The Anatomy of Anarchy

A thumbnail guide to Hitler's security units

As Hitler’s Bodyguard explains, the Führer actively encouraged rivalries and competition among his security services and throughout his government. He thought that such an environment made him safer. In fact, it created what former SS officer and convicted war criminal Otto Ohlendorf famously called “pluralistic anarchy,” a welter of groups vying for favor from the one man unquestionably in charge. The list below sketches the role and evolution of Hitler’s various security units.

Begleitkommando—

Formed in 1932, the eight-man “escort command” served as Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit, handpicked by Hitler himself.

Gestapo—

Short for Geheime Staatspolizei, or “secret state police,” the Gestapo began as a rival to Heinrich Himmler’s SS. In 1933, Hermann Göring formed it from Prussian police units in order to collect political intelligence. The following year, Himmler brought the Gestapo under the wing of the SS. Eventually, it came under control of the RSHA.

Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler—

Formed in 1933, the Leibstandarte originally comprised a 120-man headquarters guard under the command of Sepp Dietrich. It grew in strength and importance, however, and evolved into Hitler’s personal army. Its members swore allegiance not to Germany, but to Hitler, and the Führer employed them for executions, enforcement, and even heavily armed combat. Leibstandarte personnel rounded up Röhm and his followers during the Night of the Long Knives.

RSD (Reichssicherheitsdienst)—

A unit of the SS formed in 1935,the Reich Security Service was responsible for Hitler’s overall protection within Germany and at his military headquarters in the conquered territories. It conducted security sweeps at restaurants, speaking engagements, and rallies. The RSD grew out of the Führerschutzkommando (Führer Protection Command), a group of former Bavarian police officers responsible for Hitler’s security in his south German homeland.

RSHA (Reichssicherheitshauptamt)—

Himmler formed the ReichSecurity Central Office as an umbrella organization in 1939. The RSHA incorporated the SD (internal security service), Gestapo (Secret State Police), and Kripo (Kriminalpolizei, or Criminal Police).

SA (Sturmabteilung)—

Created in 1921 from an early bodyguardunit euphemistically called the “Gymnastics and Sports Division,” the “storm detachment” initially comprised illegally armed volunteers who protected Hitler and other Nazi leaders at rallies. It later evolved into an enormous armed militia—the Brownshirts—that gave its leader, Ernst Röhm, a power base from which to threaten a putsch against Hitler himself. Supplanted by the SS, the SA waned in importance after the Night of the Long Knives.

SD (Sicherheitsdienst)—

Numbering 100,000 at its height, the SD(Security Service) was the primary internal intelligence-gathering arm of the SS and maintained a network of informants across the Nazi empire. Himmler created the SD in 1931 as a largely independent SS unit. However, it was absorbed into the RSHA in 1939.

Sipo—

Fused with the SD during Reinhard Heydrich’s time at the RSHA,the Sipo (Sicherheitspolizei, or Security Police) originally comprised several units specializing in interior security. These included the Gestapo, the Kripo, and the border protection forces.

SS (Schutzstaffel)—

From its beginnings as a security unit within theSA, the SS (Protective Echelon) eventually supplanted the SA as the most feared force in Nazi Germany. The SS assumed responsibility for all internal security within the Third Reich, including protection of Hitler and other officials, domestic spying, and law enforcement. Led by Heinrich Himmler, it included almost 1 million combat soldiers (Waffen- SS), 100,000 SD members, and 40,000 guards at 180 concentration camps or forced-labor camps, plus millions of other personnel in various police forces.