Translated from the original Third Reich publication of SS-Oberabschnitt West – “Die Ordensgesetze der SS” (1938) – by Kameradin Lina, corrections of the English translation – by Kamerad Westmar.
Duties of the SS-man regarding marriage and engagement
31st December 1931
1. The SS is a selected formation of German Nordic men.
2. According to the National-Socialist worldview and understanding, that the future of our nation lies in the selection and preservation of the good and healthy blood, I am introducing from 1st January 1932 on, for all not married SS members the “Marriage approval”.
3. The goal we are striving for is a genetically valuable, healthy family of a Nordic German type.
4. The Marriage approval will be given or withdrawn only on the grounds of race and genetic health.
5. Every SS-man who wants to marry, has to receive the approval of the Reichsführer- SS.
6. SS-members who will marry despite the disapproval of the marriage will have to leave of their own accord or face expulsion from the SS.
7. The professional review of the marriage applications is done by the Racial department of the SS.
8. The Racial department of the SS keeps a “Family book of the SS” containing a register of the families of SS members, which are entered either after marriage approval, or special application for entry in the book.
9. The Reichsführer- SS, the leader and officers of the Racial department are sworn to confidentiality.
10. The SS knows that with this order it has made an important step. Mockery, contempt and misunderstanding will not touch us – the future belongs to us!
The SS law of honour
9th November 1935
1) Every SS-man has the right and the duty to defend his honour with a weapon.
a) An SS-man is every member who was an SS leader (at least Untersturmführer) by 9th November 1935 and also every member who was by 30th January 1936 in the SS for three years already.
b) In the future an SS member will be every SS applicant, who will be fully accepted into SS by giving him an SS dagger on 9th November - after serving his service as an SS applicant, after giving an oath to the Führer, after honourable service in his work and military service.
c) For SS men who at the time of their admission to the SS in years 1933, 1934 and 1935 were at least 23 years old, do not have to fulfil letter b). All the others new SS men who were not 23 years old yet can only become full members after giving their military service.
2) With validity from 9th November 1935 the SA honour law is declared to be invalid for the SS.
3) From 9th November 1935 the court and honour regulations are valid for the SS.
Establishment of the association “Lebensborn”
13th September 1936
With the letter from 13th December 1934 I have already reminded all SS leaders of the fact that our struggle would be meaningless if we do not add to the political victory the victory of births of good blood.
The question of having many children is not a private business of individuals but a duty to his ancestors and our nation.
The SS has already made the first step by the marriage and engagement order from December 1931. But to make good marriages is useless when from these numerous offspring will not result.
I expect the SS and especially the SS leadership to be an example in this.
The minimal number of children in a good and healthy marriage is at least 4 children. If because of tragic conditions of destiny it is impossible to bring one’s own children to the marriage, every SS leader should adopt racially and genetically healthy children and bring them up in the spirit of National-Socialism and give them appropriate education according to their abilities.
For the choice and selection of appropriate children for the SS leadership there is the association “Lebensborn”. This association is under my personal command and is integrated into the SS Race and Settlement Main Office. Its main task is:
1) To support racially valuable and biologically healthy families with numerous children.
2) To accommodate and take care of racially and biologically healthy future mothers, for which after detailed examination of her family and the family of the father through the SS Race and Settlement Main Office we can assume that the coming children will be just as valuable.
3) To take care of these children
4) To take care of the mothers of these children
For all SS leaders it is a duty to become a member of the “Lebensborn” association. The entry declaration Nr. I shall be delivered by 23rd September 1936.
The sum of the member fee of full-time SS leaders from Hauptsturmführer and higher are listed in the attached chart. Full-time working SS Unter- and Obersturmführer of any age pay a minimum sum of 1 Reichsmark.
From the non-full-time SS leaders and other SS men I expect that, if possible, they would become members of “Lebensborn” with a contribution appropriate to their income and thus carry the work with us and practically realize the thought of the family community of SS on this field. The unit leaders should disseminate message in an appropriate way to their subordinated SS leaders and SS men. The unit leaders are responsible for the recruiting of members for “Lebensborn”. The non-full-time leaders and members of SS shall fill in the entry declaration Nr. II and send it to the “Lebensborn” association by the 1st October 1936.
I will personally be interested to find out about the success of my inquiry.
May every SS leader remember that in the Kampfzeit only the personal and materials sacrifices brought us forward and that the further development of Germany for coming centuries and millenniums will be impossible if not all of us will be ready to do our obvious duty.
Elementary law about the holiness of property
9th November 1936
1. To our ancestors the property of the others was holy and untouchable. For example, a bundle of hay was a clear sign to not permit the trespassing over someone’s field.
2. During our unfortunate German history and especially in the after-war years and inflation period the notion of property and strict laws about fairness, non-corruption, sincerity and holiness of entrusted property have blurred.
3. Theft, tricks, fraud and waste of entrusted public means are still everyday reality in Germany. The laws sadly punish such crimes only in a limited way. Significant parts of the German nation and also many members of the SS take the crimes against written and non-written laws about property too easy.
4. In my opinion we shall return to these views of our ancestors in the SS and not only handle so that we would not break any present law but also would not break any of those firm not-written laws of our nation. I feel it is a shame for us Germans and especially for SS-men when in other countries as for example Scandinavia or Japan everyone can leave his property freely in a public place because he knows that no one from his nation would steal it. We would want to introduce this knowledge, decency and habits into our ranks of the SS and live them as an example.
5. I therefore order that from 1st December 1936 on in all accommodation buildings of SS troops the locks on lockets would be removed. Service and secret directives which regulate the manipulation of things which we got from our enemies should still remain valid when it is appropriate according to special orders of the SS main leadership.
6. These especially important basic questions called to attention in this law should be often a subject of education and friendly reminding. After a short time it must be a self-evident thing for every SS member that he would not take anything from his comrade, from something so unimportant as a cigarette to precious valuables.
7. Also I expect from all the SS members that they would deal with the service money and service objects with great but not too exaggerated preciseness and in all cases when there is no regulation they should decide in accordance with their conscience.
8. In the future I will handle all offences against the property and honour with the strictest punishments.
From the spirit of our organization I expect that very soon no punishments of such kind will be necessary as men who go against the holiness of property will not be in the SS in the future anymore.
Elementary law about obligatory saving
9th November 1937
1. The chaos of past centuries has not only blurred the notion of property in the German nation but also has made the notion of getting in debts an honourable and everyday thing.
2. Within the staff of the Reichsführer-SS there was created an institution “Economic help” which has the task to help those SS-men who in the past and in the Kampfzeit mostly without moral fault got into deep financial problems through unemployment and collapse of the economy and make them able to balance out their obligations in the foreseeable future.
3. But for the future I see it as unsubstantial and impossible that a person would buy more than he can pay for. I think that buying through instalments for 12 months a person should rather save money for those 12 months and then pay for the desired object in cash.
4. So that we could help the SS-man who despite all economic handling has it hard to materially survive, it is necessary that all SS men would help. Through our own forces we would want to create an account from which it would be possible after one year already to borrow money to an SS-man in need which he would then pay back in a foreseeable time without being economically confined by it.
5. Therefore, I order that every SS-man would give 1 Mark from his salary to the saving account of the SS. The same applies for all full-time SS leaders and SS men. SS applicants, who have as recruits in the action group and Totenkopf-units in the first year a lower salary, pay a lower contribution.
6. From all non-full-time SS leaders and men of the General SS I expect that they will go as an example too and pay the contributions in full and voluntarily and therefore would help to achieve the goal.
7. The goal is that the SS would be made economically strong from its own means to such an extent, that it could support and strengthen in friendly spirit the individual SS men and their families through loans and other economic help when needed.
8. I give the task of obligatory saving to the maintenance chef of the SS.
Elementary law about the care of the widows and orphans
9th November 1937
9. The SS as a sworn community of SS families has the holy task to stick to the wives and children of dead comrades.
10. I therefore, order that the commanders i.e. leaders of storm units, units, sections and upper sections would undertake the care of the widows and orphans of SS comrades.
11. This task is not sufficient to be fulfilled only through financial support. In my opinion even more important than that is the manly protection and help in an appropriate way to a family which has lost its father and now has to face the life struggle without a man.
Just as holy is the duty that we would take care of the raising and educating the valuable children of these SS families and feel responsibility for it.
12. The commanders have to put this task into practice as this personal goal cannot be undertaken over by anyone else.
For the maintenance part of this task the commanders of SS care institutions of a unit stand ready.
The Reichsführer-SS
signed: Himmler
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