GESTAPO AND S.S

DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATIONS:

Gestapo was the secret state police of Europe after the Nazi's seized power in April of 1933. A main tool of oppression and destruction was to persecute Germans, Jews, and opponents of the regime.

Task Forces (mobile killing squads), became a integral part of Gestapo. These Killing Units underwent training to learn basic torture techniques such as the horrific practices of German doctors in Dachau that conducted experiments on the inmates of concentration camps.

DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATIONS: GESTAPO

• Barbaric threats
• Premeditated cruelty
• Gestapo units were "above the law"
• Unconditional authority added an elite element to them
• Directed by Heinrich Himmler

DESCRIPTION ON ORGANIZATIONS:

SCHUTZSTAFFEL (SS)

• Directed by Heinrich Himmler
• Hitler's elite Paramilitary Corps in April 1936
• Reponsible for all matters of security and racial policy
• Must have blonde hair, blue eyes, and be physically fit
• Ruthless state organization with loyal members

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Gestapo was responsible for the catching and (in most cases) killing those that didn't follow Hitler's regime on the spot.

ARREST PROCEDURES

• Victim is given 3 minutes to gather items
• You may say good-bye to your immediate family
• Forced to sign an order of protective custody
• If you do not sign you will be beaten
• If continued to refuse signing, signature was forged

JOBS OF GESTAPO

• Could tap phones of Jews
• May enter property without permission
• Had a network of informers
• Had powers of arrest and imprisionment without trial

JOBS OF SS

• Originally Hitler's bodyguard
• Power to arrest and imprison without trial
• Be loyal to Hitler

HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

DIFFERENCES

• SS- Administrative but held ideals of a party
• Gestapo- formed only after Hitler is elected Chancellor
• Gestapo- directed by SS leaders
• SS- para- millary political group

HIENRICH HIMMLER

CHILD: HIMMLER

• Born October 7, 1900
• Very smart as a child, went to higher school
• Lung infection as a toddler; always sick
• Very sensitive to rankings
• Very little affection from father

LATER LIFE: HIMMLER

• Leader of the SS
• Head of the police in Nazi, Germany
• Police included Gestapo units
• Set up labor and death camps.
• Reoccuring health problems

YOUNG MAN: HIMMLER

• Lacked inner emotional core
• Possessed a weak ego that allowed him identity
• Diagnosed with "Schziod", meaning "severely disturbed"
• He could not control his hostility toward his father
• He feard one thing as a young man: losing all control

DEATH PERCENTAGE BY COUNTRY

Chart: " Memoirs from Turbulent years and beyond", Hubert Poetschke, 9/18/2008