History Sets You Free



44577003438525Who were the Gestapo?Which organisation was in charge of them overall?Which individual was in charge of the Gestapo?Why were they so threatening to regular German people?What power did the Gestapo have?Where was the first concentration camp opened?What were inmates used for?0Who were the Gestapo?Which organisation was in charge of them overall?Which individual was in charge of the Gestapo?Why were they so threatening to regular German people?What power did the Gestapo have?Where was the first concentration camp opened?What were inmates used for?4448175933450Who was the leader of the SS?What advantage did Hitler have by solely using the SS for his security services?What other symbolic purpose did the SS serve?0Who was the leader of the SS?What advantage did Hitler have by solely using the SS for his security services?What other symbolic purpose did the SS serve?4438015-704850What is the definition of a police state?Why can we describe Nazi Germany as a police state?00What is the definition of a police state?Why can we describe Nazi Germany as a police state?-638174-714375The Nazi police stateNazi Germany was a police state. This is a state in which the government uses the police – sometimes secret police – to control people’s lives. Views opposed to the Nazis were suppressed. The main organisations used by Hitler to exert this control over Germany were the SS and the Gestapo.The SS (Schutzstaffel)The SS was a military group, set up in 1925 as a personal bodyguard for Hitler. From 1929 it was run by Heinrich Himmler. The main role of the SS was to be the Nazi Party’s own private police force. They were totally loyal to Hitler. It was the SS who warned him about Rohm in 1934 and Hitler used SS officers to murder SA leaders during the Night of the Long Knives. Gradually, during the 1930s, the SS was expanded to 50,000 men and put in charge of all the other state security services.Another role of the SS was to carry out the Nazi policy of racial purity. One part of the SS was the Totenkopf (Death’s Head Units), who ran concentration camps.Himmler was careful about recruitment to the SS. He ensured that members were Aryan in appearance; they were expected to marry ‘racially pure’ wives.The GestapoThe Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei) was Hitler’s non uniformed secret police force. They were set up in 1933 by Herman Goering and placed under the control of the SS in 1936. The Gestapo was led by Reinhard Heydrich. Germans particularly feared the Gestapo because they could not tell them apart from other members of the public. The Gestapo arrested people who acted against or spoke out in any way against the Nazi ideals. Offenders could be imprisoned without trial. All states have police forces. But in most states the police have to act within the law and can be held to account in the courts. However, the SS and Gestapo could arrest people without being responsible to anyone but their commanders and Hitler.By 1939 150,000 people were under ‘protective arrest’ in prisons. This means that they had not committed criminal acts like stealing. They were just locked up for doing things that the Nazis disapproved of, such as voicing views opposed to Hitler and the Nazis. Once in the prisons; they were at the mercy of their guards.Concentration campsThe first Nazi concentration camp was opened at Dachau in 1933. Later that year, the first camp for women was opened at Moringen. Camps were normally located in isolated areas outside cities and away from the public gaze. They were secretive places, not controlled by normal prison rules.Inmates were mainly political prisoners or ‘undesirables’ - like prostitutes and minority groups, such as Jews – of whom the Nazis disapproved. From 1938 onwards, the SS used camp inmates as forced labour for business enterprises, for example producing army uniforms.There were six concentration camps by 1939, holding about 20,000 people in total. After 1939, concentration camps grew in number and size and they were used for the mass murder of minority groups such as the Jews.00The Nazi police stateNazi Germany was a police state. This is a state in which the government uses the police – sometimes secret police – to control people’s lives. Views opposed to the Nazis were suppressed. The main organisations used by Hitler to exert this control over Germany were the SS and the Gestapo.The SS (Schutzstaffel)The SS was a military group, set up in 1925 as a personal bodyguard for Hitler. From 1929 it was run by Heinrich Himmler. The main role of the SS was to be the Nazi Party’s own private police force. They were totally loyal to Hitler. It was the SS who warned him about Rohm in 1934 and Hitler used SS officers to murder SA leaders during the Night of the Long Knives. Gradually, during the 1930s, the SS was expanded to 50,000 men and put in charge of all the other state security services.Another role of the SS was to carry out the Nazi policy of racial purity. One part of the SS was the Totenkopf (Death’s Head Units), who ran concentration camps.Himmler was careful about recruitment to the SS. He ensured that members were Aryan in appearance; they were expected to marry ‘racially pure’ wives.The GestapoThe Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei) was Hitler’s non uniformed secret police force. They were set up in 1933 by Herman Goering and placed under the control of the SS in 1936. The Gestapo was led by Reinhard Heydrich. Germans particularly feared the Gestapo because they could not tell them apart from other members of the public. The Gestapo arrested people who acted against or spoke out in any way against the Nazi ideals. Offenders could be imprisoned without trial. All states have police forces. But in most states the police have to act within the law and can be held to account in the courts. However, the SS and Gestapo could arrest people without being responsible to anyone but their commanders and Hitler.By 1939 150,000 people were under ‘protective arrest’ in prisons. This means that they had not committed criminal acts like stealing. They were just locked up for doing things that the Nazis disapproved of, such as voicing views opposed to Hitler and the Nazis. Once in the prisons; they were at the mercy of their guards.Concentration campsThe first Nazi concentration camp was opened at Dachau in 1933. Later that year, the first camp for women was opened at Moringen. Camps were normally located in isolated areas outside cities and away from the public gaze. They were secretive places, not controlled by normal prison rules.Inmates were mainly political prisoners or ‘undesirables’ - like prostitutes and minority groups, such as Jews – of whom the Nazis disapproved. From 1938 onwards, the SS used camp inmates as forced labour for business enterprises, for example producing army uniforms.There were six concentration camps by 1939, holding about 20,000 people in total. After 1939, concentration camps grew in number and size and they were used for the mass murder of minority groups such as the Jews. ................
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