The Schutzstaffel or Ss was the primary organization responsible for carrying out exterminations for the Nazi hierarchy. It was a key instrument of terror used by the Nazis and came to represent organized brutality within the Third Reich. The power structure of the Ss, however, was established prior to the Second World War. The Ss, with Heinrich Himmler as its leader, was a dominant organization within Nazi Germany by 1936. There are many questions that surface in regard to the size and influence of the Ss in 1934. How did Himmler and the Ss emerge as the dominant force within the Third Reich? How was the Ss able to develop into a central organization within the Nazi state? The key to answering these questions lies in the background and development of Himmler and the Ss.