testimony from Rudolf Diels a former Nazi police official 1

testimony from Rudolf Diels, a former Nazi police official

(1) What are the organizations used by the Nazis to enforce terror on the Geman population?

(2) What methods do they use?

Solution

The testimony of Rudolf Diels, former Chief of Gestapo (Nazi\'s Politics Policy) is famous because he writes a sworn statement, made voluntarily (Affidavit) by an affiant which is a person authorized to do it by law. His statement was about the point of view of Nazis with respect their adversaries and a description of some human rights violations during Third Reich.

What are the organizations used by the Nazis to enforce terror on the German population?

They had an extra judicial structure to prosecute and to control population. They began with the Sturmabteilung (SA) which was the paramilitary arm of the NSDAP (former Nazi party), used as a shock force to intimidate population before 1933. Later as a division of SA was created Schutzstaffel (SS) as bodyguard of Hitler. Then, in 1934 (after the \"night of long knives\") the SS was separated of the SA.

The Sicherheitsdienst (SD) was the intelligence service of the SS, also was a kind of party organisation. The SD had hundreds of agents and several thousands of informants among Germany and the occupied territories.

The Geheime Staats Polizei (GeStaPo) was the political police, founded 1933 by Göring as a police division, but in 1936 Himmler became head of the GeStaPo. The GeStaPo had the atrubution to arrest without trial.

What methods do they use?

Persons who were deprived of their freedom.

Citizens subdued to severe bodily mistreatment or executed.

These persons were confined illegally in camps, often old military barracks, storm troop quarters or fortresses.

Later on these places became known as concentration camps.

These action were made against numerous politicians, deputies, writers, doctors, lawyers and other personalities of leading circles.

Non of these actions were investigated and were cataloged as \"shot while trying to escape\" or \"resisting arrest\".