The Police State in Nazi Germany (AQA GCSE History)

Aspects of the Nazi Police State - Summary

When Hitler became Führer of Germany on 2nd August 1934, he wanted to transform Germany into a Police State to ensure that there would be no obstacles to creating his Third Reich.

As dedicated Nazis, the SS formed the backbone of Hitler’s police force and oversaw the roles of the Gestapo and SD. Their intimidating presence on the streets of Germany, combined with their ability to bypass legal proceedings, spread fear into those who thought about resisting or opposing Nazi policy.

Of all the components of the police force, the Gestapo were perhaps the most infamous and feared. They were infamous for their late-night visits to suspected opponents of the Nazi Party, as well as their ability to blend into public life and remain unseen.

Concentration camps - beginning with Dachau in 1933 - were created to imprison all opponents of the Nazi regime. Details of the poor living conditions and violence committed were leaked back to the public, creating fear and ensuring compliance.

Changes to the legal system drastically increased the conviction rate and number of people executed due to treasonous crimes. With the removal of trial by jury, enemies of the state were at the mercy of pro-Nazi judges influenced to declare them guilty.

The SS

• The SS was created in 1925 to act as personal bodyguards to Hitler

• Members had to be both ‘racially pure’ and radically loyal to the NSDAP

• Heinrich Himmler became leader of the SS from 1929

• The SS wore black uniforms

• The SS had several roles:

  • protect Hitler and other Nazi leaders

  • provide security during political meetings

  • urge people to subscribe to the Nazi newspaper, Der Völkischer Beobachter

  • marry ‘racially pure’ wives to create ‘racially pure’ children

• The SS broke down into three key units

  • The SD

  • The Waffen SS

  • The Death's Head Units

The SD

• The SD was created in 1931 by Heinrich Himmler

  • Reinhard Heydrich was placed in charge

• They gathered intelligence on anyone they suspected or knew opposed the Nazi Party, which included:

  • existing and new Nazi Party members

  • leaders and activities within other political parties

  • minority groups such as Jewish people, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Freemasons

  • government officials 

The Waffen SS

• The Waffen SS was created in late 1939 by Heinrich Himmler

• It was a military branch of the SS

  • They fought in most of the significant military campaigns in the war

• During the Second World War, the Waffen SS grew to have 500,000 members

The Death's Head Units

• The Death's Head Units were created in 1934 by Theodor Eicke, the first commandant of Dachau

• Initially, the unit ran concentration camps

  • They were trained to treat prisoners harshly and cruelly

• After the Wannsee Conference, Death's Head Units were ordered to operate the new extermination camps

• By January 1945, there were 40,000 members of the Death's Head Units

  • Many historians argue that the Nazi's focus on the Final Solution took key men and resources from their war effort

The Gestapo

• Hermann Goering initially created the Gestapo to 'investigate and combat all attempts to threaten the state'

• By 1934, Reinhard Heydrich led the Gestapo

• They were infamous for wearing plain clothes so they could not be easily identifiable

• The Gestapo had several roles:

  • tapping phones and spying on opponents

  • arresting, questioning and torturing suspects

    • Around 160,000 people were arrested in 1939 for political crimes

  • sending people directly to concentration camps using protective custody

  • releasing information about concentration camp conditions to spread fear

• They relied on denunciations from the public to target suspects:

  • only around 10% of political crimes committed were discovered by the Gestapo, compared to 80% reported by ordinary citizens

• Towns such as Hamburg and Frankfurt only had 40-50 Gestapo agents, which demonstrates the reliance on fear to reduce opposition

Concentration camps in Nazi Germany

• Most arrests made by the police services were related to ‘political crimes’, which involved speaking out against the Nazi Party

• Dachau was opened in 1933 and became the first concentration camp in Nazi Germany

• Concentration camps were created to imprison many groups:

  • minority groups such as Jewish people and Jehovah’s Witnesses

  • ‘undesirables’ such as homosexuals, prostitutes and Romani

  • political opponents, including journalists, writers, intellectuals and communists

• Conditions in concentration camps were awful and inmates were forced to do hard labour

The Nazi police & law courts

• Control of the legal system allowed the Nazi Party to remove opposition under the illusion that it was fair and just

  • However, cases were often pre-determined and biased in favour of a conviction

Judges and lawyers  

• Judges and lawyers were required to prioritise the interests of the Nazi Party above all else

  • Judges joined the National Socialist League for the Maintenance of the Law

    • Judges were dismissed if they did not join

  • Lawyers joined the German Lawyers Front

• Judges had to wear the swastika from 1936

• Judges decided the outcome of cases, not the jury

Law courts 

•  Trial by jury was removed so that judges could decide the outcome of the case

• The People’s Court was introduced to hear cases of treason

  • Judges radically loyal to the Nazi Party were selected

  • Trials were held in secret

  • The right to appeal was removed

• Control of the legal system led to a rapid rise in the number of political opponents executed:

  • Between 1930 and 1932, only eight people were executed

  • Between 1934 and 1939, this increased to 534 people