00:00The roots of the Leipstandarte reached back to Hitler's earlier bodyguard groups of the 1920s.
00:06After the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, Hitler wanted a guard he could trust completely,
00:14and soon a new SS formation was created. In the following months it changed names
00:20several times, and in September 1933 it became the Leipstandarte SS Adolf Hitler,
00:27then numbering approximately 120 men. It was commanded by Sepp Dietrich and stationed in
00:34Berlin-Lichterfelder. On the 9th of November 1933 its men swore a personal oath to Hitler.
00:42Their loyalty was directed not to the state or to the law, but to Hitler himself.
