Leading members of the most famous of these groups, the White Rose, were arrested by the police and turned over to the Gestapo. When Church leaders (clergy) voiced their misgiving about the euthanasia program and Nazi racial policies, Hitler intimated that he considered them "traitors to the people" and went so far as to call them "the destroyers of Germany". by Walter Schellenberg 16 Aug 2002, 02:48, Post After his escape, he rejoined the army as a Hauptmann, with seniority dating from May 1st of 1934. . The Nazi Party felt the need for a secret police organization, and hence, the Geheime Staatspolizei was born in 1933. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [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. The Gestapo also cooperated extensively with the Ordnungspolizei for operations inside Germany and in the occupied territories. [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. Himmler was given command over Grings Gestapo in April 1934. [10] Diels was best known as the primary interrogator of Marinus van der Lubbe after the Reichstag fire. 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. During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in the Holocaust. [51] For their part, this was the first time the Gestapo operated under its new name since its 26 April 1933 founding in Prussia. [84] The Gestapo cracked down ruthlessly on dissidents in Germany, just as they did everywhere else. After Germany conquered Poland (in the autumn of 1939), Gestapo officials believed that they had neutralised Polish intelligence activities. [144], Throughout the Eastern territories, the Gestapo and other Nazi organisations co-opted the assistance of indigenous police units, nearly all of whom were uniformed and able to carry out drastic actions. There were plenty of intelligence agencies in Nazi Germany with overlapping portfolios. [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. 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. [23] For the Gestapo, the next two years following the Night of the Long Knives, a term describing the putsch against Rhm and the SA, were characterised by "behind-the-scenes political wrangling over policing". In lieu of naming convention changes, the original construct of the SiPo, Gestapo, and Kripo cannot be fully comprehended as "discrete entities", since they ultimately formed "a conglomerate in which each was wedded to each other and the SS through its Security Service, the SD". Read on for the difference between the three ruthless organizations. The simple answer is that Josef Jakobs, Karel Richter and all of the Operation LENA spies who landed on the green shores of England were agents of the Abwehr, the military intelligence arm of the German Army. [7][8] He originally wanted to name it the Secret Police Office (Geheimes Polizeiamt), but the German initials, "GPA", were too similar to those of the Soviet State Political Directorate (Gosudarstvennoye Politicheskoye Upravlenie, or GPU). On 27 September 1939, the security and police agencies of Nazi Germanywith the exception of the Order Policewere consolidated into the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), headed by Heydrich. Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Gring along with some Army officials began plotting Rhms downfall. The Gestapo was officially declared to be answerable only and only to Hitler, and could not be reviewed by the judiciary in any way. [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. Excellent Work! KRIPO this was the criminal investigation part of the Ordnungspolizei the same as all countries investigation branch.It was state funded. [130], Normal methods of investigation included various forms of blackmail, threats and extortion to secure "confessions". Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police). It had the authority of preventive arrest, and its actions were not subject to judicial appeal. The Gestapo was somewhat of a division of the SS, making SS the parent organization. It was also largely responsible for planning and carrying out the Holocaust. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Here are some examples of how abfraction and abrasion might be used in a sentence: Examples Of Using Abfraction In A Sentence. [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. In April 1934, Himmler was named head of Germany's secret state police, the "Geheime Staatspolizei," more commonly known as the "Gestapo." The Gestapo, which had been established the previous. [52] Increasing religious objections to Nazi policies led the Gestapo to carefully monitor church organisations. 1938 Gestapo border inspection stamp applied when leaving Germany On 17 June 1936, Hitler decreed the unification of all police forces in Germany and named Himmler as Chief of German Police. Heydrich, named chief of the Gestapo by Himmler on 22 April 1934, also continued as head of the SS Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst; SD). [148] Other Danish civilians, like in many places across Europe, acted as Gestapo informants but this should not be seen as wholehearted support for the Nazi program, as motives for cooperation varied. The Gestapo were has always done only a dirty job in cooperation with the . Those who were arrested were tried, and sent to prison or were executed, depending on their role in the Gestapo. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [132] Brutality on the part of interrogatorsoften prompted by denunciations and followed with roundupsenabled the Gestapo to uncover numerous resistance networks; it also made them seem like they knew everything and could do anything they wanted. [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. Gestapo members were included in the Einsatzgruppen (deployment groups), which were mobile death squads that followed the German regular army into Poland and Russia to kill Jews and other undesirables. Bureau IV B4 of the Gestapo, under Adolf Eichmann, organized the deportation of millions of Jews from other occupied countries to the extermination camps in Poland. [64][c] Between 1933 and 1935, some 4,000 men were arrested; between 1936 and 1939, another 30,000 men were convicted. [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. Fearful of an internal overthrow, the forces of the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition. Many others were beaten and tortured to death. Gestapo (Mller), SD (Heydrich) and Abwehr (Canaris). These included the non-violent resistance of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two leaders of the White Rose student group. Reports indicate that the Gestapo was caught unaware of this plot as they did not have sufficient protections in place at the appropriate locations nor did they take any preventative steps. The Gestapo aided and supported the mobile killing units, and even provided its men for the same. Nearly all of them, including: the Rmer Group, Robby Group, Solf Circle, Schwarze Reichswehr, the Party of the Radical Middle Class, Jungdeutscher Orden, Schwarze Front and Stahlhelm were either discovered or infiltrated by the Gestapo. by Walter Schellenberg 12 Aug 2002, 20:05, Post Sabotage efforts were undertaken by members of the Abwehr (military intelligence) leadership, as they recruited people known to oppose the Nazi regime. [108] Heydrich thought along similar lines and advocated both defensive and offensive measures on the part of the Gestapo, so as to prevent any subversion or destruction of the National Socialist body. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. by Peter J. Hertel 16 Aug 2002, 05:52, Return to The Phil Nix SS & Polizei section. After the war ended, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials, and several top Gestapo members were sentenced to death. The Best History Museums to Virtually Tour During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Virtual Reality Experiences That Let You See History Up Close, The Most Accurate Movies Based on History Worth Seeing, Drive Thru History: A Brief Guide to the Online Courses, History of Mobile Phones: From Bulky to Ubiquitous, History of Forensic Science: From the Ancients to the Present, Tom Holland Historian: Major Works of the BBC Presenter, Arresting anyone who is a threat to the Nazi regime, Jews, other colored people, Complete authority of concentration camps, Defend Nazi rallies, disrupt political opponents, Policemen, ex-criminals, not necessarily Nazis, Strictly anti-Jewish, with a pure Aryan ancestry. "[145] Nonetheless, German authorities ordered the mobilisation of reserve Polish police forces, known as the Blue Police, which strengthened the Nazi police presence and carried out numerous "police" functions; in some cases, its functionaries even identified and rounded up Jews or performed other unsavory duties on behalf of their German masters. [25] This action effectively merged the police into the SS and removed it from Frick's control. The SD and Gestapo did have integration through SS members holding dual positions in each branch. [119] For information about what was happening in German society, the Gestapo continued to be mostly dependent upon denunciations. Updates? Hosted by Andrey. On June 17, 1936, Himmler, in addition to his position as head of the SS, took control of all German police forces, including the Ordnungspolizei (German: Order Police), with his appointment as Reichsfhrer SS and chief of the German police. Some participants were sent to concentration camps. 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. These men were then given training in racial hatred and were taught to become cold-hearted, violent, sadistic, and to not feel anything at human loss. As early as 1935, a Prussian administrative court had ruled that the Gestapo's actions were not subject to judicial review. In this article, we will explore the differences between Gestapo and SS, and shed light on their respective histories and legacies. Rhm wanted the SA to be run like the German Army, and he went about creating a structural hierarchy in the organization, a general staff, a training college, and placed Hitler himself at the very top of the hierarchy he had created. [36] An oddity of the system was that the prisoner had to sign his own Schutzhaftbefehl, an order declaring that the person had requested imprisonmentpresumably out of fear of personal harm. Soon afterward, Gring detached the political and intelligence sections from the police and filled their ranks with Nazis. 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. The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944. 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. Hitler's 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. 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. [44][45][a], Early in the regime's existence, harsh measures were meted out to political opponents and those who resisted Nazi doctrine, such as members of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD); a role originally performed by the SA until the SD and Gestapo undermined their influence and took control of Reich security. [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. The people who came under the suspicious category were political opponents, Jews, the Gypsies, people from other ethnic minorities, the disabled, the unemployed, and the homosexuals. Party agencies lik. [160], The Gestapo maintained police detective ranks which were used for all officers, both those who were and who were not concurrently SS members. The force was created by Hermann Gring in 1933 by combining the various security police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. [28] He answered to Heydrich, Heydrich answered only to Himmler, and Himmler answered only to Hitler. [129] After that year, political investigations declined with only 18 investigations in 1938, 13 in 1939, two in 1941, seven in 1942, four in 1943 and one in 1944. [120], After 1939, when many Gestapo personnel were called up for war-related work such as service with the Einsatzgruppen, the level of overwork and understaffing at the local offices increased. Post the Night of Long Knives, the SA had downsized in its power and value. Himmler was nominally subordinate to Frick as police chief, but as Reichsfhrer-SS, he answered only to Hitler. [34] Mller remained the Gestapo Chief. Himmler also gained authority over all of Germany's uniformed law enforcement agencies, which were amalgamated into the new Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; Order Police), which became a national agency under SS general Kurt Daluege. [53], However, the Nazi regime sought to suppress any source of ideology other than its own, and set out to muzzle or crush the churches in the so-called Kirchenkampf. The only thing distinguishing them was the black hat with a skull and bones on it. As the war progressed, however, the number of people working for the Gestapo increased to approximately 150,000 men. [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. 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. [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. 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. 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. Student opposition leaders were executed in late February, and a major opposition organisation, the Oster Circle, was destroyed in April 1943. [25] The idea was to fully identify and integrate the party agency (SD) with the state agency (SiPo). [6] This gave Gring command of the largest police force in Germany. [115] The District Office in Nuremberg, which had the responsibility for all of northern Bavaria, employed a total of 80100 full-term informers between 1943 and 1945. However, it was an important part of the brutal attacks against Jews in Germany. Others were arrested simply on the basis of being "suspected of activities hostile to the State" or that there was reason to "suppose that his dealings might harm society". Founded in 1999. On 26 April 1933, Gring merged the two units as the Geheime Staatspolizei, which was abbreviated by a post office clerk for a franking stamp and became known as the "Gestapo". At the beginning of the war, the Gestapo employed about 40,000 men. Indeed quite talented in investigations, interrogation, and torture, but they were mostly violent under educated people, and lacked the culture of the SD agents, whom Heydrich chose very carefully. [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. [49] On the following day, the newly formed Gestapo officers, who had been shadowing some 58 trade union leaders, arrested them wherever they could find themmany in their homes. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The Schutzstaffel has also been held responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing the Final Solution, in which countless Jews and people of other seemingly undesirable ethnic groups were murdered. "[135] The involvement of ordinary Germans in denunciations also needs to be put into perspective so as not to exonerate the Gestapo. Thereafter, there was a show trial overseen by Roland Freisler, followed by their execution. The organisation of the security structures in the Nazi Germany was very complicated, often quite illogical, and the limit between different organisations like Gestapo or the SD or the Abwehr, is often difficult to draw. [147], In places like Denmark, there were some 550 uniformed Danes in Copenhagen working with the Gestapo, patrolling and terrorising the local population at the behest of their German overseers, many of whom were arrested after the war. 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. Even a Gestapo Agent would understand it now! The Gestapo was established in 1933 by Hermann Gring, with the aim of consolidating Nazi . Gestapo, abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei (German: Secret State Police), the political police of Nazi Germany. 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). Soon only Prussia was left. [158], The Gestapo was a secretive plainclothes agency and agents typically wore civilian suits. The Schutzstaffel, Sturmabteilung, and Geheime Staatspolizei played different and yet equally vital roles in Nazi Germany. What was the difference between the SD and the Gestapo? [21] Both the SD and Gestapo released information concerning an imminent putsch by the SA. In late 1933, the Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick wanted to integrate all the police forces of the German states under his control. [43] The Maier group informed very early about the mass murder of Jews. In 1931, the SA was handed over to Ernst Rhm, who headed it till his murder in 1934. "[136] The Gestapo's effectiveness remained in the ability to "project" omnipotencethey co-opted the assistance of the German population by using denunciations to their advantage; proving in the end a powerful, ruthless and effective organ of terror under the Nazi regime that was seemingly everywhere. After the Supreme Leader (Hitler), came senior groups, lower groups, regiments, battalions, and troops, to name a few parts of the structure of the SA. These were Waffen S. The SS Schutz Staffel were originally Hitler's bodygaurd. The SS remained in existence until the end of the war. [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. [32] Although the Sicherheitspolizei was officially disbanded, the term SiPo was figuratively used to describe any RSHA personnel throughout the remainder of the war. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The SS was also known as the parent organization of the Secret State Police, the Gestapo, and was responsible for organizing mobile killing units that went on a murder rampage in the occupied territories. The name Gestapo is an abbreviation for its official German name "Geheime Staatspolizei." The direct English translation is "Secret State Police." The Gestapo was not the first political police force in German history. [61] Homosexuals were correspondingly considered a threat to the Volksgemeinschaft (National Community). Denunciation was the exception, not the rule, as far as the behaviour of the vast majority of Germans was concerned. Without the help, support, and co-operation of these organizations, perhaps Hitler wouldnt have been able to spread the terror he did, for whatever reasons. Diels was appointed with the title of chief of Abteilung Ia (Department 1a) of the Prussian Secret Police. It was viewed negatively by Hitler. ), however, is missing: a security-classified withdrawal card remains in place, and the withdrawn item is listed among the contents of an envelope of withdrawn items subsequently declassified by the IWG, however that document was not in the . When Rhm refused to commit suicide, he was shot by two SS officers. From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). Many of the men employed by the Gestapo were former criminals and extremists who were ideal for committing the atrocities the Nazi regime had planned. Answer (1 of 3): The SS Schutz Staffel were originally Hitler's bodygaurd. The Gestapo had its own system of arrests, judiciary, and execution. [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. 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. Complaints from the Waffen-SS led to a change of rank insignia shoulder boards from those of the Waffen-SS to those of the Ordnungspolizei. 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). [58], In Dachau: The Official History 19331945, Paul Berben wrote that clergy were watched closely, and frequently denounced, arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps: "One priest was imprisoned in Dachau for having stated that there were good folk in England too; another suffered the same fate for warning a girl who wanted to marry an S.S. man after abjuring the Catholic faith; yet another because he conducted a service for a deceased communist". Abwehr was the German military intelligence organization. We've created informative articles that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more! Further promotions to Kriminalkommissarin and Kriminalrtin were also possible. [124], An examination of 213 denunciations in Dsseldorf showed that 37% were motivated by personal conflicts, no motive could be established in 39%, and 24% were motivated by support for the Nazi regime. This was partly because of the Venlo incident of 9 November 1939,[76] in which SD and Gestapo agents, posing as anti-Nazis in the Netherlands, kidnapped two British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) officers after having lured them to a meeting to discuss peace terms. by Walter Schellenberg 14 Aug 2002, 03:29, Post The Abwehr ( German for resistance or defence, but the word usually means counterintelligence in a military context; pronounced [apve]) was the German military-intelligence service for the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht from 1920 to 1945. [33] In January 1943, Himmler appointed Ernst Kaltenbrunner RSHA chief; almost seven months after Heydrich had been assassinated. The Gestapo was officially declared to be answerable only and only to Hitler, and could not be reviewed by the judiciary in any way. 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. The SD and Gestapo did have integration through SS members holding dual positions in each branch. [119] Gellately has also suggested that the Gestapo was "a reactive organisationconstructed within German society and whose functioning was structurally dependent on the continuing co-operation of German citizens". [118] The information supplied by denunciations often led the Gestapo in determining who was arrested. Read on for the difference between the three ruthless organizations. At that time, the SS consisted of approximately 300 members. [80] Known as the 20 July plot, this assassination attempt failed and Hitler was only slightly injured. The Gestapo was somewhat of a division of the SS, making SS the parent organization. [104][e] Some locals aided the Gestapo, whether as professional police auxiliaries or in other duties. The Abwehr summary report of 28 April 1939 ("Lagebericht I - Sabotagettigkeit Sowjetrussland," 12 pp. We hope the above sections have made the identification of all three organizations clearer. There was one other significant difference between the Heer and Waffen- SS: Each member of the latter was required to have his blood type tattooed on the underside of his left upper arm to make it easier for medics to treat him on the battlefield. [26] The Gestapo became a national state agency. Arrested by the Gestapo in 1943, he was sent to. [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. Burian's group had also set up a secret courier service to Otto von Habsburg in Belgium. [69] Efforts to resist the Nazi regime amounted to very little and had only minor chances of success, particularly since a broad percentage of the German people did not support such actions. A similar co-ordination existed in the local offices. [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.