DID – GERMAN Head of the SS

HEINRICH HIMMLER, 1900-1945), German NAZI leader, who was head of the dreaded SS (Schutzstaffel, also called the Blackshirts). Although he was pedantic, dogmatic, and dull, Himmler emerged under HITLER as second in actual power. His strength lay in a combination of unusual shrewdness, burning ambition, and servile loyalty to Hitler.