SS and Gestapo

Explain how the Nazis used persecution and the powers of the SS and
Gestapo to create a police state in 1934-1939

A police state is a state run by fear. The police have the right to act
the way they want- and can arrest anyone without trial. In 1925 the SS
was created as Hitler's body guard, and they became a police force that
went around finding and removing anyone disloyal to their leader. The
Gestapo was the secret state police.

Persecution began on a small scale. In 1934 Jewish things were marked
with a yellow star, and 'Juden' was written on Jewish houses so that it
was obvious who lived there. There was heavy segregation: Jews were
only allowed to sit in certain seats, and were banned from many public
spaces such as parks, playing fields and swimming pools. In 1933 there
had been a boycott of Jewish shops, arranged by the SA. There would be
members of this group standing outside the shops, as if daring people
to enter. Jews had been sacked from their jobs, from universities and
schools, and forbidden to become civil servants. So in 1934 it was
already difficult for them to find a living. Jewish children were
separated from the others. These others were taught
anti-Semitism.

Then in 1934 the Nuremburg Laws were passed: "the Reich Law on
Citizenship"- which deprived Jews of citizenship, the right to vote,
and to hold Government office; and the "Law for the Protection of
German Blood and Honour"- which forbade relationships or marriage
between Jews and German citizens. This made persecution official:
Hitler was using law to make a race outcast. In 1936-7 professional
activities of Jews were banned or restricted. For example they were not
allowed to be vets, dentists, teachers or nurses. In 1938
qualifications of all Jewish doctors were cancelled, and Jewish
children were excluded from German schools and universities entirely.
On November 7th a Nazi official was murdered by a young Polish Jew-
Herschel Grynsepan. Following this, a night of terror (Kristallnacht)
was ordered by Hitler, to make the Jews pay for this death. In 1939
Jews were no longer allowed to run shops or businesses. They were
forbidden to have radios or buy cakes and chocolate.

Other persecution went on towards members of society who did not
conform to the Nazi Aryan ideals. These groups of people included
gypsies, tramps and homosexuals. These people would be sent to
concentration camps and probably worked to death. People with mental
illnesses or deformities were also killed. These people were used as
examples to others- if they resisted then they, too, would be
punished.

The Gestapo caused a total loss of trust within the German people. No
one was able to express their own views, for fear of arrest, for in a
police state one can be arrested if one is considered to be an "enemy
of the state". The Gestapo had informers in every street. There was no
one that anyone who wanted to speak out could turn to. Everyone had to
obey or they would be punished. The SS would go to their house in the
middle of the night and take them to prison. There, the unfortunate
person would be forced to sign a D11 form- this said that they could be
taken into "protective custody". No one wanted to cross the law because
in a police state it is easy to be arrested for a very small offense or
mistake. Even if the person hasn't done anything, they might be
informed upon by someone, and taken into custody because they are
suspected to be intending to commit a crime. The SS and Gestapo were
used to strike fear into people to stop them from going against the law
or putting ideas into other people's heads that anything about the
Nazis was wrong.