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An Illustrated History of the Gestapo

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If you are looking for a good summary of what the Gestapo were about, this is the book. It details the involvement of Goring, Himmiler, and Heydrich in the founding of this deadly device. It gives the most famous cases involving the the Gestapo such as the assisination of Heydrich and the plot against Hitler. One thing this book does poorly is portray events in chronological order, making it confusing for the beginner. Since this is a book for the beginner, it is liable to confuse him/her more. Also it is poor is distinguishing the difference between the SS and the Gestapo. The beginner would think they were one and the same, when in fact they were very different.

Perhaps no single word conjures up such images of oppression and horror as 'Gestapo.' Rupert Butler's penetrating account of this organization tells exactly why that is. In addition to the history and evolution of the Gehime Staats Polizi, this book also covers the methods of terror the Gestapo used in carrying out it's policies of destruction and murder. Also included is a breakdown of the various departments and divisions within the organization. But perhaps most illuminating is the inclusion of several stories by those who came face to face with the dreaded secret police- from a leader in the Polish underground to an unexpected, and almost comical, meeting with Reinhard Heydrich, these stories fill in the gaps of human emotion that most historians often fail to convey. If you are interested in just how the Nazi's were able to silence their political opponents with the terror that came to be their trademark, Butler's book is must reading.

Throughout recorded history, all totalitarian regimes have needed their secret police to do their dirty work. The Catholic Church had its Inquisition in the Middle Ages, the Russian Communists had their NKVD/KGB during the mid-twentieth century, and the German Nazis had theirs in the Geheime Staatz Poliezi, the Gestapo. In AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE GESTAPO, Rupert Butler provides both text and visuals to trace the evolution of a state sanctioned thuggery that was supposed to safeguard the existence of a thousand year Reich, that mercifully went out of business after only 12 years.

After the end of the Great War in 1918,Germany was a beaten nation that nevertheless did not learn that brute aggression must one day cause a bitter price to be paid. Butler suggests that an organization like the Nazi party could never have been allowed to exist were it not for both the political myopia of the victors who insisted on crushing a fragile post-war German economy with heavy reparations and a widespread tendency for an entire nation of Germans to rally around a flag that placed anti-semitism as its motivating force in re-establishing itself as a conquering world power.

To those not familiar with the overlapping structures of the Nazi party, Butler delineates how the Gestapo, the SA, the SS, the SD, and the many branches of the police all interwove to keep a tight lid on the lives of every German and every conquered national. Butler describes the early years of the formation of the Gestapo with Heinrich Himmler at the center. Then he analyzes how the other security organs like the SS and SD sometimes co-operated, sometimes competed for dominance. The infamous names of the leaders are, of course, well-documented both in this book, and in others: Goering, Heydrich, Kaltenbrunner, Borman, Goebbels. What stands out in Butler's mind is the ordinariness of most of the top echelon of the Nazi hierarchy. Most of them, before they became power players, had quite ordinary lives. Himmler himself looked like the pale shopkeeper that he was before he entered the SS. Heydrich was a womanizer who entered the SS only to avoid a scandal. The destruction that the various organs of the Nazi security apparatus were to wreak on both Jew and Slav were largely the result of weak, dull, and drab individuals who prefered to give their orders of death and genocide to a set of truly vicious underlings who were only to glad to carry them out. The world rarely gets a chance to put the originators of genocide in a docket of law to be charged as criminals, but in 1946 in Nuremberg, the collective leadership of the Nazi dream of world conquest was called to account. During their trials, their very ordinariness underscored the true nature of evil. The Gestapo, as the epitome of evil and horror, was run at the top by men who saw their lives through the eyes as the miserable low-ranking bureaucrats that they were once, and claimed to be as their defense from that docket. The dough-faced prisoners sitting in that Nuremberg court in 1946 were living reminders that evil can be spectacularly ordinary. Butler's book says that about as well as anyone can.

This book is one of the most detailed sources for the intricate detailing of Hitler's gestapo. It highlights the dangers of a police state and what can go terribly wrong when the people are no longer in control and the government becomes tyrannical. This is a very explicit, yet tasteful resource with ample photos and actual accounts of individuals who dealt directly with the dreaded Gestapo.

As with any book, I was weary at first on how the information was verified, but when I got to the end, I felt as if I took for granted what an expert Butler proved to be in this field. This book is an absolute MUST for people interested in this topic.

A complete and excellent book explaining the development of the Gestapo from the 1920's to its final destruction with the end of the war.The book shows that the Gestapo was led by anything but powerful and smart characters. Himmler,Heydrich,and other leaders in the Gestapo were low level bureaucrats who had no military training,not skilled in law enforcement or particularly adept in organizational abilities,and would, never have advanced in any military or government organizations during normal times.Thet were pretty much misfits,who happened to be in the right place at the right time. When given a little bit of power ,they rapidly became obsessed with it .They became Megomaniacs when Hither took power and when they found that there were no limits placed on their operations. They operated in a despicable and ruthless manner and destroyed anyone and anything that got in the way of their madness. They had no redeeming values,no guiding principles,nor any characteristics other than suspicion,driven by self promoting power and hate.Their actions show how evil men can become when they have no conscience,no remorse no accountability,and no respect for anything except a despot.

The effect created by these evil characters was awsome and resulted in the murder of millions of innocent men,women and childern.The book even shows how weak these Gestapo leaders were during the final days of WWII. They couldn't even face those who were bringing them to account for their murderous actions. They took the coward's way out and committed suicide.

This book is not only important in that it shows how a organization as evil as the Gestapo can get started and how far it can get out of control and how difficult it is to destroy it.

As we proceed into the 21st Century,we once again see evil forces developing with the same characteristics that spawned the Nazis and their Gestapo ,namely a climate of obedience,conformity and denounciation .All this combined with the hate we see with worldwide Terrorism,should be a clear warning ;that what happened in Europe in the 1920's is happening today in the Middle East.

The pattern is easily recognizable. The question is ,what is going to be done about it?

Another fine book by Rupert Butler, this book will take the reader from the earliest days of the GEheimeSTaatsPOlizie, or Secret State Police, through to the end of the war. Starting from when it was just another professional plain-clothes police department, the Prussian Secret Police, to the rivalry of Göring and Himmler, which saw the control of the Gestapo pass from Göring to Himmler, to accommodate both mens larger agendas. Good clear descriptions of the key personnel involved in the Gestapo and the Reich's other security agencies, such as Himmler's deputy and head of the SD Reinhard 'Hangman' Heydrich, Heinrich 'Gestapo' Müller, Dr Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Arthur Nebe, and others. Also covers the other German security agencies, such as the Kripo, the Orpo, and the SD amongst others, and deals with the rivalry between the Gestapo and the SD, to the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, and the consequences for both the SS and the Gestapo in the aftermath. Easy to read for the layman, and a good read for the dedicated student of WWII German Security Agencies.

A top read!

Todoy GESTAPO is a word for tyranny and terror.

It is seen as synonomouse with the SS yet it was never directly parat of that organization. It is seen as Himmler's creation yet truth is that its origens predate the Nazis.

When it first existed during the days of the Weimar Republic it was just an ordinary branch of plain cloths detectives with a set jurisdiction, and; would have remained so had Hitler not become Chanceller and then dictator of Germany and Herman Goering not taken an interest in its use.

This is the well researched story of this instrument of oppression and a warning to all who see no wrong in giving government unlimited power.

This is one of the most excellent books I have ever read on the Nazi formation of the AMT-IV Geheime Staats Polizei and the Einsatz Gruppen. Being of German descent and having family members who immigrated just prior to this time, I have been very interested in this chapter of world history. This book really delivers in a straight reality type of way! If you want some strong but straightforward reporting of the issues that generated the gestapo and where it went from there, this is the book for you. A must for history students or history buffs. A must for anyone who wants to know just how easy it is to fall into the trap of "anti-terrorism" laws. Intrigued? GET THIS BOOK! Always remember Arbeit DOES NOT Macht Frei.

The author tracks the political machinations of the SS, the Gestapo, and evolution of Hitler's instruments of terror. He chronicles it from its beginnings as a small intelligence agency watching communist dissendents to its evolution into a monsterous secret police and intelligence agency. He offers insights on the minds of Hitler, Goering, Himmler, Schellenberg, and other movers and shakers in the Third Reich.

The only downside is this book is not a thorough piece of scholarship... Not everything is footnoted or substantiated. The bibliography is skimppy. Moreover, the author didn't go to any great lengths to find multiple sources or add any new revelations. Albeit, he did feature interviews from the Gestapo's living victims.