[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. [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. [90] Less than two weeks later in early May 1933, the Gestapo moved into their Berlin headquarters at Prinz-Albrecht-Strae 8. What is the name of the evil organization within the Third Reich? Most SiPo members joined the SS and held a rank in both organisations. Arrests, torture, and executions were common. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944. It became known as Amt (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service). As the war progressed, however, the number of people working for the Gestapo increased to approximately 150,000 men. Nonetheless, operations performed either by German members of the Gestapo or auxiliaries from willing collaborators of other nationalities were inconsistent in both disposition and effectiveness. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. [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. Gestapo | Holocaust Encyclopedia [52] Increasing religious objections to Nazi policies led the Gestapo to carefully monitor church organisations. 6789 Quail Hill Pkwy, Suite 211 Irvine CA 92603. 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". Secret State Police), abbreviated Gestapo (German: [tapo]; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. Difference Between the Gestapo, SS, and SA - Historyplex [26] The Gestapo became a national state agency. 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". [5] Contrary to popular perception, the Gestapo was actually a relatively small organization with limited surveillance capacity; despite this the Gestapo proved extremely effective due to the willingness of ordinary Germans to snitch on fellow citizens. Fearful of an internal overthrow, the forces of the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition. 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". What was the difference between the SS and the Gestapo in terms of who [42] Habsburg loyalist Karl Burian's (who was later executed) plan to blow up the Gestapo headquarters in Vienna represented a unique attempt to act aggressively against the Gestapo. [6] This gave Gring command of the largest police force in Germany. This led to corresponding arrests, being sent to concentration camps and execution. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. [70], Between 1934 and 1938, opponents of the Nazi regime and their fellow travellers began to emerge. [129] The "administrative control" category concerned those who were breaking the law concerning residency in the city. After Germany conquered Poland (in the autumn of 1939), Gestapo officials believed that they had neutralised Polish intelligence activities. 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. [11] Gring took over the Gestapo in 1934 and urged Hitler to extend the agency's authority throughout Germany. To summarize the information above, we have provided the following short table. Some historians feel he was killed in the final days of the war, while others believe he escaped to South America and lived the rest of his life unidentified. In an attempt to assassinate Hitler, Stauffenberg planted a bomb underneath a conference table inside the Wolf's Lair field headquarters. [14] Himmler and Heydrich both immediately began installing their own personnel in select positions, several of whom were directly from the Bavarian Political Police, such as Heinrich Mller, Franz Josef Huber and Josef Meisinger. [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. Answer (1 of 3): There were three secret services/police in the Third Reich. These included the non-violent resistance of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two leaders of the White Rose student group. [20] Several Nazi chieftains, among them Gring, Joseph Goebbels, Rudolf Hess, and Himmler, began a concerted campaign to convince Hitler to take action against Rhm. 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. Hitler, accompanied by the SS and the Gestapo, arrested and murdered important SA leaders who may or may not have been in connection with Rhm in any way. [103] The vast majority of Gestapo officers came from the police forces of the Weimar Republic; members of the SS, the SA, and the Nazi Party also joined the Gestapo but were less numerous. [127] As time went by, anonymous denunciations to the Gestapo caused trouble to various NSDAP officials, who often found themselves being investigated by the Gestapo. [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". 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. Hitler vehemently rejected the centuries' old Habsburg pluralist principles of "live and let live" with regard to ethnic groups, peoples, minorities, religions, cultures and languages. [121], The popular picture of the Gestapo with its spies everywhere terrorising German society has been rejected by many historians as a myth invented after the war as a cover for German society's widespread complicity in allowing the Gestapo to work. It was also largely responsible for planning and carrying out the Holocaust. the United States . Answer (1 of 3): The SS Schutz Staffel were originally Hitler's bodygaurd. [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. Opposition became more difficult. [118] Many of the local offices were understaffed and overworked, struggling with the paper load caused by so many denunciations. [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. [129] The "conventional criminality" category concerned economic crimes such as money laundering, smuggling and homosexuality. After his escape, he rejoined the army as a Hauptmann, with seniority dating from May 1st of 1934. . Nominally under the Ministry of the Interior, Germanys police, including the political police, the detective force, and the uniformed police forces, were now unified under Himmler. [37] However, the total number of people who disappeared as a result of this decree is not known. [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. 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. [140] To this end, the Gestapo was "a vital component both in Nazi repression and the Holocaust. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Further promotions to Kriminalkommissarin and Kriminalrtin were also possible. [109], Whether trained as police originally or not, Gestapo agents themselves were shaped by their socio-political environment. It successfully thwarted Operation Valkyrie, wherein an attempt to assassinate Hitler was made by some senior Nazi officials themselves. by JLEES 16 Aug 2002, 02:40, Post What was the difference in function between the Gestapo and the SD [5] Up to 30 April 1944, at least 6,639 persons were arrested under Nacht und Nebel orders. [33] After Heydrich's 1942 assassination, Himmler assumed the leadership of the RSHA until January 1943, when Ernst Kaltenbrunner was appointed chief. The force was created by Hermann Gring in 1933 by combining the various security police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. Though all largely contributed to Hitlers rise to power and his abuse of that power, the three organizations differed slightly in their functions. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Bauz, Ingrid; Sigrid Brggemann; Roland Maier, eds. However, this fact was cashed upon to invite empathy from the public as well as to add shock value. [32] The Gestapo became Amt IV (Department IV) of RSHA and Mller became the Gestapo Chief, with Heydrich as his immediate superior. The only thing distinguishing them was the black hat with a skull and bones on it. The ordinary uniformed ones doing office jobs were called Algemeine SS or ordinary SS The size of the SS increased dramatically and eventually had 38 Divisions of which half were not German. 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. 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 stricter laws did not apply to lesbians as their behaviour was never officially criminalised, even though their behaviours were labelled "deviant". [143] Correspondingly, Gestapo offices were established in a territory once occupied. He hoped to merge the SA with the Army under his own leadership and continued to urge for a second Nazi revolution, one that was socialist in nature. Yet a significant number of them still worked against the National Socialist government.