WARNING: This documentary is under an educational and historical context, We do NOT tolerate or promote hatred towards any group of people, we do NOT promote violence. We condemn these events so that they do not happen again. NEVER AGAIN.

In the twilight hours of January 30, 1933, as Adolf Hitler ascended to the position of Chancellor of Germany, the seeds of one of history's most notorious secret police forces were sown. Within weeks, on April 26, 1933, Hermann Göring, Hitler's trusted lieutenant and Minister President of Prussia, established the Geheime Staatspolizei, better known by its chilling abbreviation: the Gestapo. This pivotal moment occurred in the opulent halls of the Prussian Ministry of the Interior in Berlin, where Göring, resplendent in his Nazi uniform, signed the decree that would forever change the face of German society.

The formation of this sinister organization was not merely a bureaucratic reshuffling, but the birth of a tool that would become synonymous with terror and oppression. Göring, with his imposing figure and piercing gaze, declared the Gestapo's purpose in no uncertain terms: "The only man who still has private affairs in Germany is somebody who is asleep." This ominous pronouncement set the stage for an era of unprecedented surveillance and control.

Initially confined to Prussia, the largest state in Germany, the Gestapo's reach soon expanded. On April 20, 1934, in a calculated move that coincided with Hitler's 45th birthday, the ambitious and ruthless Heinrich Himmler assumed control of the organization. Himmler, with his wire-rimmed glasses and unremarkable appearance, belied the cold calculation that lay beneath. He swiftly set about reorganizing and expanding the Gestapo's operations, integrating it into the broader SS apparatus.

Under Himmler's meticulous guidance, the Gestapo's tentacles spread across the entirety of the German Reich. By 1935, its headquarters had been established at 8 Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse in Berlin, a building that would become infamous as the nerve center of Nazi repression. The nondescript façade of this structure masked the horrors that transpired within its walls, where countless individuals were interrogated, tortured, and often disappeared without a trace. One such victim was the celebrated German journalist Carl von Ossietzky, who was arrested in 1933 and subjected to brutal treatment in Gestapo custody before being sent to a concentration camp.

One of the most infamous Gestapo operations took place on July 20, 1944, in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Hitler. In a sweeping action known as Operation Valkyrie, the Gestapo arrested over 7,000 people suspected of involvement in the plot. This crackdown demonstrated the organization's efficiency and the extent of its intelligence network. Among those arrested was Claus von Stauffenberg's brother, Berthold, who was subjected to a brutal interrogation before being executed by slow strangulation at Plötzensee Prison on August 10, 1944.


00:00 The Gestapo's Rise and Reign of Fear
5:10 Unveiling the Gestapo's Web of Terror
12:36 Masterminds Behind Hitler's Secret Police
22:08 Unmasking the Gestapo's Role in the Holocaust
29:47 The Unsung Heroes Who Defied Hitler's Secret Police
36:39 Unraveling the Gestapo's Legacy in Post-War Trials