There were many branches of the Nazi military, each associated with the above subtropes to a varying degree. Most of the more evil, sinister Nazi archetypes tend to belong to the Schutzstaffel (SS), one of the Nazi party's paramilitaries (and the ones who ran the concentration camps). SS members are immediately recognizable by their ominous all-black uniforms (which were only dress uniforms; in the field, they wore standard fatigues, albeit with special insignia). More mundane Nazis may belong to the Wehrmacht, which was comprised of the Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy), where they are less likely to be members of the Nazi party at all and more likely to be conscripts
If Nazis are out hunting for La Résistance or Jews, you might encounter The Gestapo, the German Secret Police, though they tend to be less of a threat than their rivals in the SS (though they're usually no less horrible as people). Last but not least are members of the German spy service, the Abwehr, who are the most likely to secretly be working with the Allies. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr, loathed the Nazis and put much of the Abwehr's energy into feeding them false information, smuggling Jews out from under their noses, and unsuccessfully trying to kill Adolf Hitler. He was part of the July 20th Plot, and shot for his role in it.
Then there are neo-Nazis. Generally today they tend to be somewhat stereotypical skinhead punks, covered with tattoos and listening to rage rock, with no real agenda besides anger and violence, and generally representing a particularly nasty strain of disaffected youth, often led on by calculating hatemongers with more cynical motives. These are common in cop shows, and are given a particularly chilling representation in the film American History X. Other films, like The 51st State, portrays them as asinine thugs, dumber than a box of rocks. It's also important to note that not all skinheads are Neo-Nazis, and making such an association around a traditional or anti-racist skin tends to invite a reaction. Other skinheads tend to be strongly anti-Nazi, even far left.
- The cultured one who stands around in vest, braces and lederhosen listening to classical music (usually Richard Wagner) on a gramophone, who says "You see, Herr Captain, ve are not all animals."
- The loud one who is usually on the phone shouting "Get me ze Führer!".
- The pervy, leather-coated Gestapo officer who is super-creepy and maybe even Camp Gay; possibly inspired by Ernst Röhm and many of the high-ranking members of the SA, Hitler's original personal guard. By the time of their destruction on Hitler's orders, the SA was populated by numerous homosexuals or suspected homosexuals. Also possibly inspired by Rudolph Hess, known in some circles as "Fräulein Anna"
and Hermann Göring, whose appearance was evidently rather campy. - The tight-assed Obstructive Bureaucrat who goes through the trouble of donning his entire uniform - including jodhpurs and Wellington boots - before talking to someone (even if said someone is on the phone and unable to see what he is wearing). Ends every conversation with a "Heil Hitler!" and a loud click of his heels.
- The round-spectacled, black-gloved, sadistic torture master who emits a shrill giddy laugh after every sentence. May or may not overlap with "Gay Nazi" above.
- A female officer in the mold of The Baroness. In more salacious productions she'll be a sadistic dominatrix who tortures prisoners and forces them to perform sex acts for her own (and presumably, the audience's) amusement.
- The older German who wishes Germany was still Imperial Germany. He is constantly saying "This is not the Germany I fought for in the Great War," and has an old war medal.
- A bumbling Luftwaffe sergeant in direct charge of the American prisoners of war. May or may not be more devious than he appears. May have visited one city in the US, and claims to have loved it ("I vas in New York, you know. I love the US! Vhen ze var is over, ve vill all be friends.") The cultured one above may do the same with fond memories of London, and hopes to pick up friendships in Britain once this dreadful business is over.
- The officer with a conscience, usually based on Erwin Rommel, so probably a bit of a Magnificent Bastard. Tries to convince himself it's all about My Country, Right or Wrong, and serves as a Worthy Opponent to Allied heroes. May have a full-on Heel–Face Turn, or else get a tragic death at the hands of his own superiors for his conscience.
- The Nazi who joined the party/SS/army to get the chance to kill people for fun. The slightest provocation (or none at all) means certain death for prisoners and civilians. Possibly modelled after real life sadist and Nazi SS Josef Blösche aka "Frankenstein", who killed over 2,000 noncombatants on his own.
- The "Oskar Schindler" type — the guy who really has a heart of gold and works to save the persecuted or works with La Résistance, a la 'Allo 'Allo!. May overlap with the Erwin Rommel type above.
- The "I'm just a soldier doing my job" Nazi, either regular military officer or SS, who feels My Country, Right or Wrong.
- The teenaged grunt who often finds himself in way over his head. Probably gets killed by the Allied soldiers, who lament the death of one so young.
- The mindless drone who simply does what he is told out of ignorance and lack of ambition. This stereotype isn't completely unfounded because German soldiers in WWII were trained to be extremely obedient, sometimes to a fault because they would at times not act unless given orders. That said, it's not much comfort given that Wehrmacht war crimes (with the partial exception of the hundreds of thousands of instances of sexual assault) were the result of explicit orders from officers.
- Sub-trope: the blond and innocent looking young recruit able to do the worst atrocities without slightest flinching, like a perfect robot. Common in Sven Hassel novels. Possibly inspired by the later war SS recruits subject to Training from Hell, from the 12th SS Division Hitlerjugend.
- The mindless drone who does anything he is told, with a certain lack of ignorance but not ambition.
- The Nazi Nobleman with a fancy aristocratic title and ancestral castle; who may overlap with any of these.
- The Mad Scientist or Deadly Doctor type who just loves cutting people open For Science!! Or for the sheer hell of it, with science and medicine as a thinly veiled excuse, as was evidenced by those prisoners who had the misfortune to have to work for Josef Mengele. They may be researching immortality, or racial purity, or creating Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot Nazis. They may well posess a Morally Ambiguous Doctorate.
- The crooked officer or bureaucrat who makes himself rich at the expense of the regime. Expect him to be killed by the people he wronged, or executed for ripping off the Reich.
- The aging (but evil) senior officer with cadaverous features, usually an SS member to link his skull-like visage with the death's head motif. Will normally be combined with one of the roles above, or feature in a minor role as a visitor from Berlin here to remind the Big Bad that "Zer Führer is not patient, he expects results". Partially based on SS-Oberführer Dr. Oskar Dirlewanger, whose physical features◊ matched the description 100% and whose job was anti-partisan combat. The abysmal performance of his unit was the only thing which limited his ability to do even more evil.
