to become the second commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) from April 1926 to March 1927.

After resigning as the SS leader, Berchtold spent much of his time writing for Nazi magazines and journals. He survived the war, but was arrested by the Allies. Berchtold was later released and died in 1962. He was the last surviving person to hold the rank of Reichsführer-SS and the only one to survive under it during the Second World War.

Born on 6 March 1897 in Ingolstadt, Berchtold attended school in Munich from 1903 to 1915. He went on to serve in the Royal Bavarian Army during World War I (1914-18) and held the rank of second lieutenant at the end of the war. After the war, he studied economics at the University of Munich and gained employment as a journalist. In early 1920, he joined the small right-wing extremist group the German Workers' Party (DAP). He remained in the party after it became known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party; NSDAP). Berchtold became the treasurer of the Nazi Party, until he resigned at the end of July, 1921.

Upon re-joining the party in 1922, Berchtold became a member of the Sturmabteilung ("Storm Detachment"; SA), a paramilitary wing formed to protect its speakers at rallies, and to police Nazi meetings.Adolf Hitler, leader of the party since 1921, ordered the formation of a small separate bodyguard dedicated to his protection only instead of a suspected mass of the party in 1923. Originally the unit was composed of only eight men, commanded by Julius Schreck and Berchtold. It was designated the Stabswache ("Staff Guard"). Later that year, the unit was renamed Stoßtrupp-Hitler ("Shock Troop-Hitler").