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(Wednesday, April 26, 1933) — Nazi Germany’s infamous secret police, better known as the Gestapo, was formed today by Reichsstatthalter Hermann Göring to control political dissent within the German state of Prussia.

On April 20, 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936.

Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police).

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From Sept. 27, 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as Amt (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organization to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service).

During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in The Holocaust.

After the war ended, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organization by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials.