3.2 the police state Flashcards
What is a police state?
when a government uses the police to control everyone’s lives
How did the nazi form a police state?
through the SS, SD and the Gestapo
Why did Hitler set up his own security forces?
because he realised not all the existing German police supported him
What was the SS, when was it set up, who was it led by and what did they wear?
protection squad/ personal bodyguard for Hitler
1925
led by Heinrich Himmler
black uniforms
What was the job of the SS?
they controlled all Germany’s police and security forces
they acted outside the law
they ran the concentration camps
members had to marry “racially pure” wives
How many SS men were there during the 1930s?
240,000
What was the SD, when was it set up, who was it led by?
a security force for the Nazi Party to monitor its opponents
set up by Heinrich himmler in 1931
led by Reynhard Heydrich
What did the SD do?
they spied on all opponents of the Nazi Party, both home and abroad
What was the Gestapo,
when was it set up,
who was it led by and what did they wear?
secret police force
set up by Herman Goering in 1933
led by Reynhard Heydrich
wore plain clothes
What did the Gestapo do?
they spied on people, prosecuted people for speaking out against the Nazis and sent people to concentration camps and used torture
How many people in 1939 were arrested for political offences by the Gestapo?
160,000 people
What was the main weapon of the Gestapo and why?
Fear:
German people feared the Gestapo because they could not tell them apart from other members of the public
many offenders that the Gestapo arrested could be imprisoned without trial
when rumours leaked about the conditions in the concentration camps, fear of the Gestapo grew even more as many offenders were put there
Give an example of how effective the Gestapo was in terms of numbers?
There were never more than 30,000 Gestapo to police a population of about 80 million
who were the concentration camps run by?
ss and the SA
When and where did the first concentration camp open?
Dachau
1933
what were features of concentration camps (where did they tend to be and how were people treated)
- located in isolated areas away from the city and public gaze
- inmates were treated badly and forced to do hard labour
Who were the inmates in concentration camps?
- undesirables (like prostitutes and homosexuals)
- minority groups, such as Jews
- political prisoners
How did Hitler control the judges?
- all judges must be members of the National socialist league for the Maintenence of the Law,
* this way, Hitler could ensure that all judges would support Nazi ideas - All judges had to favour the Nazi party in any decision
How did Hitler control the law courts?
- he abolished trial by jury- only judges could decide who was innocent or guilty
- He set up a People’s court to hear all treason cases. Trials were held in secret and judges were hand-picked.
Between 1934 and 1939 how many people were sentenced to death for political offences?
534
Between 1930 and 1932 how many people were sentenced to death for political offences?
(this is before Nazi rule, therefore compare it with other figures)
8
