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Reichssicherheitshauptamt
- this page is a stub
During World War II (WWII),
Reichssicherheitshauptamt
(Reich Security Main Office), abbreviated RSHA, was an intelligence and
security organisation subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity
as Chef der Deutschen Polizei (Chief of German Police) and
Reichsführer-SS, head of the Schutzstaffel (SS)
of the Nazi party.
The organisation was established on 27 September 1939 and had the task
to fight all 'enemies of the Reich', inside and outside the
borders of Nazi Germany.
Following the defeat of Germany in 1945, the tribunal at the
Nuremberg trials officially declared the RSHA a criminal organisation.
This included the SD, the Gestapo and branches of the SS [2].
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Spy radio sets used by the RSHA/SD
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RSHA/SD
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When the RSHA was founded in 1939, it absorbed the
Sicherheitsdienst (SD) – the Nazi Party's security service –
and the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) – the state's security service.
The latter consisted of the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo) –
the Secret State Police – and the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo) –
the Criminal Police.
It brought the entire security aparatus under control of Himmler
and his subordinate SS-Obergruppenführer and Police General
Reinhard Heydrich [1].
The RSHA was essentially 'above the law' and held the power of
life and death for nearly every German citizen.
In February 1944, following the Frau Solf Tea Party 1 incident [3],
the military intelligence
service — the Abwehr — was dissolved by Adolf Hitler.
Its activities were taken over by the RSHA
were, in July 1944, it was absorbed by Amt VI – Sicherheitsdienst SD-Ausland.
➤ More about the Abwehr
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Also known as the Solf-Kreis (Solf Circle).
➤ Wikipedia
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- Administration and legal
- Ideological investigation
- Sicherheitsdienst SD-Inland
- Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo)
- Kriminalpolizei (Kripo)
- Sicherheitsdienst SD-Ausland — Foreign Intelligence Service
- Ideological Research and Evaluation
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The Sicherheidsdienst (SD), officially known as the
Sicherheitsdienst des Reischsführers-SS, 1 was the
intelligence and security organisation of the SS and of
Hitler's political party, the NSDAP (Nazi Party).
Established in 1931 2 it was considered a sister organisation of the
Gestapo (1933).
In 1939, the SD was transferred to the RSHA, under control of Reinhard Heydrich, and was split into two operational units. The homeland security
branch became RSHA Amt III and was called SD-Inland.
The foreign intelligence branch became RSHA Amt VI and was called
SD-Ausland.
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the tribunal at the
Nuremberg trials officially declared the SD a criminal organisation,
along with the rest of the RSHA (including the Gestapo).
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Security Service of the Commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS).
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Originally known as Ic-Dienst (Intelligence Service), it was
renamed SD in the summer of 1932.
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Havelinstitut (Havel Institute) was the cover name of the secret
RSHA/SD signals centre at Berlin-Wannsee. [4]
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At the end of WWII, Germany became an occupied country under control
of the Allied Forces, in particular of the United States. In 1946, the first
post-war Germany intelligence service was established under the name
Organisation Gehlen (OG).
Headed by former Wehrmacht General Major Reinhard Gehlen, the organisation
drew heavily on former personnel of the Abwehr,
the RSHA and the military intelligence service
Fremde Heere Ost (FHO) — Foreign Armies East.
The diagram above shows the history of the RSHA in a wider context. The
organisation was established in 1939 at the start of WWII, and eventually
absorbed the Abwehr. Together with the FHO it was dissolved
into the new established Organisation Gehlen (OG) at the end of the war.
In 1956, the OG became the current Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND).
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Sunday 13 March 2022. Last changed: Saturday, 18 June 2022 - 06:38 CET.
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