The Gestapo is an abbreviation for Geheime Staatspolizei. They were a secret police made by Nazi Germany in 1933 during World War II. They were organized by Herman Goring and directed by Heinrich Himmler(shown on the left). The Gestapo were known as ruthless and not understanding. They were said to be unfair to Jews, political intellectuals, clergy, homosexuals, Catholics, and gypsies. They were part of the executive branch of the Russian government. They usually dealt with acts that attracted national attention. They were also used to police ghettos that Jews were put into. The Gestapo had authority over concentration camps. Near the end of the war, the Gestapo patrolled the gas chambers that the Jews were put into. The Gestapo were declared a criminal organization in the Nuremburg Trials. They accounted for the deaths of 6 million Jews. Once the war came to an end, the Gestapo disbanded.
The Gestapo went through multiple name-changes and grouped up with other police forces. They first emerged from a Prussian police group. In 1936, they merged with Kriminalpolizei also known as the "Kripo" to make the Sicherheitspolezei (Sipo). After they merged, they changed their name to Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) which was directed by Reinhard Heydrich.