The terror state - police system Flashcards
What is a totalitarian state ?
- total obedience to state/ leader
Did the Nazis abolish the police forces ?
- Did not abolish the three separate police forces
- created a system of party- controlled, political police forces that worked for Hitler
What was the police system ?
- the SS
- the SD
- the SA
- the Gestapo
What did the police systems work as ?
- worked as instruments of repression
main role of the SS ?
- involved in the identification and arrest of political prisoners
Was the SS successful ?
- Between 1933 - 1939 about 225,000 Germans are convicted and imprisoned political primes
Was the SS the main Nazi party organisation ?
- After the NOPTLK , became the main Nazi party organisation
What was membership of the ss like ?
- By 1935, SS membership was at 200,000, climbing to 240,000 by the start of war
Were the SS more systematic ?
- From 1936 visible tightening of control and increase in repression, seen by the increase in concentration camp inmates
- SS far more systematic than the SA
What were violence and murder symbols of ?
- state power
What was the role of the SS in the creation of the Volksgemeinschaft ?
- heavily integral in the creation of a Volksgemeinschaft
- Role in concentration camps and the selection and intimidation of people helped get rid of Nazi enemies
What was the role of the SD ?
- role was internal security and service of the Nazi Party
– set up to investigate claims that the party had been infiltrated by its political enemies
How did the role of the SD change/ develop ?
- After 1933, the SD’s role was intelligence gathering
- one of its main role was to monitor public opinion, identify those who voted no in plebiscites -
importance of the SD ?
- Important to ensure conformity
Membership of SD ?
- bY 1939, SD had 50,000 officers, a sign of importance
LimItations/ Weaknesses/ CA of the SD
- SD was a Nazi Party organisation, worked independently to the Gestapo which was a state organisation
- Led to overlap and confusion between the two organisations
- SD was staffed by not professional officers but amateurs who were committed to the Nazis
What was the role of the Gestapo ?
- secret state police
How did the Gestapo develop under Nazi regime ?
- Under Nazi regime, its operations were extended to cover the whole country
Where were the Gestapo originally ?
- Prussia
What reputation did the Gestapo have ?
- Gestapo had a reputation of being ‘ all knowing ‘
How large was the Gestapo in reality ?
- Only 20,000 officers in 1939 to cover the whole country
Limitation of Gestapo officers ?
- officers were mainly office - based, not field agents
- many were not members of the Nazi Party, instead they were professional police officers who saw their role as serving the state
What did the Gestapo rely on ?
- relied on informers
role of informers ?
- Informers were Nazi Party activists asked to spy on neighbours and workmates and supply information
What were block leaders ?
- Every block of flats and every residential street had its block leader who would report suspicious activity
impact of voluntary denunciations ?
- even more information came from voluntary denunciations of workmates and neighbours by ordinary Germans
Limitation of voluntary denunciations ?
often voluntary denunciations was as a result of a personal grudge rather than real information
Percentage of reports from general population ?
- 57 %
percentage of observations by Gestapo agents ?
- 0.5%
Limitation / Weakness/CA of Gestapo ?
- lacked personnel
Dusseldorf with a population of 4 million had only 281 agents ( lacked man power )
Success/ Impact of the Gestapo ?
- successful in creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion
- Political debate and criticism stifled
- Belief that gestapo agents and informers were everywhere made people adjust behaviour accordingly and obediently.
