Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel (including concentration camp staffs) were granted Waffen-SS ranks and, in 1944, any "Allgemeine-SS" who served in an area that commanded SS combat troops, was granted a Waffen-SS commission. Another uniform insignia change occurred in April 1942 with the creation of the rank "SS-Oberstgruppenführer". This necessitated an insignia change for SS generals and all SS generals at this time began wearing "Wehrmacht"-style gold shoulder boards; "Oberführers" wore the shoulderboards of an army "Oberst" ("colonel") just as "Standartenführers" did. The sole exception was Heinrich Himmler who continued to wear the silver braided shoulderboard with oak leaves of his rank as "Reichsführer-SS". At
Ranks of the National People's Army Ranks of the National People's Army The Ranks of the National People's Army were the military insignia used by the National People's Army, the army of the German Democratic Republic from 1956 to 1990. The design of the rank insignias followed the tradition of the German Army ("Heer") with some modifications. For example, the cuff titles (chevron insignias) of the Gefreiter were replaced by shoulder straps with cross-strips like the Soviet rank. Commissioned officer ranks up to Oberst featured four-pointed golden stars in increasing number according to seniority, and arranged following the Soviet pattern. Junior officer (lieutenant and captain ranks)