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The Machinery of Terror Including the SS, the Law Courts, Concentration…
The Machinery of Terror Including the SS, the Law Courts, Concentration Camps and the Gestapo
The SS
The SS
The SS (Schutzstaffel) began as an offshoot of the SA with around 250 members who acted as a personal bodyguard to Hitler
Himmler became leader in 1929 and it became a paramilitary organisation with a reputation for obedience and commitment
By 1933 it only numbered 52,000
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Spies, police courts, concentration camps all came to be controlled by the SS and Heinrich Himmler. It was the key organisation in the 'machinery of terror'
"The best political weapon is the weapon of terror. Cruelty commands respect. Men may hate us. But we don't ask for their love; only their fear" - Heinrich Himmler
Intelligence Gathering
The SS gathered intelligence on people through the Gestapo and informers. The main methods of intelligence gathering were:
The SD (Secret Service)
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The SD focused on opposition to the party itself - especially the Church. They did not focus on individual opposition
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The Gestapo
The Gestapo was the Secret Police. It spied on the public to remove opposition. The gestapo began as the Prussian state police
It had 15,000 officers to police a population of 66 million. The Gestapo was feared. It could arrest and imprison any person suspected of opposing the Nazi state. From 1933, it focused on political opposition but its role expanded to target Jews, gay people and religious dissenters
The Gestapo tapped phone lines and opened mail. However, they mostly relied on informers using the Nazi's system of Block Leaders
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The Justice System
The police, judges and courts
The Nazis controlled the courts. Potential enemies were removed. The Nazis could enforce any new laws they passed and issue punishments
Police
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In 1936, the police were put under the control of the SS. The Orpo (ordinary police) and the Kripo (criminal police) continued their duties but they became an important part of the terror
Judges and courts
Judges had to swear an oath to Hitler. Sentences became severe. Criminal offences punishable by a death sentence rose from 3 in 1933 to 46 in 1943. 40,000 were sent to death with many death sentences passed by the People's Court
The People's Court was a new type of court set up in Nazi Germany to try people for political crimes
Concentration Camps
Concentration camps
Aside from death, this was the ultimate punishment for people. The aim was to keep people away from society and in harsh conditions
Early years
70 concentration camps were set up in 1933 to imprison 45,000 Communists, trade unionists and political opposition
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