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Gestapo

File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R97512,_Berlin,_Geheimes_Staatspolizeihauptamt.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Geheime Staatspolizei

The ' (, , abbreviated Gestapo' ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.

AI overview

The Gestapo was the secret police force of Nazi Germany and operated throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It matters historically because it was the official instrument of state repression and control under the Nazi regime, making it central to understanding how the Nazi government enforced its authority and carried out its policies.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Law enforcement agency.agencyname
Gestapo
Law enforcement agency.flag
200px
Law enforcement agency.flagcaption
Gestapo headquarters at Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 8 in Berlin (1933)
Law enforcement agency.preceding1
Prussian Secret Police (founded 1851)
Law enforcement agency.employees
32,000 (1944 )
Law enforcement agency.legaljuris
Germany and occupied Europe
Law enforcement agency.secret
yes
Law enforcement agency.speciality1
<!-- up to
Law enforcement agency.speciality6
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Law enforcement agency.headquarters
Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 8, Berlin
Law enforcement agency.electeetype
Minister
Law enforcement agency.minister1name
Hermann Göring 1933–1934
Law enforcement agency.minister1pfo
Minister President of Prussia
Law enforcement agency.minister2name
Wilhelm Frick 1936–1943
Law enforcement agency.minister2pfo
Interior Minister
Law enforcement agency.minister3name
Heinrich Himmler
Law enforcement agency.minister3pfo
Chief of the German Police, 1936–1945; Interior Minister, 1943–1945
Law enforcement agency.chief1name
Rudolf Diels (1933–1934)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Official name
Geheime Staatspolizei
Image
Gestapomen following the white buses.jpg
Show 5 more facts
Commons category
Gestapo
inception
1933-04-26
dissolved, abolished or demolished date
1945-10-10
native label
Gestapo
Sources (7)

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~57 min read

Article

27 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Counterintelligence
  • Suppression of resistance and persecution
  • Trade unions
  • Implications of the Nuremberg Laws
  • Religious dissent
  • Homosexuality
  • Student opposition
  • General opposition and military conspiracy
  • Organisation
  • Female criminal investigation career
  • Membership
  • Population ratios, methods, and effectiveness
  • Torture
  • Operations in Nazi-occupied territories
  • Nuremberg trials
  • Aftermath
  • Leadership
  • Timeline
  • Principal agents and officers
  • Ranks and uniforms
  • See also
  • Notes
  • Citations
  • Bibliography
  • Further reading
  • External links

The ' (, , abbreviated Gestapo' ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.

The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. 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. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the (SD; Security Service).

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