The [[Schutzstaffel]] was a major paramilitary organisation under [[Hitler, Adolf|Adolf Hitler]] and the [[Nazi]] Party in [[Nazi]] [[Germany]], and later throughout German-occupied [[Europe]] during [[World War II]]. In [[1925-01-01 - 1925-12-31|1925]], [[Himmler, Heinrich Luitpold|Heinrich Himmler]] joined the unit, which had by then been reformed and given its final name. Under his direction ([[1929-01-01 - 1945-12-31|1929–1945]]) it grew from a small paramilitary formation during the [[German Reich]] to one of the most powerful organisations in [[Nazi]] [[Germany]]. From the time of the [[Nazi]] Party's rise to power until the regime's collapse in [[1945-01-01 - 1945-12-31|1945]], the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] was the foremost agency of security, mass surveillance, and state terrorism within [[Germany]] and German-occupied [[Europe]].