The Police System in the Third Reich

Overall Approach to Policing under the Nazi Regime

Did the Nazis abolish the Weimar police system?

No the traditional police forces inherited from the Weimar Republic continued to exist and were still organised at state level

How did the Nazis transform policing?

They created a complex system of party controlled political police forces directly answerable to Hitler which gradually centralised control over the entire security apparatus

The Initial Consolidation of Police Control 1933

How did Hitler gain political control of the police?

By placing key Nazis in powerful positions immediately after January 1933

Who controlled the police at Reich level?

Wilhelm Frick as Minister of the Interior for the entire Reich

Who controlled the police in Prussia?

Hermann Goering as Minister of the Interior in Prussia Germany’s largest and most important state

Why was Prussia significant?

Control of Prussia meant control of the majority of German police forces

Legalising Paramilitary Terror

How did the SA gain official authority?

In late February 1933 the SA was recognised as auxiliary police

What instructions were given to regular police?

They were forbidden from interfering with SA activities

What powers did the SA receive?

Powers to arrest and detain political opponents

How did the SA use these powers?

To unleash terror against opponents in what was described as a revolution from below

How did the police respond to SA violence?

Police frequently ignored beatings and crimes committed by Stormtroopers

The Complex Structure and Agencies

How was the Nazi security system structured?

It was polycratic meaning overlapping agencies competition confusion and rivalry

Who competed for control?

Figures such as Himmler Röhm and Goering

Why was this system useful to Hitler?

It encouraged rivalry and prevented any single rival from challenging his authority

Key Police and Security Organisations

What was the SS?

The Schutzstaffel originally Hitler’s personal bodyguard created in 1926

How did the SS role change after 1934?

After the Night of the Long Knives its police role expanded becoming central to identifying and arresting political prisoners

What was the Gestapo?

The Geheime Staatspolizei originally created in Prussia by Goering

How did the Gestapo develop?

Its operations were extended nationwide making it the most important state security agency dealing with political crime

What was the SD?

The Sicherheitsdienst the intelligence service of the Nazi Party and an offshoot of the SS

What was the SD’s main role?

Intelligence gathering monitoring public opinion and identifying enemies of the regime

What was the Orpo?

The Ordnungspolizei the regular uniformed police including municipal police and gendarmerie

What was the Kripo?

The Kriminalpolizei responsible for non political crime

The Rise of the SS and Himmler’s Dominance

How were internal power struggles resolved?

Through the rise of Heinrich Himmler as Reichsführer SS

Why was Himmler strengthened in 1934?

The Night of the Long Knives eliminated Röhm and reduced the SA’s power shifting control of terror to the SS

What key appointment did Himmler receive in 1936?

He became Chief of the German Police while remaining Reichsführer SS

Why was this appointment significant?

It placed the Gestapo SD and SS under his singular command

What did the SS control by 1936?

The entire police system and the concentration camps

How was the SS defined under Himmler?

As racially pure strictly disciplined and absolutely loyal to Nazi ideology

How is the SS best described?

A virtual state within a state enforcing the Führer’s will

What change occurred in 1939?

The creation of the Reich Security Main Office RSHA

What was the purpose of the RSHA?

To bring all party and state police organisations under one centralised SS controlled umbrella

Who played a key role in the RSHA?

Reinhard Heydrich

The SD

What was the SD?

The Sicherheitsdienst was established in 1931 as the internal security service of the Nazi Party

Who led the SD?

Reinhard Heydrich

What organisation was the SD part of?

It was an offshoot of the SS

Why was the SD originally created?

To investigate claims that the Nazi Party had been infiltrated by political enemies

How did the role of the SD change after 1933?

Its main function became intelligence gathering

What type of intelligence did the SD collect?

It monitored public opinion identified critics and reported on attitudes to the regime

What specific political role did the SD perform?

It identified individuals who voted no in plebiscites and reported this information to Hitler

How large was the SD by 1939?

It had approximately 50,000 officers

Why is this significant?

It shows how important intelligence gathering was to the regime and how successful Heydrich was in building his own power base

How did the SD relate to the Gestapo?

The SD was a Party organisation while the Gestapo was a State organisation

What problems did this cause?

Overlap confusion and competition between the two organisations

Who staffed the SD?

Largely amateurs who were ideologically committed Nazis

The Gestapo Terror and Public Cooperation

Why was the Nazi police system effective?

Because it relied on fear reputation and the cooperation of ordinary Germans

The Myth versus Reality of the Gestapo

How was the Gestapo perceived by the public?

As all knowing and omnipresent with agents believed to be everywhere

Why was this perception important?

It intimidated the population and discouraged criticism and political opposition

What was the reality of the Gestapo’s size?

It was relatively small

How many officers did the Gestapo have in 1939?

Approximately 20000 nationwide

What roles did most Gestapo officers perform?

Administrative rather than active field work

Dependence on Informers

How did the Gestapo obtain most of its information?

Through informers rather than direct surveillance

Who provided information?

Nazi Party block leaders

Who was even more important?

Ordinary Germans who voluntarily denounced others

Why did people denounce others?

Often due to personal grudges jealousy fear or spite rather than ideological commitment

What problem did this create for the Gestapo?

The volume of information was so large that it could not all be investigated

How did the Gestapo respond?

By using arbitrary arrest and preventive custody

Use of Arbitrary Terror

What powers did the Nazi police possess?

The power to arrest and imprison individuals without trial or evidence

What was this form of detention called?

Protective custody

What did protective custody remove?

Legal rights and individual freedoms

Where was the first permanent concentration camp established?

Dachau in March 1933

How many political prisoners were held by July 1933?

Nearly 27,000

Who controlled the camps after 1936?

The SS

How did the camp system change after 1936?

It became more systematic and increasingly repressive

Who were targeted after 1936?

Political opponents habitual criminals so called asocials and non Aryans

Operational Style of Repression

How did Nazi repression function overall?

As a combination of top down legal authority and bottom up terror

What is meant by a legal revolution?

Violence authorised and legitimised by law

How did the SA originally operate?

Through undisciplined street violence and brawls

How did the SS differ?

It operated ruthlessly systematically and bureaucratically

How was violence used by the SS?

As a deliberate instrument of state power detached from moral or legal restraint