Hitler's Enforcers : The Gestapo and the SS Security Service in the Nazi Revolution

by George C. Browder

This first socio-organizational history of the Gestapo, the SD, and the regular detectives of the Third Reich, 1932-1937, this book explores the roots of their roles in police terror and programs of mass murder. These personnel helped to form the character and missions of their organizations, which were not simply created from above by Hitler, Himmler, or Heydrich. Hitler's Enforcers is based on research at 34 archives in Germany and the United States, including the personnel files of over 1,000 former members, and is the first such study to benefit from the German documents captured by the Soviets and Poles and kept secret until recently.

Genres: History

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein]

Useful information, at a very detailed level, as to the objectives, structure and operation of the SS units managed by Himmler and Heydrich in the years 1931-1937. Valuable to me as I organize the scenes in the sequel to my recently published novel A FLOOD OF EVIL ...read Goodreads reader comments at ... A Flood of Evil

Typical detail ...

... Department IV of the SD monitored foreign and domestic presses, all aspects of the national economy, and the intellectual, educational, government and legal spheres of public life … issued situation reports on the mood of the nation and the effects of policy decisions ... Seeking to create the image of the SD as the sole source of information for Nazi leadership and the intellectual shaper of the new nation ... This image helped in recruiting intellectuals to the SD

... As Nazi attention turned to the "Jewish Problem" … the SD saw an opportunity to be the most valued source of information on Jewish threats and proposals for more effective action toward solving the Jewish problem … much attention was devoted to an analysis of the Jewish press

[Andrew Daniels]

this book is both super dull and unsatisfying, it really leaves you in the dark about what you probably want to know about these security organizations
its light on tangible examples, heavier on statistics, and I felt it failed to answer my questions about what they did and how. There is a lot about career progression, which I find tedious.

its also definitely not for someone who doesn't have a deep knowledge already of the Third Reich