Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918-1939): The Nazi Police State

A police state is term given to a country that is heavily controlled by the state through the use of the police force. In a police state the organisation responsible for controlling the population is often known as the secret police. History is full of examples of these and Nazi Germany was no exception.

The secret police controlled all aspects of people’s lives. They controlled what people did, what people said and where people went. Anything which was against the ideals of the Nazi party was dealt with by the police forces and anyone breaking rules was to be punished severely.

Hitler came to power in 1933 and the Weimar Republic had a functioning police force, however its job was to uphold the rule of law in the Republic and was controlled by the government. However, Hitler could not get the national police force to enforce Nazi ideas or get it to protect the Nazi Party without the creation of many laws. Therefore, HItler created his own security forces which were run by the party and not the government. This meant that their only role was the secure and protect against any threats to Hitler or the Nazi Party.

Within Nazi security forces there were three main divisions. The SS, the SD and the Gestapo. Whilst initially they were separate institutions with their own remits, Nazi reorganisation created a hierarchy for them with the SS being the lead organisation and the SD and Gestapo reporting to them. Heinrich Himmler was responsible for the Reich Security forces.