Dr. Franz Riedweg may be the most famous Swiss Nazi, although his machinations as a high-ranking member of the SS are almost unknown or unstudied. Even though his intrigues against Switzerland are known, his influence on the so-called “Germanic countries”, occupied by Nazi
Germany, was substantially left in the dark. The aim of this paper is to show the role he played in the SS’s effort to gain control over countries considered as “Germanic”.The topic is developed in three steps.Firstly, it is shown how the office that had to handle the task was created and how
Riedweg was appointed as its chief. Secondly, it is pointed out how the office with its Swiss leader intervened in the “Waffen-SS” recruitment process of non German “Germanics”.In a last and third step the role the latter and his office played in the enforcement of the mentioned countries to “SS standards” is described.