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Whitney Perry
John Lundstrom
English
12 October 2015

The Gestapo
We all know about the terrible acts and things that occurred during World War II. We
have all heard the horrific stories of how much suffering and pain that was inflicted upon those
who were victims of WWII. A question that is often asked is, who or what organizations played a
huge role in enforcing these actions? How much did their action help further the Germans
during the war? The Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State police) which was nicknamed the
Gestapo, was an organization made up of different police units. There were many of these
throughout Germany and many of Germanys invaded territories. The Gestapo played a major
role in carrying out the deaths of millions of people.
The Gestapo was organized in 1933 when the nazis officially seized power. In the Article
Nazi Perpetrators: The Gestapo, it describes the Gestapo saying ....Gestapo was the secret police
of Nazi Germany, and its main tool of oppression and destruction, which persecuted Germans,
opponents of the regime, and Jews. (1) The Gestapo was founded by Hermann Gring in April
1933, and was later put under the direct control of Heinrich Himmler who was also the leader of
the all police units in Nazi Germany. The Gestapos main job was to clear out anyone who they thought
was a threat to Nazi Germany. In the Article The Gestapo by Chris Trueman it speaks of who the
Gestapos main targets were, and it states By the time World War Two started these included Jews,
Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals -- basically anyone who was thought to challenge the
hegemony of the Nazi Party within Germany. (1)

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Reinhard Heydrich was a big influence on the Gestapo and he contributed a great deal of
knowledge that helped create the ways of the Gestapo. In the Article The History Place The
Triumph of Hitler The Gestapo is born states .....Heydrich proved to be something of a genius in
creating a hugely efficient national intelligence system that kept tabs on everyone.(1) Through
this system the Gestapo were able to arrest those who they thought were threats to the Nazis, and
therefore it was easier for them to keep track of anyone and everyone.
One of the first things that Gring did when he was in charge of the Gestapo, was make
sure that the regular police could not question the Gestapo officers, meaning that the Police who
were supposed to be protecting the people could not do anything to stop a Gestapo officer from
doing what he wanted. The Article The History Place The Triumph of Hitler The Gestapo is born
says Now the storm troopers had actual power of arrest and they relished its use. Jails were soon
overflowing with people taken into "protective custody" resulting in the need for large outside
prison camps, the birth of the concentration camp system. (1) Also in the Article The Gestapo it
states The Gestapo acted outside of the normal judicial process and it had its own courts and
effectively acted as judge, jury and frequently executioner.(1)
The Gestapo had a reputation in efficiency and brutality. The Gestapo had many tactics to
get what they wanted whether it was information or just a way to get rid of you. Anyone who
was against Hitler would often be taken by the Gestapo and never seen again, even if it was just a
joke making fun of Hitler or a statement against the Nazis. One of the common techniques that
the Gestapo often used was torture or Interrogation. The Article The Article The History Place
The Triumph of Hitler The Gestapo is born tells some of the interrogation tactics that they used
and they include repeated near drownings of a prisoner in a bathtub filled with ice-cold water;
electric shocks by attaching wires to hands, feet, ears and genitalia; crushing a man's testicles in a

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special vice; securing a prisoner's wrists behind his back then hanging him by the arms causing
shoulder dislocation; beatings with rubber nightsticks and cow-hide whips; and burning flesh
with matches or a soldering iron.(1) These are just a few of the techniques that were used and
there are many more.
Overall, The Gestapo was an organization used to terrorize and get rid of anyone or
anything who they saw to be in the wrong. Also after the war ended many of the Gestapo
criminal officers got away with no trial for what they did. Many fled after the war ended and
some were never found and brought to trial Many were killed during the war as well. The
Gestapo played a major role in carrying out the deaths of millions of people.

Works Cited
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nazi-germany/the-gestapo/
//www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Gestapo.html and Gutman, Israel.
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. Gestapo. Volume 1: A-K. NY: Simon and Schuster.
1990.

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Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
Britannica.com. Gestapo.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-gestapo.htm