As a totalitarian police state, the National Socialist regime in Germany developed a pervasive and overlapping security apparatus. As in the command structure of the Wehrmacht, Hitler divided power among many components, which included:
Sturmabteilung (SA, “Storm Section,” informally called “Brown Shirts”): Begun in 1921, the SA played a key role in the Nazi takeover of power. During the 1920s and early 1930s, it was the Nazi Party’s primary paramilitary unit, deployed for street fighting, intimidation, and security for Party events. After the Nazis took power in 1933, the SA were frequently deputized as supplementary police, enforced the boycott on Jewish stores, and terrorized opponents. Led by the flamboyant Ernst Rohm, the radical SA employed 4.5 million men under arms. It was a rival to Himmler’s SS and deeply disliked by the Army. In 1934, Hitler authorized the SS to carry out a purge of Rohm and other top SA leaders, along with miscellaneous political opponents—the “Night of the Long Knives.” The SA as an organization continued but was permanently diminished in power and prestige.
SchutzStaffel (SS, “Protection Detail”): The SS began in 1925 as security for Party meetings and a bodyguard for Hitler. It was considered the elite paramilitary unit of the Party, Hitler’s “Praetorian Guard.” There were a number of important divisions of the SS. The Allgemeine SS, or General SS, provided the bodyguard for Hitler and other leaders, maintained general internal security, and staffed border checkpoints and some prisons. The Sicherheitsdeinst (SD) was the intelligence service of the SS, gathering internal and external intelligence as well as contributing to security efforts in occupied territories and coordinating foreign fifth column activities in places such as Austria and the Sudetenland. SD-Inland operated inside Germany, while SD-Ausland operated abroad. The SS-Totenkopfverbande (“Death’s Head Formations”) staffed concentration camps. Finally, the Waffen-SS formed combat units that fought alongside the Army on most fronts. With Heinrich Himmler at the head, SS personnel had to prove their racial purity back several generations, underwent rigorous ideological indoctrination, and were required to renounce Christian beliefs.
Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei): The Secret State Police was created shortly after the Nazi takeover when Hermann Goering, as Interior Minister of Prussia, combined political and intelligence units of the Prussian State police. In 1934, Goering handed over control to Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, and in 1936 the Gestapo became national in scope and was consolidated with the criminal police (KriPo) under the banner of Security Police (SiPo), while Himmler was named chief of all German police. Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, the Gestapo became Department IV of the newly-created Reich Main Security Office (RSHA). The Gestapo had unlimited power of arrest and detention not subject to judicial review, and could hold someone without charge indefinitely under so-called “protective custody.” Within the security apparatus, it was given responsibility to monitor and combat anything that might threaten the National Socialist state, including political opposition, churches and sects, espionage, and sabotage. The Gestapo also had a department responsible for security in the occupied territories and played an important role in apprehension and deportation of Jews inside and outside of Germany. Despite its reputation for omnipresence, the Gestapo employed fewer than 800 agents in Berlin. It relied heavily on paid and unpaid informers, starting with the NSDAP block wardens who each watched over 40 to 60 households. There was also a network of “V-Men” official informers—”persons of trust”—often compromised by a previous offense and sometimes released early upon a promise of cooperation. In addition, ordinary citizens and civil servants were expected to report anything suspicious, and many did. The Gestapo and SD worked closely together, sometimes even sharing personnel who had ranks in both.
Abwehr: Created in 1920 under the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, Abwehr was initially focused on military counterintelligence. As the Nazi regime stepped away from the treaty, Abwehr’s role expanded into foreign intelligence and sabotage, thus overlapping with SD. During World War II, it operated under the umbrella of OKW, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the armed forces high command. Concerns about its effectiveness and its loyalty led Hitler to abolish Abwehr as an independent entity in February 1944. Its functions were absorbed by RSHA.
Reich Main Security Office (RSHA): Formed in 1939 to bring unified command to the SD, Gestapo, and KriPo, RSHA was initially headed by Reinhard Heydrich, hand-picked head of the SD.
Sources
Jacques Delarue, The Gestapo: A History of Horror.
Roger Moorhouse, Berlin at War, pp. 220-246.