The Police as an Agency of the National Socialist Dictatorship
The appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of the Reich on 30 January 1933 led to the establishment of the National Socialist dictatorship. Within a few months the Länder in the German Reich were “brought into line” and the political parties were banned. The police were the most important instrument in the persecution of political opponents and the installation of the dictatorship.
The Nazi state created new structures for the police. From 1934 on they had to swear an oath to the Führer Adolf Hitler. The mindset and actions of the police should no longer be oriented on law and order, but rather on Volk – the German people – and “race”. The police should act as a “doctor on the body of the people” and engage in a preventive fight against all undesirable elements.
The Geheime Staatspolizei – the Gestapo – stood for the embodiment of Nazi terror. As an institution for the fight against political and ideological opposition they were endowed with extensive powers. It was at the discretion of the Gestapo to say who was to be considered an opponent.
