The Gestapo Flashcards
What was the Gestapo?
The Gestapo were a non-uniformed, undercover secret police force. They were
set up in 1933 by Goering but by 1936 Reinhard Heydrich became leader.
The main aim of the Gestapo was to identify anyone who opposed the Nazis. They spied on people, tapped phones and used networks of informers to identify suspects. The Gestapo were also given permission to use methods of torture when questioning suspects to gain confessions.
Why was the Gestapo so feared?
The Gestapo were so powerful as they were feared by everyone in Germany. It was impossible to tell them apart from members of the public as their job was to blend in. In 1939, 160,000 people were arrested for opposing the Nazi regime.
❑ To create even more fear, the Gestapo would often arrive in the early hours of the morning to arrest suspects who could be taken to prison without trial. Those arrested might not be seen again with many being taken to concentration camps. Occasionally, the Gestapo created more fear by releasing prisoners from the concentration camps. The prisoners’ horrific accounts of what happened there created even more fear of the Gestapo.
❑ Most historians agree that the fear of the Gestapo was more powerful than the power they actually had. There were never any more than 30,000 Gestapo officers to watch over a population of over 80 million people. However, the public always believed that they being watched by the Gestapo and so the fear of them was hugely significant.
