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Gestapo is a term used to describe the NAZI secret police. The actual organizaion is complicated and varied over time. Both Göring and Himmler as well as well as Heydrich and other NAZI luminaries played major roles in the development and administration of the Gestapo. The Gestap was created by the NAZIs within in weeks of seizing power. The Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo--Secret State Police) was created by Hermann Göring. When Hitler was made Chancellor in January 1933, it was part of a coalition government. Hitler insisted that the NAZIs be given the Interior Ministry. (In America Interior many national parts and forrests. In other countries Interior normally means the police, which of course is why Hitler insisted on it.) Göring, was made the Prussian minister of the interior. (Prussia was the most important German state.) Göring immediately reorganized the police by separating the espionage and political units of the Prussian police and staffed these units with committed NAZIs. Göring took command of this new police unit on April 26, 1933. While this was underway, Heinrich Himmler was reshaping the Party small Schutzstaffel (SS-Protective Echelon) unit from Hitler's personal body gurd to a powerful state security body. Himmler in April 1936 he was given command of the Gestapo which was then integrated within the SS structure. Himmler later in 1936 merged the Gestapo with the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo--Criminal Police). This newly integrated unit was named the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo--for Secret Police). The former name of Gestapo, however, is generally used rather than Sipo. With the onset of World War II in 1939 the Sipo or Gestapo was again reorganized. The Sipo was incorporated into the intelligence branch of the Wehrmacht, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD--Security Service). Sipo became the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RHSA--Reich Security Central Office) of the SD. Himmler put his trusted deputy, Reinhard Heydrich, in charge of the RHSA or Gestapo. These constant organizational changes mean that the responsibilities and priorities of the Gestapo varied over time and overlapped with other NAZI security units. In the months leading up to the invsion of Poland, the RHSA formed the notorious Einsatzgruppen (Task Force) which carried out mass killings of Jews in Poland and then on a larger scale in the Soviet Union after the 1941 invasion. The Gestapo operated without any legal restrictions. They were authorized to make arrests without any legal restraints. They also were authorized to use torture and even execute those arrested without trial. Many arrested by the Gestapo simply disappeared in the concentaion camps. There were trials, but compliant NAZI judges guarnted that defendants would be convicted.
Gestapo is a term used to describe the NAZI secret police. The actual organizaion is complicated and varied over time. Both Göring and Himmler as well as well as Heydrich and other NAZI luminaries played major roles in the development and administration of the Gestapo.
The Gestap was created by the NAZIs within in weeks of seizing power. The Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo--Secret State Police) was created by Hermann Göring. When Hitler was made Chancellor in January 1933, it was part of a coalition government. Hitler insisted that the NAZIs be given the Interior Ministry. (In America Interior many national parts and forrests. In other countries Interior normally means the police, which of course is why Hitler insisted on it.) Göring, was made the Prussian minister of the interior. (Prussia was the most important German state.) Göring immediately reorganized the police by separating the espionage and political units of the Prussian police and staffed these units with committed NAZIs. Göring took command of this new police unit on April 26, 1933.
While Goering was creating the Gestapo, Heinrich Himmler was reshaping the Party small Schutzstaffel (SS-Protective Echelon) unit from Hitler's personal body gurd to a powerful state security body. It was Himmler who began building the concentration camp system. Yje first was Dachau near Munich.
The NAZIs on March 4, 1933 open the first concentration camp at Dachau, near Munich. The first inmates are not Jews, but political opponents. The camps play
an important role in Hitler's seizure of total political power so that he could persue his political and economic program without opposition. The camp at Dachau would be the blueprint for a massive system of camps that would eventually extend throughout Western Europe and include both work and death camps. The concentraton ca,ps were necesary for both Hitler's seizure of power and the Holocaust. They lead directly after the start of World War II to the Death Camps
opened in occupied Poland.
Himmler in April 1936 was given command of the Gestapo which was then integrated within the SS structure. Himmler later in 1936 merged the Gestapo with the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo--Criminal Police). This newly integrated unit was named the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo--for Secret Police). The former name of Gestapo, however, is generally used rather than Sipo.
The Gestapo operated without any legal restrictions. They were authorized to make arrests without any legal restraints. They also were authorized to use torture and even execute those arrested without trial. Many arrested by the Gestapo simply disappeared in the concentaion camps. There were trials, but compliant NAZI judges guarnted that defendants would be convicted.
The Gestapo never was a huge group. Its effectiveness was in large part due to the willingness og Germand to report on their neighbors. As the regime took hold, it became clear what it mean to be German. Those who stood out in any way were commonly reported by their neighbors. This permitted the Gestapo to very effectively find and deal with potential dissenters with a relatively small force. Thus Germans who consorted with those known to be critical of theNAZIs would be reported. The same was true of those associating with Jews. Many thus began to distance themselves from Jewish frinds and associates. This was part of the plan to separate Jews from German life.
With the onset of World War II in 1939 the Sipo or Gestapo was again reorganized. The Sipo was incorporated into the intelligence branch of the Wehrmacht, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD--Security Service). Sipo became the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RHSA--Reich Security Central Office) of the SD. Himmler put his trusted deputy, Reinhard Heydrich, in charge of the RHSA or Gestapo. These constant organizational changes mean that the responsibilities and priorities of the Gestapo varied over time and overlapped with other NAZI security units. In the months leading up to the invsion of Poland, the RHSA formed the notorious Einsatzgruppen (Task Force) which carried out mass killings of Jews in Poland and then on a larger scale in the Soviet Union after the 1941 invasion.
Padfield, Peter. Himmler: Reichsführer-SS (Henry Holt: New York, 1991), 656p.
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