The SS Gestapo Complex

Question 1

The SS Gestapo Complex
Background Fact - Who were the SS and Gestapo?

Answer 1

The SS and Gestapo were two of the most feared groups in Germany due to their violence and power of arbitrary arrest.

Question 2

The SS Gestapo Complex
The SS - members

Answer 2

The SS had 250,000 members by 1939, which rose to 1 million by 1944.

Question 3

The SS Gestapo Complex
The SS - role

Answer 3

Their jobs included running concentration camps and Lebensborn clinics.

Question 4

The SS Gestapo Complex
Gestapo - members

Answer 4

The Gestapo was a small organisation of a secret police force, having only 30,000 members.

Question 5

The SS Gestapo Complex
Gestapo - role

Answer 5

Both of the groups helped to stop Nazi opposition through intimidation tactics and fear-mongering. 80% of Gestapo arrests came from denunciations which were often false.

Question 6

The SS Gestapo Complex
Historians - destroying resistance

Answer 6

Robert Gellately - The function of the SS and Gestapo is not just about destroying resistance but also enforcing the government’s various different policies.