Overview
- Description
- Case files kept on individuals by the Gestapo in Zichenau (Ciechanów), Poland. The case files contain information about individuals in the Zichenau area suspected of crimes such as acts of resistance, smuggling, and illegal border crossings. In some cases, the persons accused were sent to concentration camps. Also contains files concerning Polish priests involved in underground movements, attacks by partisan groups, and investigations of illegal border crossings.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1940-1945
- Collection Creator
- Germany. Geheime Staatspolizei
- Biography
-
The Geheime Staatspolizei (German for Secret State Police, abbreviated “Gestapo”) was the secret police of Nazi Germany, and its main tool of oppression and destruction, which persecuted Germans, opponents of the regime, and Jews. It later played a central role in helping carry out the Nazi's "Final Solution." The Gestapo was formally organized after the Nazis seized power in 1933. Hermann Göring, the Prussian minister of the interior, detached the espionage and political units of the Prussian police and proceeded to staff them with thousands of Nazis. On April 26, 1933, Göring became the commander of this new force that was given power to shadow, arrest, interrogate, and intern any "enemies" of the state. At the same time that Goring was organizing the Gestapo, Heinrich Himmler was directing the SS (Schutzstaffel, German for “Protective Echelon”), Hitler's elite paramilitary corps. In April 1936, he was given command of the Gestapo as well, integrating all of Germany's police units under Himmler. Later in 1936, the Gestapo was merged with the Kriminalpolizei (or “Kripo,” German for Criminal Police). The newly integrated unit was the called the Sicherheitspolizei(or “Sipo,” German for Secret Police). In 1939, during the reorganization of the German armies, the Sipo was joined with an intelligence branch of the military known as the Sicherheitsdienst (“SD,” meaning Security Service). After this merger, the Sipo became known as the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (“RSHA,” meaning Reich Security Central Office), and was headed by Reinhard Heydrich. Because of these frequent changes, the functions of the Gestapo became blurred, and often overlapped with those of the other branches of the German forces. During World War II, the Einsatzgruppen ("Task Force", mobile killing squads) was formed, and came to be an integral part of the Gestapo. It was the Einsatzgruppen's job to round up all the Jews and other “undesirables” living within Germany's newly conquered territories, and to either send them to concentration camps or put them to death. At the end of 1940, when the Jews in Eastern Europe were interned in ghettos, the Gestapo was charged with guarding and supervising the ghettos, imposing forced labor, and causing starvation and disease in an effort to decimate the ghetto inhabitants. After the invasion of Russia in 1941, the decision was made to kill all the Jews of Europe in gas chambers and the Gestapo was called upon to supervise the dispatch of the Jews to the camps specially adapted or constructed for the program of mass murder. The Gestapo units excelled in their unabated and premeditated cruelty, in their ability to delude its intended victims as to the fate that awaited them, and in the use of barbaric threats and torture to lead the victims to their death, all as part of the "Final Solution." The units were taught many torture techniques, and were also taught many of the practices that German doctors in Dachau tested on the inmates of concentration camps. During its tenure, the Gestapo operated without any restrictions from the civil authority, meaning that its members could not be tried for any of their police practices. This unconditional authority added an elitist element to the Gestapo; its members knew that whatever actions they took, no consequences would arise. After the war, very few of the important members of the Gestapo were caught and brought to trial. Sources: Gutman, Israel. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. “Gestapo.” Volume 1: A-K. NY: Simon and Schuster. 1990.; Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group.; Jewish Virtual Library]
Physical Details
- Language
- German
- Extent
-
17,149 digital images : JPEG ; 42.3 GB.
16 microfilm reels (digitized) ; 35 mm.
- System of Arrangement
- This collection is arranged in one series: Case Files from the Gestapo in Zichenau (Ciechanów), Poland. Organized alphabetically by surname. A complete list of case files is located at the beginning of microfilm reel #1.
Records are arranged in the original order of their acquisition from the source archive. The museum has acquired only selected records from Institute of National Remembrance (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej-Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, or IPN). More information about this collection and other materials in the possession of the Institute of National Remembrance, including archival finding aids from the Archives of the Institute of National Remembrance, is available at the website: https://ipn.gov.pl
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- This material can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations. Researchers must complete and sign a User Declaration form before access is granted to materials from the Institute of National Remembrance (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej).
- Conditions on Use
- 1. Each researcher using the materials obtained from the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) or materials whose originals belong to the IPN must complete the registration procedure required by USHMM.
2. Publication or reproduction of documents (in the original language, in facsimile form or in the form of a translation of an excerpt or of the entire document) or making them available to a third party in any form requires the written consent of the Institute of National Remembrance (archiwumipn@ipn.gov.pl). The use of an excerpt defined as the fair use right to quote does not require obtaining consent.
3. Researchers assume all responsibility for the use of materials that belong to the Institute of National Remembrance.
4. References to documents that belong to the Institute of National Remembrance must cite the Institute of National Remembrance as the owner of the original documents and include the full reference citation of the Institute of National Remembrance in the citations. - Copyright Holder
- Instytut Pamięci Narodowej-Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
Instytut Pamięci Narodowej-Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Source of acquisition is the Instytut Pamięci Narodowej-Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu (IPN), Warsaw, Poland, Sygn.186. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the microfilms in Aug. 1994.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-25 08:12:48
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn503825
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
- See Rights and Restrictions
- Terms of Use
- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Requires Research Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD