Police state

• What is a police state?

  Controlling people through the fear of the police
• What defines a totalitarian state?

  The government controls everything
• When was the Gestapo established?

  1933
• What were the key parts of the Nazi police state?

  • The Gestapo: secret police force established in 1933
  • The SS: police organization controlling all police units, led by Heinrich Himmler
  • The SD: intelligence agency created to monitor opposition
  • Concentration camps: facilities for imprisoning undesirables and political prisoners
• Who was the leader of the Gestapo by 1936?

  Reinhard Heydrich
• What methods did the Gestapo use to identify opponents of the Nazis?

  They tapped phones and used networks of informers
• Why were the Gestapo feared in Germany?

  They had a large amount of power and could use torture
• What could happen to people arrested by the Gestapo?

  They could be taken to concentration camps
• How did the Gestapo spread fear among the public?

  By releasing prisoners to share their experiences
• What was the SS originally set up as?

  Elite body guards to rival the SA
• When was the SS created?

  1925
• What was the role of the SD?

  To collect information about and watch opposition to the Nazi party
• When was the SD created?

  1931
• Where was the first concentration camp set up?

  Dachau
• In what year was Dachau established?

  1933
• Who were classified as 'undesirables' in concentration camps?

  Prostitutes, criminals, and homosexuals
• Which groups were considered minority and racial groups in concentration camps?

  Jews, gypsies, and Poles
• Who were classified as political prisoners?

  Anyone seen as a threat to the Nazi party
• Who was Carl Von Ossietzky?

  A journalist who opposed the Nazis
• What happened to Carl Von Ossietzky after the Reichstag fire?

  He was arrested and severely beaten
• How did Hitler control the legal system?

  By ensuring every judge was part of the Nazi party
• What did Hitler abolish in the legal system?

  Trial by jury
• What was the role of Roland Friesler as a Nazi judge?

  He sentenced 90% of his accused to death
• What were People’s courts used for?

  Trials of those who opposed the Nazis, held in secret
• Did people have the right to appeal in People’s courts?

  No, they had no right to appeal