The Gestapo & SS

The Nazi Police State

Hitler ran Germany as a police state. This means that the police controlled every aspect of daily life for German citizens. The Gestapo and SS were two key groups in this system.

The Gestapo

The Gestapo was Hitler’s secret police service, set up by Hermann Goering in 1933 and led by Reynhard Heydrich (centre) in 1934.
- The Gestapo did not wear uniforms as they were secret investigators.

The purpose of the Gestapo

The Gestapo was a small unit of 50,000 policemen who relied on informers to identify opponents. There were up to 200,000 informers in the Gestapo during the Nazi regime.
They spied on German citizens and prosecuted people who spoke against the Nazi regime.
- Punishment for such a crime was torture or being sent to a concentration camp.

The SS (Schutzstaffel)

The SS was Hitler’s Protection Squad (bodyguards).
- It was set up in 1925 and led by Heinrich Himmler.
The SS recruited Aryans. It was an expectation that SS troops would also have children with Aryan women.
SS troops were highly trained and very disciplined (this was one reason why Hitler preferred them to the SA).
They wore black uniforms.

The role of the SS

The SS were in charge of Germany’s police force.
- They had the power to search people’s property and send them to prison without receiving a trial.
- They ran the concentration camps.
In the Second World War, the SS were in charge of the Einsatzgruppen and death camps.

1Dictatorship

1.1Hitler & The Nazi Party in 1933

1.1.1The Origins of the Nazi Party

1.1.2Hitler & The Growth of the Party

1.1.3The 1932 Election

1.2Establishing Dictatorship, 1933-1934

1.2.1Establishing Dictatorship

1.2.2Achieving Total Power, July 1933 - August 1934

1.2.3End of Topic Test - Dictatorship

1.2.4Grade 9 - Dictatorship

2Control & Opposition

2.1The Machinery of Terror

2.1.1Police State & Legal System

2.1.2The Gestapo & SS

2.1.3Concentration Camps

2.1.4End of Topic Test - Control & Opposition

2.2Nazi Propaganda

2.2.1The Effectiveness of Nazi Propaganda

2.3Opposition to Nazi Rule

2.3.1The Left

2.3.2Church Leaders

2.3.3Youth Groups

2.3.4Support for Nazi Rule

2.3.5End of Topic Test - Propaganda & Opposition

2.3.6Grade 9 - Propaganda & Opposition

3Changing Lives, 1933-1939

3.1Work & Home

3.1.1Work

3.1.2Home

3.2The Lives of Young People

3.2.1Education

3.2.2Youth Movements

3.3Nazi Racial Policy

3.3.1Racial Policy

3.3.2Persecution of the Jews

3.3.3End of Topic Test 0 Changing Lives

3.3.4Grade 9 - Changing Lives

4Germany in War

4.1The Impact of War

4.1.1Impact of the War Economy on the People

4.1.2Impact of Total War on the People

4.2Growing Opposition from the German People

4.2.1Opposition from the People

4.2.2Opposition from the Army

4.2.3End of Topic Test - Germany in War

4.2.4Grade 9 - Germany in War

5Occupation

5.1Nazi Rule in Eastern and Western Europe

5.1.1The Start of World War 2

5.1.2Western Europe

5.1.3Eastern Europe

5.1.4End of Topic Test - Occupation

5.2The Final Solution

5.2.1Ghettos & Executions

5.2.2Death Camps

5.2.3End of Topic Test - The Final Solution

5.3Responses to Nazi Rule

5.3.1Collaboration

5.3.2Accommodation

5.3.3Resistance

5.3.4End of Topic Test - Responses to Nazi Rule

5.3.5Grade 9 - Occupation

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