Gestapo Facts & Worksheets

• Women were mainly used in roles related to youth and welfare surveillance, especially in cases involving children, family policies or women seen as ‘morally dangerous’.
• At first, the Gestapo was mostly made up of experienced policemen from the Weimar Republic. When the Nazis came to power, they did not purge the police. Most officers stayed on. SS, SA and Nazi Party members also joined, but they made up a smaller share. In 1939, out of about 20,000 Gestapo staff, only 3,000 had SS ranks, and many of those were honorary. In cities like Würzburg, records show that all Gestapo staff had police backgrounds.
• By 1937, the Gestapo had around 6,500 officers working across 54 regional offices. More were added after the annexation of Austria in 1938 and the occupation of the Sudetenland. Despite its limited numbers, the Gestapo used local informers to control millions of people. These informers were regular citizens who reported others, often out of fear or for personal gain.

Purpose and Powers

• The main purpose of the Gestapo was to find and remove anyone who was against the Nazi government. It was set up to watch people closely and stop any kind of opposition. This included political enemies, religious groups that didn’t follow Nazi ideas, and anyone who didn’t fit the Nazi view of how people should behave or who they should be, especially those seen as racially or socially ‘undesirable’.
• The Gestapo had very strong powers. Its officers did not have to follow normal laws. They could arrest people without a reason, hold them for as long as they wanted, and send them to concentration camps without a trial. The Gestapo was not punished for its actions and did not answer to any court or judge.
• Even though people were very afraid of the Gestapo, it was not actually as large or everywhere as many thought. In 1939, there were only 41 Gestapo officers working in the large cities of Stettin and Frankfurt am Main. In Würzburg and nearby areas, just 22 officers were responsible for over 840,000 people. In the Düsseldorf area, 281 officers watched over 4 million people. 
• Because there were so few officers, the Gestapo depended heavily on reports from ordinary people. Many did this for personal reasons and not because they supported the Nazis. In the city of Düsseldorf, 37% of reports were due to personal problems, while only 24% were made by strong Nazi supporters. Even though the Gestapo was not everywhere, it created the strong feeling that it was always watching. This fear stopped many people from speaking freely.
• Outside Germany, the Gestapo also worked in areas taken over by the Nazis. In these places, they helped stop resistance movements, control forced labour, and arrest or deport Jewish people. In Eastern Europe, they worked closely with the SS and other Nazi groups, as well as with local police and helpers.

Methods

• The Gestapo used many harsh methods to find, question and control people they believed were enemies of the Nazi state. These methods were not fair or legal by normal standards, but the Gestapo had the power to do almost anything without being punished. Their goal was to create fear and stop people from speaking out or resisting the Nazis.
• Arrest Without Trial: Gestapo could take someone from their home, workplace or even off the street without giving a reason. Once arrested, people were often held for a long time without being told what they were accused of. This was called Schutzhaft, or ‘protective custody’, but it really meant being locked up without rights.

• Violent Interrogation: Interrogation sessions were often very violent. People were beaten, shouted at and kept awake for days to force them to talk. Sleep deprivation was a common technique. In some cases, prisoners were made to stand for hours or were tied up in painful positions. Sometimes fake evidence was used to scare people into confessing things they hadn’t done.
• Propaganda and Spreading Fear: Posters, films and speeches warned people about what would happen if they spoke against the Nazis. People saw what happened to their neighbours and were too afraid to say anything. This created a feeling that the Gestapo was always watching, even though it had only a small number of officers.
• Torture: Torture was often used during interrogations. This included hitting, kicking, burning or other physical abuse. Some prisoners were tortured until they agreed to sign a confession, even if it was false. These confessions were then used to justify sending them to concentration camps or even sentencing them to death.
• Blackmail and Threats: The Gestapo also used blackmail and threats. For example, they might threaten to arrest a person’s family unless the person gave them information. They also tried to get people to spy on others in their workplace or neighbourhood. People who refused could be arrested themselves.
• Use of Informers: The Gestapo had many secret helpers, including ordinary citizens. These informers would report anything suspicious, such as someone criticising Hitler, listening to foreign radio stations or helping Jewish people. Some did it out of fear, others for rewards, and many for personal reasons like revenge or jealousy.
• Undercover Agents (V-men): V-men pretended to be part of opposition groups. These undercover agents helped the Gestapo find out who was involved in illegal activities, such as printing leaflets or planning resistance. Once discovered, these people were arrested and often tortured or sent to camps.
• Actions in Occupied Countries: The Gestapo’s actions were not just limited to Germany. In occupied countries, they used similar methods to break up resistance groups. They worked with local collaborators and used terror to control the population. In many places, people simply disappeared, and their families never found out what had happened.

Targets

• The Gestapo targeted a wide range of people they believed were enemies of the Nazi state. These targets included not only political opponents but also those who resisted Nazi beliefs, broke Nazi laws, or simply did not fit into the Nazi view of society. Their actions created a society where fear and control were everywhere, and where ordinary citizens could be reported, arrested or punished without warning.
  • Political Opponents: In the early 1930s, groups like the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) were some of the first to face arrest and punishment. Many communists, socialists and trade union members were taken into custody, especially after the Nazis banned trade unions in 1933. On 2 May of that year, just one day after Hitler had celebrated German workers in a public holiday, the Gestapo and other Nazi groups arrested trade union leaders across Germany, often in their own homes. Union offices were taken over, and the entire trade union movement was replaced by the German Labour Front, a Nazi-run organisation.
  • Religious Resistance: Religious groups and individuals who spoke out against the regime were also closely watched. Although most church members did not resist the Nazis openly, those who did were seen as serious threats. Both Catholic and Protestant leaders were arrested, spied on or even sent to concentration camps. The Gestapo’s religious department, Referat B1, was told to keep careful watch over bishops, priests and their helpers, with special agents placed in every church area. Over 2,700 Christian clergy were sent to Dachau concentration camp, often for reasons as small as giving a sermon that sounded too critical or making a comment that showed sympathy for Jewish people or foreigners.
  • Homosexuality: The Nazis believed that homosexuality weakened German society and was a threat to their idea of a strong and pure race. As early as 1934, a special Gestapo office in Berlin was set up to focus on homosexuality. Between 1936 and 1939 alone, around 30,000 men were arrested. While most attention was on male homosexuality, some Gestapo files also show arrests of lesbians, who were seen as going against traditional gender roles. People suspected of being homosexual were often sent to camps, and if they were also thought to be against the Nazis in other ways, their treatment could be even harsher.
  • Student Resistance: Students who protested against Nazi rule were also seen as dangerous. The best-known example is the White Rose group, led by students like Hans and Sophie Scholl. They wrote and passed out leaflets against the war and the Nazis. When they were caught, they were quickly handed over to the Gestapo, interrogated and executed. Other youth groups, like the Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Youth, were also placed under watch. Some members were arrested, sent to camps or punished harshly. Even small signs of rebellion were not tolerated.
  • Wider Civil and Military Opposition: As the years went on, the Gestapo targeted anyone who dared to oppose or even question the Nazi regime. This included teachers, civil servants, writers, aristocrats and even some military officers. People who joined or helped resistance groups were usually arrested, tortured and sent to camps. Those involved in major plots were often executed after show trials.
  • Resistance in Occupied Territories: Even outside Germany, the Gestapo used their power to hunt down opponents in occupied countries. They arrested resistance fighters, Jewish people and others seen as threats, often with help from local collaborators. Many people were taken without warning and never seen again.

Role During World War II

• One of the Gestapo’s most important and horrific roles during World War II was helping to carry out the Holocaust. It helped organise the arrest, deportation and murder of millions of Jewish people. In countries like Poland, Gestapo officers helped empty ghettos and send people to extermination camps such as Auschwitz. They also hunted down Jewish people in hiding and punished anyone who helped them. Their work was central to the destruction of Jewish communities across Europe.
• The Gestapo also focused on finding and stopping resistance movements. In France, the Netherlands, Denmark and other countries, it tried to destroy underground groups that were fighting the Nazis. In 1944, when a group of German officers tried to kill Hitler with a bomb (the July Plot), the Gestapo responded brutally. Thousands were arrested, and many were tortured and executed.
• The Gestapo was also involved in using forced labour. In occupied countries, millions of people were taken from their homes and forced to work in German factories or on farms. Others were sent to camps, where they were forced to work under brutal conditions as slave labourers. Anyone who resisted or tried to escape faced harsh punishment or death.
• Towards the end of the war, as Allied forces advanced into Germany, the Gestapo tried to cover up its crimes by destroying records. But many of its officers were caught and put on trial. 

End of the Gestapo

• The Gestapo ended in 1945 when Nazi Germany lost the war. As the Allies moved across Europe, the Nazi government collapsed. The Gestapo closed down, destroyed papers, and many officers ran away or went into hiding. Some Gestapo members fled to other countries, changed their identities, or tried to blend in with ordinary civilians to avoid being captured.
• After Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Allied powers began efforts to bring top Nazis leaders to justice. From November 1945 to October 1946, the Allies set up the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg to put key Nazi leaders and organisations on trial. Twenty-two major Nazi figures were charged with crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nineteen were found guilty, and twelve were sentenced to death. These included leading Nazis connected to the Gestapo such as Hermann Göring, Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
• During the trials, the Gestapo itself was declared a criminal organisation, along with the SS and the SD. This meant that even being a member of the Gestapo was considered criminal, regardless of the specific actions taken by an individual. The tribunal decided that leaders, organisers and participants in the Gestapo’s crimes were all responsible for the harm caused, even if they were just following orders. Holding a high position or obeying superiors was not seen as an excuse.
• This ruling gave Allied countries the legal right to arrest and put on trial any former Gestapo members, without having to prove individual guilt beyond their membership in the organisation. Because the Gestapo was one of the organisations found guilty, anyone who had belonged to it could be punished under the denazification programme, which aimed to remove Nazis from power and bring them to justice. Since the Gestapo, SS, SD and other groups had over two million members combined, this meant a very large number of people could be arrested and tried.
• Some important Gestapo leaders were never caught. Heinrich Müller, the final head of the Gestapo, vanished at the end of the war and was never seen again. People think he either died during the last battles or escaped and lived with a new name. What happened to him remains unknown.
• In other parts of Europe, many Gestapo officers were captured and arrested after liberation. However, many Gestapo officials avoided punishment altogether, especially lower-ranking ones, as it was difficult to track them all down.