GESTAPO: definition and characteristics

One of the scariest elements of the Nazis during the hitler government They were his paramilitary groups, being secret agencies that through fear and murder sought to have the entire German population side with Hitler and exterminate any danger. To talk about one of the most dangerous organizations in Nazi Germany, in this lesson from a Professor we offer a Summary definition of the Gestapo and its characteristics.

Index

1. Gestapo Meaning - Easy Definition
2. Gestapo history and evolution
3. End of the Gestapo
4. Characteristics of the Gestapo

Since Hitler came to power as Chancellor of Germany, number two of him, Hermann Goring, was appointed interior minister of Prussia. In Prussia there was the largest police force in all of Germany, this being a very interesting element for the policing interests that Hitler had in mind since before his arrival at the can.

Over time, Goring changed the organization of the Prussian police

Before long, heto Gestapo was the police of all Germany, except Bavaria where the influence of the Himmler's SS, being this the right hand of Hitler during great part of the war.

With the passage of time, and as a sign of how increasingly united the Nazi side was, in April 1934 the power of the Gestapo passed to the SS, becoming the Gestapo to be a sister organization within the SS and initiating a transformation of the Nazi police system.

Over the years, the Gestapo became the most dangerous organization of all Nazi Germany, being responsible for investigating cases of treason, espionage and possible attacks against Hitler and his government.

The Gestapo was above the same law, being able to bypass the judiciary to be able to have carte blanche and commit many actions that for any other body were crimes. I was even forbidden to report them before the administrative courts, being the organisms to which the citizens could go to denounce acts of the official organisms.

An important step in the evolution of the Gestapo was when they were given the task of send Jews to Nazi death campsAs they were in charge of the deportation to the area and, therefore, their high command was later sentenced for sending thousands of Jews to certain death.

During the years of Nazi Germany and World War II, thousands of people were tortured and killed by the Gestapo, largely because they had carte blanche to do anything without fear of retaliation and, therefore, any person who was contrary to Nazi thought was an enemy and could be killed without any concern about any sentence.

The end of the Gestapo it started to start when the Allies approached Berlin. When the bombings in the German city were more common and it seemed clear that in a short time Germany was going to lose the war, the main directors of the Gestapo asked that they be they will burn all the files that could blame the main leaders of the police. It is said that, for days, they could be seen great plumes of smoke leave public buildings, showing that the Gestapo members understood that their actions were worthy of heavy condemnation.

After the arrival of the Allies, the leader of the United States decreed the end of the Gestapo, being shortly after object of investigation in the Nuremberg Trials and prohibiting any similar organization in all Germany.

To finish this summary of the history of the Gestapo, we must talk about the main features that make this organization so special and thereby understand why it was so dangerous in Nazi Germany. The main characteristics of the Gestapo were the following:

• One of the main functions of the Gestapo was the elimination of opposition, any person who thought differently from the Nazi ideology should be eliminated, the best known moment being that of the Night of the Long Knives in which many opponents of the regime were killed.
• The Holocaust was key, leading thousands of Jews to concentration camps for death.
• Laws were broken, since it was said that if they complied with Hitler's requests they were capable of bypassing any legislation.
• They were part of the SSAlthough they were the best known and most autonomous branch of this great Nazi group and to a large extent they operated without taking much into account the indications of other organizations.
• Their leaders were reputed legal thinkers that they belonged to the Nazi party and that thanks to this they were able to change laws and look for loopholes.
• The Gestapo operated all over Europe conquered by the Germans, being a means of repression and that nobody would rise up against the occupation. Most of the murders in other countries were committed by the Gestapo to silence the rebels who sought to end the German invasion.

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• Crankshaw, E. (2011). Gestapo. A&C Black.
• Delarue, J. (2008). The Gestapo: History of Horror. Pen and Sword.
• Lozano, Á. (2011). Nazi Germany (1933-1945). Marcial Pons History.