April 26, 1933
Göring Establishes the Prussian Gestapo
Historical context
On this day, April 26, 1933, Hermann Göring promulgated the Prussian law creating the Secret State Police Office, later known as the Gestapo.
Archive record
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- Date
- April 26, 1933
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 3
On this day, Hermann Göring, as Prussian prime minister, promulgated the law creating the Secret State Police Office in Prussia. The office, later known by the acronym Gestapo, was to carry out political-police duties with or in place of ordinary police authorities. USHMM dates Göring’s announcement of that office to 26 April 1933.
The office was Prussian. It was not yet a police force for all of Germany. The Reichstag Fire Decree of 28 February had already stripped legal protections. Under Heinrich Himmler the Gestapo later became a centralized force and, from 1939, Office IV of the Reich Security Main Office.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Hermann Göring: Timeline · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Holocaust Encyclopedia View source
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