While three groups were acquitted of collective war crimes charges, this did not relieve individual members of those groups from conviction and punishment under the denazification programme. 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. Hitler initially refused to believe the claims against Rhm, even though his officials provided him with created evidence. Thousands of leftists, intellectuals, Jews, trade unionists, political clergy, and homosexuals simply disappeared into concentration camps after being arrested by the Gestapo. Nevertheless, in practice there was jurisdictional overlap and operational conflict between the SD and Gestapo. Copyright Historyplex & Buzzle.com, Inc. In 1929 General Kurt von Schleicher combined all service units under his Ministry of Defence. 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. 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. Canaris was appointed to head the Abwehr Military Intelligence in 1935. Anyone suspected of even having made an anti-Nazi joke would be subjected to such treatment, or worse. [91], As a result of its 1936 merger with the Kripo (National criminal police) to form sub-units of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police), the Gestapo was officially classified as a government agency. The SS remained in existence until the end of the war. The Abwehr was the German military intelligence organization from 1866 to 1944. [119] For information about what was happening in German society, the Gestapo continued to be mostly dependent upon denunciations. [74] One of the methods employed by the Gestapo to contend with these resistance factions was 'protective detention' which facilitated the process in expediting dissenters to concentration camps and against which there was no legal defence. These three organizations always rivaled each other and their competences often overlapped. [15] Many of the Gestapo employees in the newly established offices were young and highly educated in a wide variety of academic fields and moreover, represented a new generation of National Socialist adherents, who were hard-working, efficient, and prepared to carry the Nazi state forward through the persecution of their political opponents. Burian's group had also set up a secret courier service to Otto von Habsburg in Belgium. (2013). [g], Several terms redirect here. These groups became a special focus of the Gestapo because of their insurrectionist goalsthe overthrow of the Nazi regime, the re-establishment of an independent Austria under Habsburg leadershipand Hitler's hatred of the Habsburg family. 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. 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. We hope you enjoy this website. Josef Jakobs - Agent of the Abwehr or the Gestapo? While they may seem very similar, they actually differed in the roles they played. We hope the above sections have made the identification of all three organizations clearer. 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. The long-time head of the Gestapo, Heinrich Mller, was never found. Gestapo | Definition, History, Facts, & Tactics | Britannica Meaning Protective Echelon in German, the SS was made up of fervently anti-Semite Germans who possessed deep racial hatred. This led to corresponding arrests, being sent to concentration camps and execution. Hitler's Two Armies - HistoryNet During World War II the Gestapo suppressed partisan activities in the occupied territories and carried out reprisals against civilians. [113] In Dsseldorf, the local Gestapo office of only 281 men were responsible for the entire Lower Rhine region, which comprised 4 million people. 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. According to the trials that were held after Germanys defeat in the war, the SS was responsible for a majority of the crimes committed in Nazi Germany. Why did Hitler tolerate the existence of the Abwehr (German - Quora [94] However, Gestapo leader Heinrich Mller was never tried, as he disappeared at the end of the war. [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. [65] If homosexuals showed any signs of sympathy to the Nazis' identified racial enemies, they were considered an even greater danger. What is the difference between the SD and the Gestapo? In late 1933, the Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick wanted to integrate all the police forces of the German states under his control. The Gestapo committed widespread atrocities during its existence. Later, nurses, kindergarten teachers, and trained female commercial employees with an aptitude for police work were hired as female detectives after a two-year course as Kriminaloberassistentin and could promote to a Kriminalsekretrin. [117] The Gestapoat timeswas overwhelmed with denunciations and most of its time was spent sorting out the credible from the less credible denunciations. [153][f], Leaders, organisers, investigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit the crimes specified were declared responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan. Gestapo (Mller), SD (Heydrich) and Abwehr (Canaris). [129] The "other" category associated with non-conformity included everything from a man who drew a caricature of Hitler to a Catholic teacher suspected of being lukewarm about teaching National Socialism in his classroom. Later on, the SS had its own special uniforms that distinguished it from other organizations such as the SA and the Gestapo. What was the difference in function between the Gestapo and the SD [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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. (Hitler felt he deserved the chance to kill himself rather than have someone else kill him.) [39], In 1942, the Gestapo discovered a cache of Polish intelligence documents in Prague and were surprised to see that Polish agents and informants had been gathering detailed military information and smuggling it out to London, via Budapest and Istanbul. [16], By the spring of 1934, Himmler's SS controlled the SD and the Gestapo, but for him, there was still a problem, as technically the SS (and the Gestapo by proxy) was subordinated to the SA, which was under the command of Ernst Rhm. by Peter J. Hertel 16 Aug 2002, 05:52, Return to The Phil Nix SS & Polizei section. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police). In December, 1932, Schleicher became chancellor. [131] Failing that, torture and planting evidence were common methods of resolving a case, especially if the case concerned someone Jewish. [80] Known as the 20 July plot, this assassination attempt failed and Hitler was only slightly injured. [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 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. This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 18:29. Here are some examples of how abfraction and abrasion might be used in a sentence: Examples Of Using Abfraction In A Sentence. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Gestapo - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). In an attempt to assassinate Hitler, Stauffenberg planted a bomb underneath a conference table inside the Wolf's Lair field headquarters. Under his leadership, the SS grew to a sizable organization of over 2,50,000 members. [140] To this end, the Gestapo was "a vital component both in Nazi repression and the Holocaust. 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. Corrections? In the occupied territories, the formal relationship between local units of the Gestapo, criminal police, and SD was slightly closer. Rhm harbored the same intentions. 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. He appointed General Ferdinand von Bredow, as head of Abwehr. Marjorie Taylor Greene Confuses 'Gazpacho' and 'Gestapo' This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene mixed up gazpacho and the Gestapo while criticizing Rep. Nancy Pelosi. [32] The Gestapo became Amt IV (Department IV) of RSHA and Mller became the Gestapo Chief, with Heydrich as his immediate superior. [25], The Gestapo had the authority to investigate cases of treason, espionage, sabotage and criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and Germany. [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 basic Gestapo law passed by the government in 1936 gave the Gestapo carte blanche to operate without judicial reviewin effect, putting it above the law. However, with the Abwehr and GFP being flooded with work, the situation changed and the SS shrewdly used the opportunity to gain a foothold in Belgium. [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. [81][82] Stauffenberg and his group were shot on 21 July 1944; meanwhile, his fellow conspirators were rounded up by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp. 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. Fearful of an internal overthrow, the forces of the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition. These officials were helped and supported by a mysterious organization called the ODESSA, which helped provide them identification, passports, and visas to South American countries. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed as the head of the SS. [52] Increasing religious objections to Nazi policies led the Gestapo to carefully monitor church organisations. 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. Leading members of the most famous of these groups, the White Rose, were arrested by the police and turned over to the Gestapo. [105] One man who served in the Prussian Gestapo in 1933 recalled that most of his co-workers "were by no means Nazis. [61] Homosexuals were correspondingly considered a threat to the Volksgemeinschaft (National Community). Opposition became more difficult. However, this fact was cashed upon to invite empathy from the public as well as to add shock value. They were taught that the SS was not only an elite group in the Nazi regime, but also in all of humanity. At that time, the Gestapo was condemned as a criminal organisation, along with the SS. 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. Gestapo - Wikipedia Abwehr | Encyclopedia.com The SS - Definition & Facts Individuals in Austrian resistance groups led by Heinrich Maier also managed to pass along the plans and the location of production facilities for V-1, V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, and aircraft (Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, etc.) No reason was ever given for their arrest or executionjust the fact that they seemed suspicious was enough. [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. [13] Also on that date, Hitler appointed Himmler chief of all German police outside Prussia. Gestapo members Hermann Gring, Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Arthur Seyss-Inquart were individually convicted. The Gestapo was somewhat of a division of the SS, making SS the parent organization. Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)right to your inbox. The original foundation date of the Gestapo can be traced back in April 1933 whereas the foundation date of the SS is originally on 1923. After another two or three years in that grade, the female detective could advance to Kriminalobersekretrin. These included the non-violent resistance of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two leaders of the White Rose student group. Omissions? 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Gestapo operated without civil restraints. [28] He answered to Heydrich, Heydrich answered only to Himmler, and Himmler answered only to Hitler. Three othersHans Fritzsche, Hjalmar Schacht, and Franz von Papenwere acquitted. The difference between SS and the Gestapo The Gestapo is an organization of the police that existed only around 1934-1939 while the SS exited longer for about sixteen years between 1929 and 1945, before being abolished. The term Abwehr (German for defense) was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only.After February 4, 1938, its name in title was Foreign Affairs/Defense Office of the Armed Forces High Command (Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der . Also known as the Storm Troopers or the Brownshirts (they were called the Brownshirts because of their brown uniforms), it was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, whose violent tactics played a huge role in Hitlers rise to power in Germany. [149] Whereas in France, the number of members in the Carlingue (French Gestapo) who worked on behalf of the Nazis was upwards of 30,000 to 32,000; they conducted operations nearly indistinguishable from their German equivalents. [134] As historian Eric Johnson remarked, "The Nazi terror was selective terror", with its focus upon political opponents, ideological dissenters (clergy and religious organisations), career criminals, the Sinti and Roma population, handicapped persons, homosexuals and above all, upon the Jews. Joins the Abwehr Schrader escaped from the Concentration Camp in 1934. [94], The Gestapo became known as RSHA Amt IV ("Department or Office IV") with Heinrich Mller as its chief. Founded in 1999. [107] Over time, membership in the Gestapo included ideological training, particularly once Werner Best assumed a leading role for training in April 1936. [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. [142], Occupation meant administration and policing, a duty assigned to the SS, the SD, and the Gestapo even before hostilities began, as was the case for Czechoslovakia. It was mainly used in riots, demonstrations, and the ransacking and destroying of Jewish homes and synagogues. Even a Gestapo Agent would understand it now! In 1939, the SA was largely used as a training center for the Army when the war started. [21] Both the SD and Gestapo released information concerning an imminent putsch by the SA. The power of the Gestapo included the use of what was called, Schutzhaft"protective custody", a euphemism for the power to imprison people without judicial proceedings. [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. Differences between SD & GESTAPO: practical point of vue - Axis History Updates? The Gestapo was responsible for keeping a close watch on Hitlers personal safety, as well as ensuring the safety of the most important Nazi officials. 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). The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944. One of the more famous schemes, Operation Valkyrie, involved a number of senior German officers and was carried out by Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. ThreeWalther Funk, Rudolf Hess, Erich Raederreceived life terms; and the remaining fourKarl Dnitz, Konstantin von Neurath, Albert Speer, and Baldur von Schirachreceived shorter prison sentences. They were both eventually headed by Himmler, although the Gestapo existed before him. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Post On one hand, it was next to impossible for them to overthrow Hitler and the party; on the other, the Allied demand for an unconditional surrender meant no opportunity for a compromise peace, which left the military and conservative aristocrats who opposed the regime no option (in their eyes) other than continuing the military struggle. 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. [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. They were subject to co-ordination by inspectors of the security police and SD on the staffs of the local higher SS and police leaders, however, and one of the principal functions of the local SD units was to serve as the intelligence agency for the local Gestapo units. 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. Under the leadership of Rhm, the number of employees in the SA increased dramatically. [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. For several leaders the punishment was death. The Gestapo supplied the information which implicated the SA and ultimately enabled Himmler and Heydrich to emancipate themselves entirely from the organisation. [54] The extreme anti-semitism and neo-pagan heresies of the Nazis caused some Christians to outright resist,[55] and Pope Pius XI to issue the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge denouncing Nazism and warning Catholics against joining or supporting the Party. [154], The IMT subsequently convicted three of the groups: the Nazi leadership corps, the SS (including the SD) and the Gestapo. The right collar patch was black without the sig runes. 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. 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. 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. In 1931, the SA was handed over to Ernst Rhm, who headed it till his murder in 1934. Thereafter, there was a show trial overseen by Roland Freisler, followed by their execution. [106] In Wrzburg, which is one of the few places in Germany where most of the Gestapo records survived, every member of the Gestapo was a career policeman or had a police background. [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. [64][c] Between 1933 and 1935, some 4,000 men were arrested; between 1936 and 1939, another 30,000 men were convicted. [51] For their part, this was the first time the Gestapo operated under its new name since its 26 April 1933 founding in Prussia. Gazpacho is a popular cold Spanish soup. Post the successful execution of both the leader as well as several of his followers, the SS was granted independent entity by Hitler as a reward for their services and loyalty to the Nazi Party, and more importantly, to Hitler. Historian George C. Browder contends that there was a four-part process (authorisation, bolstering, routinisation, and dehumanisation) in effect which legitimised the psycho-social atmosphere conditioning members of the Gestapo to radicalised violence. The SD and Gestapo did have integration through SS members holding dual positions in each branch. SIPO was the security police involved in protecting the security of the country it was state funded. [88] On 26 April 1933, he reorganised the force's Amt III as the Gestapa (better-known by the "sobriquet" Gestapo),[89] a secret state police intended to serve the Nazi cause. 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. The force was created by Hermann Gring in 1933 by combining the various security police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. [150], Between 14 November 1945 and 3 October 1946, the Allies established an International Military Tribunal (IMT) to try 22 major Nazi war criminals and six groups for crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Whereas the Gestapo agents, were mostly of police background. 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. 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".

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