difference between abwehr and gestapo

We've created informative articles that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more! 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. For example, in 1939 Stettin and Frankfurt am Main only had a total of 41 Gestapo men combined. These were Waffen S. The SS Schutz Staffel were originally Hitler's bodygaurd. 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. [g], Several terms redirect here. [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. [77] Later, the British and Americans did not want to deal with anti-Nazis because they were fearful that the Soviet Union would believe they were attempting to make deals behind their back. 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. [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. There was one other significant difference between the Heer and Waffen- SS: Each member of the latter was required to have his blood type tattooed on the underside of his left upper arm to make it easier for medics to treat him on the battlefield. [92], In September 1939, the SiPo and SD were merged into the newly created Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA; Reich Security Main Office). During World War II the Gestapo suppressed partisan activities in the occupied territories and carried out reprisals against civilians. Rhm himself was arrested, put into prison and given a chance to commit suicide. [60], Violence and arrest were not confined to that opposing political parties, membership in trade unions, or those with dissenting religious opinions, but also homosexuality. Himmler also gained authority over all of Germany's uniformed law enforcement agencies, which were amalgamated into the new Ordnungspolizei (Orpo; Order Police), which became a national agency under SS general Kurt Daluege. Difference Between the Gestapo, SS, and SA - Historyplex Gestapo - Wikipedia It was officially declared to be a criminal organization and banned in Germany by the International Tribunal in 1945, and some of its surviving officials were arrested, tried, and executed for inhuman war crimes. Discussions on all aspects of the SS and Polizei. 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. Hitler's Two Armies - HistoryNet With its dramatic rise to power, the SA began to slowly assume themselves to be somewhat of a replacement to the German Army. [104] Additional staff were added in March 1938 consequent the annexation of Austria and again in October 1938 with the acquisition of the Sudetenland. Together with the SS, the Gestapo managed the treatment of inferior races, such as Jews and Roma (Gypsies). by Walter Schellenberg 14 Aug 2002, 03:29, Post Given that all appointments to the Abwehr required vetting and approval by the Gestapo, his efforts in successfully recruiting foes of the regime throughout the years of . The SD and Gestapo did have integration through SS members holding dual positions in each branch. In the occupied territories, the formal relationship between local units of the Gestapo, criminal police, and SD was slightly closer. [94] However, Gestapo leader Heinrich Mller was never tried, as he disappeared at the end of the war. The Gestapo was established in 1933 by Hermann Gring, with the aim of consolidating Nazi . 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. 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. 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". [49] On the following day, the newly formed Gestapo officers, who had been shadowing some 58 trade union leaders, arrested them wherever they could find themmany in their homes. The Nazi Party was well aware of homosexual preferences of Rhm and some other SA members. [24], On 17 June 1936, Hitler decreed the unification of all police forces in Germany and named Himmler as Chief of German Police. There were plenty of intelligence agencies in Nazi Germany with overlapping portfolios. After initial successes, the organization was expanded during the Franco-Prussian . The word Gestapo is an abbreviation of the German term Geheime Staatspolizei, which translates to Secret State Police. [32] Although the Sicherheitspolizei was officially disbanded, the term SiPo was figuratively used to describe any RSHA personnel throughout the remainder of the war. Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)right to your inbox. [70], Between 1934 and 1938, opponents of the Nazi regime and their fellow travellers began to emerge. What was the difference between the SD and the Gestapo? 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. [37] However, the total number of people who disappeared as a result of this decree is not known. The Gestapo was officially declared to be answerable only and only to Hitler, and could not be reviewed by the judiciary in any way. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Gestapo was the political police force of the Nazi state. [144], Throughout the Eastern territories, the Gestapo and other Nazi organisations co-opted the assistance of indigenous police units, nearly all of whom were uniformed and able to carry out drastic actions. The Abwehr ( German for resistance or defence, but the word usually means counterintelligence in a military context; pronounced [apve]) was the German military-intelligence service for the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht from 1920 to 1945. However, these tactics were quite useful for the rise of the Nazi movement. Already in early June, [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. [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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Night of Long Knives and the Downfall of Sturmabteilung. This was partly because of the Venlo incident of 9 November 1939,[76] in which SD and Gestapo agents, posing as anti-Nazis in the Netherlands, kidnapped two British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) officers after having lured them to a meeting to discuss peace terms. 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. [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. Although an agent in uniform wore the collar insignia of the equivalent SS rank, he was still addressed as, e.g., Operation Crossbow Preliminary missions for the Operation Overlord, https://english.radio.cz/petscheks-palace-once-headquarters-nazi-secret-police-8575365, USHMM, "Law and Justice in the Third Reich", US National Archives, "German Police Records Opened at the National Archives", Avalon Project, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, The National Socialist Document Center of Cologne, "From Nazi to Criminal to Post-War Spy: German Intelligence Hired Klaus Barbie as Agent (20 January 2011)", "Press Release nr00-52: German Police Records Opened at the National Archives", Festung Furulund magasinet Dagbladet.no, Collection of testimonies concerning Gestapo activity in occupied Poland during WWII in "Chronicles of Terror" database, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gestapo&oldid=1151862694, Reactionaries, liberals and opposition (A3). [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. [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. by JLEES 16 Aug 2002, 02:40, Post Here are some examples of how abfraction and abrasion might be used in a sentence: Examples Of Using Abfraction In A Sentence. [43] The Maier group informed very early about the mass murder of Jews. [93], The creation of the RSHA represented the formalisation, at the top level, of the relationship under which the SD served as the intelligence agency for the security police. [33] In January 1943, Himmler appointed Ernst Kaltenbrunner RSHA chief; almost seven months after Heydrich had been assassinated. When the war started, the Gestapo basically had to identify and arrest any suspicious person and send him/her to a concentration camp, or kill him/her on the spot. [99] Personnel assigned to these auxiliary duties were often removed from the Gestapo chain of command and fell under the authority of branches of the SS. Marjorie Taylor Greene Confuses 'Gazpacho' and 'Gestapo' While they may seem very similar, they actually differed in the roles they played. The SS, or the Schutzstaffel, was created in 1925 originally to serve as Hitlers personal bodyguards. [64][c] Between 1933 and 1935, some 4,000 men were arrested; between 1936 and 1939, another 30,000 men were convicted. The local offices of the Gestapo, known as Gestapo Leitstellen and Stellen, answered to a local commander known as the Inspekteur der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD ("Inspector of the Security Police and Security Service") who, in turn, was under the dual command of Referat N of the Gestapo and also his local SS and Police Leader. Without the help, support, and co-operation of these organizations, perhaps Hitler wouldnt have been able to spread the terror he did, for whatever reasons. He appointed General Ferdinand von Bredow, as head of Abwehr. Soon only Prussia was left. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. At that time, the SS consisted of approximately 300 members. Answer (1 of 3): The SS Schutz Staffel were originally Hitler's bodygaurd. by Schmauser 13 Aug 2002, 13:44, Post However, Hitler too began to realize the risks associated with Rhm and his leadership, and was more concerned about his senior officials being wary of Rhm. [50] Meanwhile, the SA and police occupied trade union headquarters, arrested functionaries, confiscated their property and assets; all by design so as to be replaced on 12 May by the German Labour Front (DAF), a Nazi organisation placed under the leadership of Robert Ley. After Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Hermann Gringfuture commander of the Luftwaffe and the number two man in the Nazi Partywas named Interior Minister of Prussia. 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. [62] From the Nazis rise to national power in 1933, the number of court verdicts against homosexuals steadily increased and only declined once the Second World War started. The SS initially had an all-black uniform specially designed for its men, which was replaced by uniforms in camouflaging colors during the war. Party agencies lik. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. It was viewed negatively by Hitler. Employing biological metaphors, Best emphasised a doctrine which encouraged members of the Gestapo to view themselves as 'doctors' to the 'national body' in the struggle against "pathogens" and "diseases"; among the implied sicknesses were "communists, Freemasons, and the churchesand above and behind all these stood the Jews". After another two or three years in that grade, the female detective could advance to Kriminalobersekretrin. The members of the SA were largely former soldiers, ruffians, and men of violent natures, whose job was to originally protect the Nazi rallies, fight people from the leftist parties, and physically assault political opponents. In this, he ran into conflict with Schutzstaffel (SS) chief Heinrich Himmler who was police chief of the second most powerful German state, Bavaria. Abwehr | Encyclopedia.com [94], At the trial of any individual member of any group or organisation, the IMT was authorised to declare (in connection with any act of which the individual was convicted) that the group or organisation to which he belonged was a criminal organisation. [25] The idea was to fully identify and integrate the party agency (SD) with the state agency (SiPo). Heinrich Himmler Thereafter, there was a show trial overseen by Roland Freisler, followed by their execution. [21] Both the SD and Gestapo released information concerning an imminent putsch by the SA. Additionally, many of its members were handed over to the armed forces. Gellately argued that it was because of the widespread willingness of Germans to inform on each other to the Gestapo that Germany between 1933 and 1945 was a prime example of panopticism. Further promotions to Kriminalkommissarin and Kriminalrtin were also possible. [27] Heinrich Mller was at that time the Gestapo operations chief. Himmler was given command over Grings Gestapo in April 1934. They were both eventually headed by Himmler, although the Gestapo existed before him. [17] Himmler wanted to free himself entirely from Rhm, whom he viewed as an obstacle. Arrests, torture, and executions were common. Though all largely contributed to Hitlers rise to power and his abuse of that power, the three organizations differed slightly in their functions. [107], The Canadian historian Robert Gellately wrote that most Gestapo men were not Nazis, but at the same time were not opposed to the Nazi regime, which they were willing to serve, in whatever task they were called upon to perform. These units traveled to villages in the German-occupied regions and shot down civilians, men, women, and children included, and buried them in mass graves. 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. 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. Gestapo members Hermann Gring, Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Arthur Seyss-Inquart were individually convicted. The infamous Night of Long Knives, in June 1934, saw the murder of Rhm and several important SA members. [29] The Gestapo was specifically exempted from responsibility to administrative courts, where citizens normally could sue the state to conform to laws. By 1932, the SA employed about 400,000 people and by the time Hitler had come to power in 1933, it consisted of over 10,00,000 people. 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. [22] Once persuaded, Hitler acted by setting Himmler's SS into action, who then proceeded to murder over 100 of Hitler's identified antagonists. [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. Thousands of leftists, intellectuals, Jews, trade unionists, political clergy, and homosexuals simply disappeared into concentration camps after being arrested by the Gestapo. [69] Efforts to resist the Nazi regime amounted to very little and had only minor chances of success, particularly since a broad percentage of the German people did not support such actions. [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. by Walter Schellenberg 16 Aug 2002, 02:48, Post 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. Gestapo, abbreviation of Geheime Staatspolizei (German: Secret State Police), the political police of Nazi Germany. [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. 6789 Quail Hill Pkwy, Suite 211 Irvine CA 92603. [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". These three organizations always rivaled each other and their competences often overlapped. (Hitler felt he deserved the chance to kill himself rather than have someone else kill him.) The gestapo were Nazi Germany's brutal secret-police. [59] Over 2,700 Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox clergy were imprisoned at Dachau alone. The Gestapo was somewhat of a division of the SS, making SS the parent organization. by Walter Schellenberg 12 Aug 2002, 20:05, Post [123] For example, of the 84 cases in Wrzburg of Rassenschande ("race defilement"sexual relations with non-Aryans), 45 (54%) were started in response to denunciations by ordinary people, two (2%) by information provided by other branches of the government, 20 (24%) via information gained during interrogations of people relating to other matters, four (5%) from information from (Nazi) NSDAP organisations, two (2%) during "political evaluations" and 11 (13%) have no source listed while none were started by Gestapo's own "observations" of the people of Wrzburg. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Post the Night of Long Knives, the SA had downsized in its power and value. Sabotage efforts were undertaken by members of the Abwehr (military intelligence) leadership, as they recruited people known to oppose the Nazi regime. Opposition became more difficult. Burian's group had also set up a secret courier service to Otto von Habsburg in Belgium. [102], In 1933, there was no purge of the German police forces. In 1929 General Kurt von Schleicher combined all service units under his Ministry of Defence. by Phil Nix 01 Feb 2004, 12:16. [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. After his escape, he rejoined the army as a Hauptmann, with seniority dating from May 1st of 1934. . [18] Rhm's position was menacing as more than 4.5 million men fell under his command once the militias and veterans organisations were absorbed by the SA,[19] a fact which fuelled Rhm's aspirations; his dream of fusing the SA and Reichswehr together was undermining Hitler's relationships with the leadership of Germany's armed forces. [10] Diels was best known as the primary interrogator of Marinus van der Lubbe after the Reichstag fire. When asked for identification, an operative was required only to present his warrant disc and not a picture identification. [40], Polish agents also gathered detailed information about the morale of German soldiers in the East. Read on for the difference between the three ruthless organizations. 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. The Gestapo ruthlessly eliminated opposition to the Nazis within Germany and its occupied territories and, in partnership with the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; "Security Service"), was responsible for the roundup of Jews throughout Europe for deportation to extermination camps. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The stricter laws did not apply to lesbians as their behaviour was never officially criminalised, even though their behaviours were labelled "deviant". 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". [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. TL;DR: The Gestapo was the secret police that hunted down enemies of the Reich, while the SS were the brain-child of Himmler, a specially trained division of the military which participated in everything from invasions to crimes against humanity. Founded in 1999. [6] This gave Gring command of the largest police force in Germany. Fearful of an internal overthrow, the forces of the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition. Terror against "state enemies" had become a way of life to such a degree that the Gestapo's presence and methods were eventually normalised in the minds of people living in Nazi Germany. The name Gestapo is an abbreviation for its official German name "Geheime Staatspolizei." The direct English translation is "Secret State Police." The Gestapo was not the first political police force in German history. Gestapo vs Ss: Differences And Uses For Each One The leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, along with a few other senior Nazi officials carefully plotted and planned the murder of the leader of the SA. [50], Many parts of Germany (where religious dissent existed upon the Nazi seizure of power) saw a rapid transformation; a change as noted by the Gestapo in conservative towns such as Wrzburg, where people acquiesced to the regime either through accommodation, collaboration, or simple compliance. For the most part they were young professional civil service officers"[105] The Nazis valued police competence more than politics, so in general in 1933, almost all of the men who served in the various state police forces under the Weimar Republic stayed on in their jobs. [13] Also on that date, Hitler appointed Himmler chief of all German police outside Prussia. [12], Concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to effectively counteract the power of the Sturmabteilung (SA), Gring handed over control of the Gestapo to Himmler on 20 April 1934. [85], In January 1933, Hermann Gring, Hitler's minister without portfolio, was appointed the head of the Prussian Police and began filling the political and intelligence units of the Prussian Secret Police with Nazi Party members. National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized (RG 242) After uncovering a sample of the information the Poles had reported, Gestapo officials concluded that Polish intelligence activity represented a very serious danger to Germany. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our site includes quite a bit of content, so if you're having an issue finding what you're looking for, go on ahead and use that search feature there! His direct subordinate Adolf Eichmann headed the Gestapo's Office of Resettlement and then its Office of Jewish Affairs (Referat IV B4 or Sub-Department IV, Section B4). [115] The Gestapo office in Saarbrcken had 50 full-term informers in 1939. In that bureaucratic maze, the functions of the Gestapo often overlapped with those of other security departments, with which the Gestapo had both to cooperate and compete. [142] Whenever a region came fully under German military occupational jurisdiction, the Gestapo administered all executive actions under the military commander's authority, albeit operating relatively independent of it. The Gestapo had terrible methods of interrogating people who they deemed to be anti-Nazi or suspicious in any way. They were taught that the SS was not only an elite group in the Nazi regime, but also in all of humanity. However, very few arrests were made. [138], As an instrument of Nazi power, terror, and repression, the Gestapo operated throughout occupied Europe. [26] The Gestapo became a national state agency. Secret State Police), abbreviated Gestapo (German: [tapo]; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. Rhm harbored the same intentions. Excellent Work! [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. Soon afterward, Gring detached the political and intelligence sections from the police and filled their ranks with Nazis. "[136] The Gestapo's effectiveness remained in the ability to "project" omnipotencethey co-opted the assistance of the German population by using denunciations to their advantage; proving in the end a powerful, ruthless and effective organ of terror under the Nazi regime that was seemingly everywhere. The Gestapo is a short-lived police organization that existed around 1934-1939 only while the SS is longer since they existed for sixteen years around 1929-1945 before being abolished. Answer (1 of 4): It was of a piece with the Nazi governing policy: the Fhrerprinzip that created a a plethora of government agencies engaged in non-stop internecine bureaucratic turf wars. The Schutzstaffel has also been held responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing the Final Solution, in which countless Jews and people of other seemingly undesirable ethnic groups were murdered.

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