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1933 April 26, THE GESTAPO (Geheime Staatspolizei) (Germany)
Secret State Police was established. After a short time Hermann Goering was appointed as commander and changed its character to one of a political police force. Within a year Goering agreed to transfer the Gestapo to Heinrich Himmler where it came under the jurisdiction of the SS. The Gestapo was in charge of investigating, along with the S.D. all enemies of the Reich of which the Jews figured prominently. In addition the Gestapo eventually played a major role in planning and the carrying out of the "Final Solution". Although the S.S. for the most part ran the concentration camps, the Gestapo was responsible for rounding up the Jews as well as overseeing the Einsatzgruppen or Special duty groups.
In 1936, Reinhard Heydrich became head of the Gestapo and Heinrich Müller, its chief of operations. Müller took over after Heydrich's assassination in 1942. He disappeared near the end of the war and was never caught.
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