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| ==Origins== | ==Origins== | ||
| The term originated in August 1919 when the ] Ministry set up the ''Sicherheitswehr as a ''militarised police force to take action during times of riots or strikes. However owing to limitations in army numbers, it was renamed the Sicherheitspolizei to avoid attention. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==Nazi Era== | |||
| ⚫ | When the Nazis came to power, Germany, as a federal state, had a myriad of local and centralised police agencies, which often were un-coordinated and had overlapping jurisdictions. ] and Heydrich's grand plan was to fully absorb all the police and security apparatus into the structure of the '']'' (SS). To this end, Himmler took command first of the ] (itself developed from the ]) and later of all the regular and criminal investigation police, assuming the title ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of the German Police). As such he was nominally subordinate to Interior Minister ], but in practice Himmler answered to no-one but Hitler.<ref>Williams, Max. ''Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1''. 2001, p 77.</ref> | ||
| In 1936, the state security police were consolidated and placed under the central command of ], already chief of the party '']'' (SD), and named ''Sicherheitspolizei''.<ref>Williams, Max. ''Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1''. 2001, p 77.</ref> The idea was to fully identify the party agency (SD) with the state agency (SiPo). Most of the SiPo members were encouraged or volunteered to become members of the SS and many held a rank in both organisations. In practice, however, the SiPo and the ] frequently came into jurisdictional and operational conflict with each other, due in large part to the fact that the Gestapo and Kripo had many experienced, professional policemen and investigators, that considered the SD as an organisation of ]s and often thought the SD a rather incompetent agency. | In 1936, the state security police were consolidated and placed under the central command of ], already chief of the party '']'' (SD), and named ''Sicherheitspolizei''.<ref>Williams, Max. ''Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1''. 2001, p 77.</ref> The idea was to fully identify the party agency (SD) with the state agency (SiPo). Most of the SiPo members were encouraged or volunteered to become members of the SS and many held a rank in both organisations. In practice, however, the SiPo and the ] frequently came into jurisdictional and operational conflict with each other, due in large part to the fact that the Gestapo and Kripo had many experienced, professional policemen and investigators, that considered the SD as an organisation of ]s and often thought the SD a rather incompetent agency. | ||
Revision as of 10:48, 17 July 2013
| Sicherheitspolizei | |
 The SiPo was an agency of the SS. | |
 Sicherheitspolizei officers in Marseilles during WWII. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 26 June 1936 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Dissolved | 22 September 1939 |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Type | State Security Police |
| Jurisdiction |  GermanyOccupied Europe |
| Headquarters | Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, Berlin |
| Employees | 4,500 |
| Ministers responsible |
|
| Agency executive |
|
The Sicherheitspolizei (Template:Lang-en), often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Germany for their security police. In the Nazi era it was used to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo (secret state police) and the Kripo (criminal police) between 1936 and 1939. As a formal agency, the SiPo was folded into the RSHA in 1939, but the term continued to be used informally until the end of the Third Reich.
Origins
The term originated in August 1919 when the Reichswehr Ministry set up the Sicherheitswehr as a militarised police force to take action during times of riots or strikes. However owing to limitations in army numbers, it was renamed the Sicherheitspolizei to avoid attention.
Nazi Era
When the Nazis came to power, Germany, as a federal state, had a myriad of local and centralised police agencies, which often were un-coordinated and had overlapping jurisdictions. Himmler and Heydrich's grand plan was to fully absorb all the police and security apparatus into the structure of the Schutzstaffel (SS). To this end, Himmler took command first of the Gestapo (itself developed from the Prussian Secret Police) and later of all the regular and criminal investigation police, assuming the title Chef der Deutschen Polizei (Chief of the German Police). As such he was nominally subordinate to Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick, but in practice Himmler answered to no-one but Hitler.
In 1936, the state security police were consolidated and placed under the central command of Reinhard Heydrich, already chief of the party Sicherheitsdienst (SD), and named Sicherheitspolizei. The idea was to fully identify the party agency (SD) with the state agency (SiPo). Most of the SiPo members were encouraged or volunteered to become members of the SS and many held a rank in both organisations. In practice, however, the SiPo and the SD frequently came into jurisdictional and operational conflict with each other, due in large part to the fact that the Gestapo and Kripo had many experienced, professional policemen and investigators, that considered the SD as an organisation of amateurs and often thought the SD a rather incompetent agency.
Furthermore in 1936, the state police agencies in Germany were statutorily divided into the Ordnungspolizei (regular or order police) and the Sicherheitspolizei (state security police). The two police branches were commonly known as the Orpo and SiPo (Kripo and Gestapo combined), respectively.
Merger and further use
In September 1939, with the founding of the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), the Sicherheitspolizei as a functioning state agency ceased to exist as the department was merged into the RSHA. However, its terms survived in common usage within Nazi Germany.
Inspektor der Sicherheitspolizei und SD was used by local security force commanders in charge of SD, Gestapo, Kripo, and Orpo units. The Inspectors of the Security Police answered to both the RSHA and to local SS and Police Leaders.
The term SiPo was also used figuratively to describe any security police forces of the RSHA.
Cold War
Following the end of the Second World War, the phrase Sicherheitspolizei appeared in East Germany as a title for some components of the East German secret police forces.
See also
References
- Robert Gellately. "The Gestapo and German Society". Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- Williams, Max. Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1. 2001, p 77.
- Williams, Max. Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1. 2001, p 77.
- Williams, Max. Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1. 2001, p 77.
- Lumsden, Robin. A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine - SS, p 83.
Bibliography
- Lumsden, Robin (2002). A Collector's Guide To: The Allgemeine – SS, Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-7110-2905-9.
- Williams, Max (2001). Reinhard Heydrich: The Biography: Volume 1, Ulric Publishing, ISBN 0-9537577-5-7.
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