Everyone knows about the mistreatment and horrors of the Holocaust, but what do we know about the monsters behind them? The Gestapo was Nazi Germany's secret police that played a unique but powerful role in the Final Solution. They were known for their harsh torture tactics and their willingness to kill and torture anyone they needed to get what they wanted. Jews and other targeted groups of people were struck by fear and worry that the Gestapo would come to their door. The Gestapo was certainly the most feared police force in Germany. The beginnings of the “Geheime Staatzpolizi” or the Gestapo were very interesting. It all started with the idea of ​​creating a secret police from Prussian Minister of the Interior Hermann Göring. On April 26, 1933, Göring filled the ranks of the secret police with Nazi political and internal intelligence services, knowing that they would remain loyal to Hitler ("Gestapo"). He then entrusted its leadership to Rudolph Diels, delighted that one of his men occupied a powerful and important position. However, in April 1934, this secret police attracted the interest of Adolf Hitler, who appointed Heinrich Himmler as head of the Gestapo. Himmler found Diels too soft for the job and replaced him with Heinrich Muller ("The Gestapo"). Gestapo police officers were chosen based on the skills they had acquired and the rank they were trying to achieve. The lower ranks didn't need as much stuff. loyalty to the party like the higher ranks. However, technocratic, bureaucratic and police skills were highly valued when choosing these men (“Gestapo”). Many men were not chosen to be part of the Gestapo because, in total, it consisted of only 40,000 people, including clerical and clothing personnel. There were 5 sections that the Gestapo was divided into...... middle of paper.... ...it began. Finally, Heinrich Müller, the leader under Himmler who gave the Gestapo its reputation for brutality, was never brought in. It has not been seen since 1945, just before the end of the war ("Nuremberg Trials: Brief Overview of the Defendants and Verdicts"). people name the main groups or people involved in the Holocaust, how often do you hear them name the Gestapo? Even when I started researching this topic, I didn't know exactly what they did or how they contributed to the final solution. When I discovered information such as their horrific methods of torture, their lack of mercy and sympathy, and the stories of survivors, I was surprised to see how a police force of just 40,000 men throughout Germany could cause so much grief and chaos. Now I can honestly say that if I were Jewish in Germany at the time of the Holocaust, one of my worst fears would be running into the Gestapo..