Joseph Berchtold

Joseph Berchtold
Berchtold in his SA uniform
2nd Reichsführer-SS
In office
15 April 1926 – 1 March 1927
LeaderAdolf Hitler
Preceded byJulius Schreck
Succeeded byErhard Heiden
Personal details
Born6 March 1897
Ingolstadt, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Died23 August 1962(1962-08-23) (aged 65)
Herrsching, Bavaria, West Germany
Political partyNazi Party (1920–1921, 1922–1945)
Other political
affiliations
German Workers' Party (1920)
Military service
Allegiance German Empire
Branch/service Imperial German Army
Battles/warsWorld 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 the Second World War.