In addition, political prisoners throughout Germanyand from 1941, throughout the occupied territories under the Night and Fog Decree (German: Nacht und Nebel)simply disappeared while in Gestapo custody. The members of the SA were largely former soldiers, ruffians, and men of violent natures, whose job was to originally protect the Nazi rallies, fight people from the leftist parties, and physically assault political opponents. Terror against "state enemies" had become a way of life to such a degree that the Gestapo's presence and methods were eventually normalised in the minds of people living in Nazi Germany. [63], Despite male homosexuality being considered a greater danger to "national survival", lesbianism was likewise viewed as unacceptabledeemed gender nonconformityand a number of individual reports on lesbians can be found in Gestapo files. As Evans makes clear, "it was not the ordinary German people who engaged in surveillance, it was the Gestapo; nothing happened until the Gestapo received a denunciation, and it was the Gestapo's active pursuit of deviance and dissent that was the only thing that gave denunciations meaning. Individuals in Austrian resistance groups led by Heinrich Maier also managed to pass along the plans and the location of production facilities for V-1, V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, and aircraft (Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, etc.) Sabotage efforts were undertaken by members of the Abwehr (military intelligence) leadership, as they recruited people known to oppose the Nazi regime. The basic Gestapo law passed by the government in 1936 gave the Gestapo carte blanche to operate without judicial reviewin effect, putting it above the law. [106] In Wrzburg, which is one of the few places in Germany where most of the Gestapo records survived, every member of the Gestapo was a career policeman or had a police background. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The term Abwehr (German for defense) was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only.After February 4, 1938, its name in title was Foreign Affairs/Defense Office of the Armed Forces High Command (Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der . by Peter J. Hertel 16 Aug 2002, 05:52, Return to The Phil Nix SS & Polizei section. Rhm harbored the same intentions. This represented a radical departure from German tradition, which held that law enforcement was (mostly) a Land (state) and local matter. To ensure that history does NOT repeat itself, it is vital that we realize that humanity is above all, and not any one race or ethnic group. [81][82] Stauffenberg and his group were shot on 21 July 1944; meanwhile, his fellow conspirators were rounded up by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp. However, Hitler too began to realize the risks associated with Rhm and his leadership, and was more concerned about his senior officials being wary of Rhm. Both the Gestapo and Kripo became distinct departments within the RSHA. [115] The majority of Gestapo informers were not full-term employees working undercover, but were rather ordinary citizens who chose to denounce other people to the Gestapo. [129] The "conventional criminality" category concerned economic crimes such as money laundering, smuggling and homosexuality. The SS initially had an all-black uniform specially designed for its men, which was replaced by uniforms in camouflaging colors during the war. These cookies do not store any personal information. [114] "V-men", as undercover Gestapo agents were known, were used to infiltrate Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Communist opposition groups, but this was more the exception than the rule. To join the SS, prospective members had to prove that none of them had any sort of Jewish roots in the ancestry traced back to over one hundred years. [63], Between June 1942 and March 1943, student protests were calling for an end to the Nazi regime. Abfraction is a common dental problem caused by the flexing of teeth during biting and . [65] If homosexuals showed any signs of sympathy to the Nazis' identified racial enemies, they were considered an even greater danger. [123] For example, of the 84 cases in Wrzburg of Rassenschande ("race defilement"sexual relations with non-Aryans), 45 (54%) were started in response to denunciations by ordinary people, two (2%) by information provided by other branches of the government, 20 (24%) via information gained during interrogations of people relating to other matters, four (5%) from information from (Nazi) NSDAP organisations, two (2%) during "political evaluations" and 11 (13%) have no source listed while none were started by Gestapo's own "observations" of the people of Wrzburg. The SD was mainly an information-gathering agency, while the Gestapoand to a degree the Criminal Police (Kriminalpolizei or Kripo)was the executive agency of the political police system. The Gestapo is a short-lived police organization that existed around 1934-1939 only while the SS is longer since they existed for sixteen years around 1929-1945 before being abolished. The sole purpose of SS is supposedly to protect the top leader Nazi Hitler. [51] For their part, this was the first time the Gestapo operated under its new name since its 26 April 1933 founding in Prussia. Anyone suspected of even having made an anti-Nazi joke would be subjected to such treatment, or worse. Even a Gestapo Agent would understand it now! Whereas the Gestapo agents, were mostly of police background. We hope you enjoy this website. The Gestapo was somewhat of a division of the SS, making SS the parent organization. [110] Browder also describes a sandwich effect, where from above; Gestapo agents were subjected to ideologically oriented racism and criminal biological theories; and from below, the Gestapo was transformed by SS personnel who did not have the proper police training, which showed in their propensity for unrestrained violence. When Rhm refused to commit suicide, he was shot by two SS officers. His direct subordinate Adolf Eichmann headed the Gestapo's Office of Resettlement and then its Office of Jewish Affairs (Referat IV B4 or Sub-Department IV, Section B4). The Gestapo was officially declared to be answerable only and only to Hitler, and could not be reviewed by the judiciary in any way. The SA, or the Sturmabteilung, were formed in Munich, Germany, in 1921 by Adolf Hitler himself. by Wilfried Abenaschon 13 Aug 2002, 02:31, Post Burian's group had also set up a secret courier service to Otto von Habsburg in Belgium. Rhms leadership and not-so-secret desire of merging with the Army made many senior Nazi officials feel threatened. With Frick's support, Himmler (pushed on by his right-hand man, Reinhard Heydrich) took over the political police in state-after-state. [83], Some Germans were convinced that it was their duty to apply all possible expedients to end the war as quickly as possible. Together with the SS, the Gestapo managed the treatment of inferior races, such as Jews and Roma (Gypsies). [37] However, the total number of people who disappeared as a result of this decree is not known. [128], Of the political cases, 61 people were investigated for suspicion of belonging to the KPD, 44 for the SPD and 69 for other political parties. In 1936 the Gestapoled by Himmlers subordinate, Gruppenfhrer Heinrich Mllerwas joined with the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police) under the umbrella of a new organization, the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo; Security Police). Hitlers rise to power and his rule in Nazi Germany has been attributed to the aid and support of several people, with three organizations playing a vital role the SS, the SA, and the Gestapo. The Gestapo supplied the information which implicated the SA and ultimately enabled Himmler and Heydrich to emancipate themselves entirely from the organisation. Though all largely contributed to Hitlers rise to power and his abuse of that power, the three organizations differed slightly in their functions. Meaning Protective Echelon in German, the SS was made up of fervently anti-Semite Germans who possessed deep racial hatred. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. [25] This action effectively merged the police into the SS and removed it from Frick's control. [66] According to Gestapo case files, the majority of those arrested for homosexuality were males between eighteen and twenty-five years of age. [18] Rhm's position was menacing as more than 4.5 million men fell under his command once the militias and veterans organisations were absorbed by the SA,[19] a fact which fuelled Rhm's aspirations; his dream of fusing the SA and Reichswehr together was undermining Hitler's relationships with the leadership of Germany's armed forces. The Gestapo ruthlessly eliminated opposition to the Nazis within Germany and its occupied territories and, in partnership with the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; "Security Service"), was responsible for the roundup of Jews throughout Europe for deportation to extermination camps. [115] The Gestapo office in Saarbrcken had 50 full-term informers in 1939. It is quite likely that you have come across the terms SS, SA, and Gestapo frequently when studying or reading world history, especially the history of Germany and other parts of Europe from the 1920s to the 1940s. [117] The Gestapoat timeswas overwhelmed with denunciations and most of its time was spent sorting out the credible from the less credible denunciations. [150], Between 14 November 1945 and 3 October 1946, the Allies established an International Military Tribunal (IMT) to try 22 major Nazi war criminals and six groups for crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. [54] The extreme anti-semitism and neo-pagan heresies of the Nazis caused some Christians to outright resist,[55] and Pope Pius XI to issue the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge denouncing Nazism and warning Catholics against joining or supporting the Party. [92], In September 1939, the SiPo and SD were merged into the newly created Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA; Reich Security Main Office). In late 1933, the Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick wanted to integrate all the police forces of the German states under his control. [47], Shortly after the Nazis came to power, they decided to dissolve the 28 federations of the General German Trade Union Confederation, because Hitlerafter noting their success in the works council electionsintended to consolidate all German workers under the Nazi government's administration, a decision he made on 7 April 1933. Joins the Abwehr Schrader escaped from the Concentration Camp in 1934. However, with the Abwehr and GFP being flooded with work, the situation changed and the SS shrewdly used the opportunity to gain a foothold in Belgium. by Schmauser 13 Aug 2002, 13:44, Post The gestapo were Nazi Germany's brutal secret-police. [56][b], In an effort to counter the strength and influence of spiritual resistance, Nazi records reveal that the Gestapo's Referat B1 monitored the activities of bishops very closelyinstructing that agents be set up in every diocese, that the bishops' reports to the Vatican should be obtained and that the bishops' areas of activity must be found out. There were plenty of intelligence agencies in Nazi Germany with overlapping portfolios. Many of the SS officials had predicted defeat as the war came to a possible end, and escaped to South America with or without their families to avoid arrest, trial, and an almost guaranteed execution by the Allies. [72], In May 1935, the Gestapo broke up and arrested members of the "Markwitz Circle", a group of former socialists in contact with Otto Strasser, who sought Hitler's downfall. [d], The German opposition was in an unenviable position by the late spring and early summer of 1943. After Heydrich (who was staunchly anti-Catholic and anti-Christian) was assassinated in Prague, his successor, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, relaxed some of the policies and then disbanded Department IVB (religious opponents) of the Gestapo. GESTAPO short for geheime Staatspolizei formed in Prussia by Goring . [80] Known as the 20 July plot, this assassination attempt failed and Hitler was only slightly injured. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Under a 1939 SS reorganization, the Sipo was joined with the Sicherheitsdienst, an SS intelligence department, to form the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Central Office) under Heydrich. To understand the political system at the time in Germany, it can be helpful to learn about the differences between the functioning of the three organizations by identifying every individual organization properly. The SD was mainly an information-gathering agency, while the Gestapoand to a degree the Criminal Police (Kriminalpolizei or Kripo)was the executive agency of the political police system. [25] This action effectively merged the police into the SS and removed it from Frick's control. As early as 1935, a Prussian administrative court had ruled that the Gestapo's actions were not subject to judicial review. The SS also identified and arrested Jews in the German-occupied territories. The Gestapo had its own system of arrests, judiciary, and execution. [91], As a result of its 1936 merger with the Kripo (National criminal police) to form sub-units of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police), the Gestapo was officially classified as a government agency. [34] The specific internal departments of Amt IV were as follows:[95], In 1941 Referat N, the central command office of the Gestapo was formed. Post The power of the Gestapo included the use of what was called, Schutzhaft"protective custody", a euphemism for the power to imprison people without judicial proceedings. To claim that Josef Jakobs was a "Gestapo agent" is to fail to understand the difference between the Secret State Police and the Army. [105] One man who served in the Prussian Gestapo in 1933 recalled that most of his co-workers "were by no means Nazis. [67] However, resistance groups and those who were in moral or political opposition to the Nazis were stalled by the fear of reprisals from the Gestapo. [151][152] Nineteen of the 22 were convicted, and twelveMartin Bormann (in absentia), Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Hermann Gring, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Julius Streicherwere given the death penalty. [113] In Dsseldorf, the local Gestapo office of only 281 men were responsible for the entire Lower Rhine region, which comprised 4 million people. The power of the Gestapo was used to focus upon political opponents, ideological dissenters (clergy and religious organisations), career criminals, the Sinti and Roma population, handicapped persons, homosexuals, and above all, the Jews. [77] Later, the British and Americans did not want to deal with anti-Nazis because they were fearful that the Soviet Union would believe they were attempting to make deals behind their back. As late as 6 June 1944, Heinrich Mllerconcerned about the leakage of information to the Alliesset up a special unit called Sonderkommando Jerzy that was meant to root out the Polish intelligence network in western and southwestern Europe. Together, they began convincing Hitler of Rhm being a threat to the Nazi regime, his hunger for more power, and his supposed plans to overthrow Hitler. Answer (1 of 3): The SS Schutz Staffel were originally Hitler's bodygaurd. [149] Whereas in France, the number of members in the Carlingue (French Gestapo) who worked on behalf of the Nazis was upwards of 30,000 to 32,000; they conducted operations nearly indistinguishable from their German equivalents. [160], The Gestapo maintained police detective ranks which were used for all officers, both those who were and who were not concurrently SS members. Some participants were sent to concentration camps. In an attempt to assassinate Hitler, Stauffenberg planted a bomb underneath a conference table inside the Wolf's Lair field headquarters. In 1929 General Kurt von Schleicher combined all service units under his Ministry of Defence. [143] Correspondingly, Gestapo offices were established in a territory once occupied. He had to count on his senior officials support for his rule, and he gave the go-ahead for the plan to put Rhm out of the picture once and for all. [104] Additional staff were added in March 1938 consequent the annexation of Austria and again in October 1938 with the acquisition of the Sudetenland. Uniforms worn by Gestapo men assigned to the Einsatzgruppen in occupied territories, were at first indistinguishable from the Waffen-SS field uniform. At that time, the SS consisted of approximately 300 members. While they may seem very similar, they actually differed in the roles they played. By 1932, the SA employed about 400,000 people and by the time Hitler had come to power in 1933, it consisted of over 10,00,000 people. [25] Shortly thereafter, Himmler created the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo; Criminal Police), merging it with the Gestapo into the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police), under Heydrich's command. Later, nurses, kindergarten teachers, and trained female commercial employees with an aptitude for police work were hired as female detectives after a two-year course as Kriminaloberassistentin and could promote to a Kriminalsekretrin. Their victims also included the unemployed, the disabled, homosexuals, religious leaders, and political opponents. Omissions? "[141] Once the German armies advanced into enemy territory, they were accompanied by Einsatzgruppen staffed by officers from the Gestapo and Kripo, who usually operated in the rear areas to administer and police the occupied land. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The Gestapo was the political police force of the Nazi state. [62] From the Nazis rise to national power in 1933, the number of court verdicts against homosexuals steadily increased and only declined once the Second World War started. [86] A year after the organisation's inception, Gring wrote in a British publication about having created the organisation on his own initiative and how he was "chiefly responsible" for the elimination of the Marxist and Communist threat to Germany and Prussia. As the war progressed, however, the number of people working for the Gestapo increased to approximately 150,000 men. Party agencies lik. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [121] 80% of all Gestapo investigations were started in response to information provided by denunciations by ordinary Germans; while 10% were started in response to information provided by other branches of the German government and another 10% started in response to information that the Gestapo itself unearthed. Varying degrees of pacification and police enforcement measures were necessary in each place, dependent on how cooperative or resistant the locals were to Nazi mandates and racial policies. [131] Failing that, torture and planting evidence were common methods of resolving a case, especially if the case concerned someone Jewish. [15] Many of the Gestapo employees in the newly established offices were young and highly educated in a wide variety of academic fields and moreover, represented a new generation of National Socialist adherents, who were hard-working, efficient, and prepared to carry the Nazi state forward through the persecution of their political opponents. [25] The idea was to fully identify and integrate the party agency (SD) with the state agency (SiPo). The Gestapo were has always done only a dirty job in cooperation with the . The word Gestapo is an abbreviation of the German term Geheime Staatspolizei, which translates to Secret State Police. [100] It was the Gestapo chief, SS-Brigadierfhrer Heinrich Mller, who kept Hitler abreast of the killing operations in the Soviet Union and who issued orders to the four Einsatzgruppen that their continual work in the east was to be "presented to the Fhrer. [96][97], In total, there were some fifty-four regional Gestapo offices across the German federal states. [94], The Gestapo became known as RSHA Amt IV ("Department or Office IV") with Heinrich Mller as its chief. [40], Polish agents also gathered detailed information about the morale of German soldiers in the East. For example, in 1939 Stettin and Frankfurt am Main only had a total of 41 Gestapo men combined. [104][e] Some locals aided the Gestapo, whether as professional police auxiliaries or in other duties. Hitler initially refused to believe the claims against Rhm, even though his officials provided him with created evidence. [33] In January 1943, Himmler appointed Ernst Kaltenbrunner RSHA chief; almost seven months after Heydrich had been assassinated. [34] Mller remained the Gestapo Chief. For several leaders the punishment was death. [22] Once persuaded, Hitler acted by setting Himmler's SS into action, who then proceeded to murder over 100 of Hitler's identified antagonists. Deans were to be targeted as the "eyes and ears of the bishops" and a "vast network" established to monitor the activities of ordinary clergy: "The importance of this enemy is such that inspectors of security police and of the security service will make this group of people and the questions discussed by them their special concern". Founded in 1999. As we continue to explore the differences between abfraction and abrasion, it can be helpful to see these terms used in context. Though the Gestapo, the SS, and the SA were all created to serve Hitler and his Nazi regime, they differed somewhat in their functioning and the way they were controlled. [121][122] Work done by social historians such as Detlev Peukert, Robert Gellately, Reinhard Mann, Inge Marssolek, Ren Otto, Klaus-Michael Mallmann and Paul Gerhard, which by focusing on what the local offices were doing has shown the Gestapo's almost total dependence on denunciations from ordinary Germans, and very much discredited the older "Big Brother" picture with the Gestapo having its eyes and ears everywhere. However, this fact was cashed upon to invite empathy from the public as well as to add shock value. Copyright Historyplex & Buzzle.com, Inc. [35] During the Holocaust, Eichmann's department within the Gestapo coordinated the mass deportation of European Jews to the Nazis' extermination camps. [79] Despite the fear of the Gestapo after mass arrests and executions in the spring, the opposition still plotted and planned. [85], In January 1933, Hermann Gring, Hitler's minister without portfolio, was appointed the head of the Prussian Police and began filling the political and intelligence units of the Prussian Secret Police with Nazi Party members. According to the trials that were held after Germanys defeat in the war, the SS was responsible for a majority of the crimes committed in Nazi Germany. [145] Many of the auxiliary police personnel operating on behalf of German Order Police, the SD, and Gestapo were members of the Schutzmannschaft, which included staffing by Ukrainians, Belorussians, Russians, Estonians, Lithuanians, and Latvians. The Geheime Staatspolizei (transl. An organization that would become one of the most-feared ones in Nazi Germany was created so as to strengthen Nazi rule by weeding out anyone who could be perceived as a threat to the Party. [5] Up to 30 April 1944, at least 6,639 persons were arrested under Nacht und Nebel orders. The Nazi Party was well aware of homosexual preferences of Rhm and some other SA members. [43] The Maier group informed very early about the mass murder of Jews. [12], Concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to effectively counteract the power of the Sturmabteilung (SA), Gring handed over control of the Gestapo to Himmler on 20 April 1934. On one hand, it was next to impossible for them to overthrow Hitler and the party; on the other, the Allied demand for an unconditional surrender meant no opportunity for a compromise peace, which left the military and conservative aristocrats who opposed the regime no option (in their eyes) other than continuing the military struggle. [33] After Heydrich's 1942 assassination, Himmler assumed the leadership of the RSHA until January 1943, when Ernst Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief. [21] Both the SD and Gestapo released information concerning an imminent putsch by the SA. [75], Early efforts to resist the Nazis with aid from abroad were hindered when the opposition's peace feelers to the Western Allies did not meet with success. by Phil Nix 01 Feb 2004, 12:16. When a group or organisation was thus declared criminal, the competent national authority of any signatory had the right to bring persons to trial for membership in that organisation, with the criminal nature of the group or organisation assumed proved. [46] Because the Gestapo seemed omniscient and omnipotent, the atmosphere of fear they created led to an overestimation of their reach and strength; a faulty assessment which hampered the operational effectiveness of underground resistance organisations. Hitler wanted an organization not similar but somewhat linked to the SA that would personally guard Hitler and other important Nazi officials. This prompted Winston Churchill to ban any further contact with the German opposition. Frick did not have the political power to take on Gring by himself so he allied with Himmler. The long-time head of the Gestapo, Heinrich Mller, was never found. In 1939, the SA was largely used as a training center for the Army when the war started. These units traveled to villages in the German-occupied regions and shot down civilians, men, women, and children included, and buried them in mass graves. The SS, or the Schutzstaffel, was created in 1925 originally to serve as Hitlers personal bodyguards. Simultaneously, Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary corps, together with his aide Reinhard Heydrich, similarly reorganized the police of Bavaria and the remaining German states. Historian George C. Browder contends that there was a four-part process (authorisation, bolstering, routinisation, and dehumanisation) in effect which legitimised the psycho-social atmosphere conditioning members of the Gestapo to radicalised violence. [70], Between 1934 and 1938, opponents of the Nazi regime and their fellow travellers began to emerge. [98] The Gestapo also maintained offices at all Nazi concentration camps, held an office on the staff of the SS and Police Leaders, and supplied personnel as needed to formations such as the Einsatzgruppen. Meanwhile, there was also a great deal of overlapping of authority on many of these matters too. [90] Less than two weeks later in early May 1933, the Gestapo moved into their Berlin headquarters at Prinz-Albrecht-Strae 8. As I understand it the SD was focused on intellectual crimes, Jewish Question and foreign espionage, while the Gestapo concentrated on domestic political crimes and arresting Jews. [68] During the first five months of 1943, the Gestapo arrested thousands suspected of resistance activities and carried out numerous executions. The Gestapo was somewhat of a division of the SS, making SS the parent organization. After the Gestapo uncovered the "Operation Seven" funds that had been sent abroad for the emigrants, Bonhoeffer and his brother-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi were arrested in April 1943. Opposition became more difficult. by JLEES 16 Aug 2002, 02:40, Post [48] As a preface to this action, Hitler decreed May 1 as National Labor Day to celebrate German workers, a move the trade union leaders welcomed. [142] Whenever a region came fully under German military occupational jurisdiction, the Gestapo administered all executive actions under the military commander's authority, albeit operating relatively independent of it. [g], Several terms redirect here.
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