The Third Reich's secret state police and main tool of oppression and destruction
The Origin of the Gestapo
The Gestapo originated in the political department of the Prussian police headquarters during the Weimar Republic. With Hitler's rise to power, Hermann Goering became the interior minister of Prussia, taking over the Prussian political police and naming Rudolf Diels as its executive director. Increased Power. The emergency regulations of 28 February,1933, gave the Gestapo complete freedom to impose "protective custody" (Schutzhaft) and to prevent undesirable political activities. When Goering was made Prime Minister of Prussia on 11 April1933, the Gestapo was separated entirely from the overall police structure, and the First Gestapo Law, of 26 April 1933, officially gave Diels the authority of an independent state political police commissioner. The Second Gestapo Law, of 30 November1933, made Goering head of the political police and Diels directly responsible to him. The secret police now became officially known as the Gestapo; in 1934, a "Jewish Section" was set up.
The SS Take over
Heinrich Himmler eventually established SS control over the political police and concentration camps in all Germany, including Prussia, where, as Goering's deputy, he took over the Gestapo on 20 April,1934. He made Heydrich its director. Although throughout Germany the concentration camps came under the control of the SS, the Gestapo had the power to send its victims to them and could determine the prisoners' fate. To circumvent the criminal code, which forbade torture and murder, and which they used frequently, the Gestapo adopted methods tested in Dachau of fabricating causes of death.
The Creation of the SIPO
In June 1936, Himmler reorganised the police system, to amalgamate it with the SS and gain independence from the Reich bureaucracy. He set up two main branches of the police force - the Ordnungspolizei (the Order Police; ORPO), and Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police; SIPO). The ORPO was the "regular" police. The SIPO was constituted by the Gestapo and the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police; KRIPO). The Gestapo and its field units took over all the German political police agencies. After Himmler's takeover, the Gestapo grew enormously.
The Structure of the Gestapo until the Outbreak of the War
From the time of Himmler's take over until September 1939 when the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Main Security Office; RSHA) was established, the structure of the Gestapo stayed the same. Division I was responsible for organisation and finance, including legal matters. Its director between 1935-1939 was Dr. Werner Best. Division II, under Heydrich's direct control, was the main body of the Gestapo: Under Heinrich Mueller, section II-1 was charged with fighting the "enemies" of the regime. Division III was counterintelligence (Abwehrpolizei) under an SD agent, Guenther Palten. Between November 1937 and October 1938, special Gestapo-SD units were trained to terrorise and Nazify foreign countries. Following Adolf Eichmann's initiative in driving many Jews from Austria late in 1938, Mueller, with Eichmann as executive, assumed the overall control of the forced emigration of the Jews from all Nazi-controlled territories. After Kristallnacht, the Gestapo became the main instrument of anti-Jewish policies.
The Establishment of the RSHA - Gestapo Activities at the Start of the War
In 1939, the Gestapo, as part of the SIPO, was fused with the SD to form the RSHA. With the onset of war, the Gestapo took part in the enslavement of "inferior races"; "pacifying" and subduing the occupied territories; persecuting the Jews; and, finally, carrying out a major role in the "Final Solution." It also continued its activities in the Reich itself. Throughout this period, the head of the Gestapo (Amt IV of the RSHA) was Mueller, and the head of the Jewish section (IV B4) was Eichmann. After Heydrich's death, he was replaced by Ernst Kalternbrunner.
Anti-Jewish Activities
The Gestapo's main tool remained the "protective custody" procedure and the Gestapo was above the law. They hoodwinked and took members of Judenraete hostage, perfected a special jargon of deceit (Sprachregelung), and supervised the phasing out of the ghettos. They also maintained pressure on satellite countries to deport their Jews. Eichmann's Jewish section generally arranged the deportation to concentration and extermination camps. Eichmann had direct control over Theresienstadt, and a Sonderkommando under his command deported most of Hungarian Jewry.
An Assessment
The Gestapo relentlessly served Hitler and the goal of remaking the world in the Nazi image, radiating evil fascination. Millions of Germans accepted it in the initial phases, collaborated with it later, and supplied the military-organisational framework that made Gestapo atrocities possible.
