1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

division

Key facts

Active: 9 November 1933 – 8 May 1945
Country: Germany
Branch: Waffen-SS
Type: Panzer
Role: Armoured warfare
Size: Division
Patron: Adolf Hitler
Notable commanders: Julius Schreck (January – 9 November 1923) Sepp Dietrich (17 March 1933 – 1 August 1944) Paul Hausser (1–28 August 1944)

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Wikidata facts

Image: Bundesarchiv Bild 102-17311, Berlin-Lichterfelde, Hitler bei Leibstandarte.jpg

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Article

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH (German: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"), was a Waffen-SS Panzer division that served from 1933 until it was disbanded in 1945. It began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding the Führer's person, offices, and residences. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a division-sized unit during World War II.

The LSSAH participated in combat during the invasion of Poland and was amalgamated into the Waffen-SS together with the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT) and the combat units of the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV) prior to Operation Barbarossa in 1941. By mid-1942 it had been increased in size from a regiment to a Panzergrenadier division and was designated SS Panzergrenadier Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". It received its final form as a Panzer division in October 1943.