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NAZI POLICE FORCES |
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Bck to my Homepage |
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Yeah...those Germans...they're usually so organized about everything. And yet, trying to make sense of the Nazi security apparatus is a confusing chore. Well, here for your research pleasure I have condensed everything to a readable and, I hope, understandable text. |
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The SA (Sturmabteilung, or Stormtroops) - this organization played a key role in the early years of the Nazi movement under its commander, Ernst Roehm. It recruited the worst thugs and malcontents into its ranks, and served essentially as a paramilitary street gang. Its primary goal was to win Hitler control of the streets from other radical groups, notably the Communists. The SA came to an abrupt end in 1934, when Roehm and his top cronies were murdered by Goering's Gestapo and Himmler's SS with the approval of Hitler. This came about for three main reasons: one, Goering and Himmler were becoming jealous of Roehm's increasing power; two, Roehm was becoming a political embarrassment to Hitler with his talks of a second revolution and his increasing disillusionment with Hitler's growing ties to businessmen and the Army; and three, Hitler saw clearly that he needed the support of the Army, and the Army's leaders had made it clear that such support was conditional upon the elimination of the SA. |
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The GESTAPO (Geheime Staatzpolizei, or Secret State Police) - This was primarily conceived of as a state organization, as opposed to a party apparatus. It was formed by Hermann Goering on April 26, 1933 in his capacity as Prime Minister of Prussia. From the beginning the Gestapo operated outside of legal boundaries (but then, what organization of Hitler's didn't...) and could arrest, torture, and detain at will. In an attempt to unify the police forces under one office, Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS) was named to be the deputy head of the Gestapo in early 1934.
It should be noted that a certain amount of political maneuvering accompanied Himmler's appointment to the post. Himmler spread a number of malicious rumours about the loyalty of the previous deputy head of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. Although Goering's personal intervention saved Diels from death in the purge of 1934, he was removed from the post and Himmler got the job. In 1936 Himmler received complete control of the Gestapo. Organizationally, the Gestapo was divided into five subsections, the most important of which was Section B, which dealt with religious groups, notably Jews. Section B was in itself divided into four offices, B4 of which dealt with all of the Reich's Jewish affairs (confiscation of property, deportation, and "resettlement", i.e., murder. Section B4 was headed by the notorious Adolf Eichmann, who was also a lieutenant colonel in the SS. |
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The SD (Sicherheitsdienst, or Security Division) - A division of the SS formed in 1932 primarily to deal with internal security issues. It thus became primarily an intelligence-gathering service and so over time cooperated more and more closely with the Gestapo, which had a similar function. It was headed by Reinhard Heydrich until his assassination in Prague in 1942. The working relationship tended to break down as the SD doing the investigative work and the Gestapo carrying out the acutal operations (i.e., breaking down people's doors). |
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The SS (Schutzstaffel) - Although it grew to become one of the most feared and far-reaching of Nazi organizations, the SS was formed initially in 1925 to serve as Hitler's personal bodyguard and was subservient to the SA. Heinrich Himmler was appointed as its head in 1929, and he managed to get the SS made autonomous of the SA. He greatly expanded its numbers until it was recognized as THE police organization everywhere in Germany except Prussia, which remained under the jurisdiction of the Gestapo until Himmler took control of that as well. The SS formed a reputation for particular savagery, although they did not generally match the imagination and inventiveness of the Gestapo. The two main roles of the SS that are remembered today are the Waffen-SS, which were similar to regular Army units, and the Totenkopf ("Death's Head") units which guarded the concentration camps. |
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The RSHA (Take a deep breath: the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, or Reich Security Main Office): Further consolidating the various services under one office, the Gestapo and the SD, along with a number of other regular and field police units, were all put under the direction of a new office, the RSHA, on 27 September 1939. Heydrich was named as its head, and remained there until his assassination. |
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Organizational Divisions of the RSHA: the RSHA was divided into six Amt, or offices/sections. Amt I and Amt II coordinated personnel and administrative among the various services. Amt III was what was formerly the operations staff of the SD. Amt IV was the former operations staff of the Gestapo. Amt V was the former operations department of the KRIPO (Kriminalpolizei, or criminal police). Amt VI became responsible for foreign intelligence. Notable among these was Amt IV, which carried out particularly ruthless work in Occupied France under the direction of Klaus Barbie. |
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Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfuehrer SS |
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This page was created on November 10, 2003 and last modified on the same date. The author is Ryan Groesbeck, a sophomore in college. Invaluable sources used in construction were http://www22.brinkster.com/paradio/pages/gest1.htm
and
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/germany/intro/gestapo.htm
and
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERss.htm |
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