Inspired by the romance of the series Seventeen Moments of Spring, the German Security Service began to be perceived in the post-Soviet space as an elite, almost glamorous service. Moreover, as it became known later, the elegant black uniform was from Hugo Boss, a famous German designer. But on the account of the SD, there are many crimes against humanity and in the Nuremberg trials the organization was recognized as criminal.
Education SS and diabetes
In 1923, a small detachment Schutzstaffeln (SS) of the personal bodyguards of the leader A. Hitler was allocated from the party assault detachments. Since 1929, on their basis, under the leadership of Heinrich Himler, divisions began to unfold, the task of which was to protect the entire top Nazi leadership.
In 1931, the head of the SS, Himler, created one of the oldest security organizations in the SS, the intelligence service, which in the summer of 1932 was renamed SicherheitsDienst (SD). The name SD is a translation of the abbreviation SD, from German - Security Service.
First stage
Junior naval officer Reichard Heiderich was appointed to lead the newly formed special service, which was directly subordinate to Himler. At the first stage, the main functions of the SD are to control the cleanliness within the party and to prevent the penetration of hostile and alien elements into the party ranks. Initially, the organization occupied a small office and served as an auxiliary police of the Nazi party. Gradually, the role of the organization grew as a "chain dog" over the members of the SS, and after 1934, when Hitler became chancellor, and the party. The SD and SS in Germany played a decisive role in the consolidation of police functions in the party security structures.
Structure and function
The security service received a powerful development after the Nazis led the country. Hitler, distrusting state power structures, began to transfer their functions to the external and internal security of the SS and SD. In 1939, the organization was transferred to the Main Directorate of Imperial Security. Heydrich became the head of the SD and security police, which included the Gestapo.
The security service was divided into internal, which was engaged in counterintelligence, analysis of the domestic political situation, the fight against political opponents and repressions against the population, and external, which was responsible for espionage and covert operations. Otto Olendorf led internal security , and Walter Schelenberg , foreign intelligence. SD is an independent special service, which was more engaged in the collection of information (political investigation) and its analysis.
As Himler explained, SD is engaged in preparatory work of a general nature, including research, preparation of materials, examination and analysis at the level of parties, movements, identifying trends, directions of development and revealing spheres of influence and influence. And on the basis of these materials, the Gestapo is already doing concrete things.
Crime
SS and SD are the two main criminal organizations responsible for pursuing policies to combat opponents of the Nazi regime and racial ideology. They especially distinguished themselves in the extermination of representatives of the "lower and inferior" races, and above all the Jews. All anti-Jewish actions since Hitler came to power have been entrusted to these departments under the leadership of Himler.
Since 1933, the SS and SD controlled the processes of expelling Jews from the political, economic and all spheres of life. They monitored the observance of Nazi laws, depriving Jews of basic human rights.
One of the most high-profile actions of the SD was the organization of Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938. The Office of Heydrich organized the assassination of a Jew against a German diplomat. In response to which there followed "spontaneous pogroms" of Jewish organizations and synagogues.