Heinrich Himmler

{{Audio|de-Heinrich Himmler.ogg|Heinrich Himmler}} (October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. As Reichsführer-SS, he controlled the SS and the Gestapo, and was the leading organizer of the Holocaust. As founder and officer-in-charge of the Nazi concentration camps and the Einsatzgruppen death squads, Himmler was responsible for implementing the industrial scale murder of between six and twelve million of people. Among the victims were Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, Slavs, and Catholic priests.

Consolidation of power

In 1936 Himmler gained further authority as the SS absorbed all of Germany's local law enforcement agencies into the new Ordnungspolizei, considered a headquarters branch of the SS. Germany's secret police forces were also under Himmler's authority in the form of the Sicherheitspolizei, which would in 1939 expand into the much larger Reichsicherheitshauptamt. The SS was also developing its military branch, known as the SS-Verfügungstruppe, which would later become known as the Waffen-SS.

Related Topics:
1936 - Ordnungspolizei - Sicherheitspolizei - ''Reichsicherheitshauptamt'' - SS-Verfügungstruppe - Waffen-SS

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