Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring at the meeting to formally hand over control of the Gestapo ( Berlin, 1934 ).

Göring, concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to use the Gestapo effectively to counteract the power of the Sturmabteilung ( SA ), handed over its control to Himmler on 20 April 1934.

Heydrich, named chief of the Gestapo by Himmler on 22 April 1934, also continued as head of the Sicherheitsdienst ( SD: Security Service ").

Shortly thereafter, Himmler created the Kriminalpolizei ( Kripo: Criminal Police ), merging it with the Gestapo into the Sicherheitspolizei ( SiPo: Security Police ), under Heydrich's command.

1939 photograph ; shown from left to right are Franz Josef Huber, Arthur Nebe, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich and Heinrich Müller ( Gestapo ) | Heinrich Müller.

Fearful of an internal overthrow, the forces of Himmler and the Gestapo were unleashed on the opposition.

However Himmler, who had been appointed Chef der Deutschen Polizei ( Chief of German Police ) by Hitler, controlled the SS, the Gestapo, the Orpo ( uniformed police ) and all investigation units.

The Gestapo ( secret police ) under Heinrich Himmler destroyed the political opposition and persecuted the Jews, trying to force them into exile, while taking their property.

Göring, concerned that Diels was not ruthless enough to use the Gestapo effectively to counteract the power of the SA, handed over its control to Himmler on 20 April 1934.

Heydrich, named chief of the Gestapo by Himmler on 22 April 1934, also continued as head of the SD.

Shortly thereafter, Himmler created the Kriminalpolizei ( Kripo: criminal police ), merging it with the Gestapo into the Sicherheitspolizei ( SiPo: security police ), under Heydrich's command.

In September 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, Himmler formed the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt ( RSHA: Reich Main Security Office ) to bring the SiPo ( which included the Gestapo and Kripo ) and the SD together under one umbrella.

However, the inability of Himmler to persuade Hitler to cease his support of Bormann, the defection of SS generals such as Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and his powerful subordinate Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo, to Bormann, soon persuaded Goebbels to align himself with the Secretary to the Führer at the end of 1944, thus accepting his subordinate position.

When Göring transferred full authority over the Gestapo to Himmler in April 1934, it immediately became an instrument of terror under the SS's purview.

Himmler named Heydrich to head the Gestapo on 22 April 1934.

On 26 June, Himmler reorganised the police into two groups: the Ordnungspolizei ( Orpo ), consisting of both the national uniformed police and the municipal police, and the Sicherheitspolizei ( SiPo ), consisting of the Gestapo and Kripo ( Kriminalpolizei-criminal police ).

Himmler also received control of the Gestapo in 1934, and, that same year, Hitler had given the SS jurisdiction over all concentration camps.

The Gestapo, which would eventually become a semi-integrated part of the SS security forces, was at first a large " thorn in the side " to Himmler as the group was originally the Prussian state political police under the control of Hermann Göring and commanded by his protege Rudolf Diels.

Early Gestapo activities came into direct conflict with the SS and it was not until the SA became a common enemy that Göring turned over control of the Gestapo to Himmler and Heydrich ( the three then worked together to destroy the greater threat of the SA leadership ).

On April 20, 1934, ( as a prelude to the Night of the Long Knives ), Göring transferred the Gestapo to Himmler, who was also named chief of all German police forces outside Prussia ; two days later Himmler named Heydrich the head of the Gestapo.

Both the SD and the Gestapo were departments under Heydrich's control who answered to Himmler as both Chief of the German Police and Reichsfuhrer-SS, but the Kripo kept a level of independence as its structure was longer-established.

Himmler also gained authority over all of Germany's uniformed law enforcement agencies, which were amalgamated into the new Ordnungspolizei ( Orpo: Order Police ), which became an agency of the SS under Kurt Daluege.

Himmler and Heydrich had greater bargaining power, as they were allied with Frick's old enemy, Göring.

Himmler continued his plans to colonise the east, even when many Germans were reluctant to relocate there, and despite negative effects on the war effort.

Himmler and two aides were stopped at a checkpoint on 21 May and detained.

Himmler modified a variety of existing customs to emphasize the elitism and central role of the SS ; an SS naming ceremony was to replace baptism, marriage ceremonies were to be altered, a separate SS funeral ceremony was to be held in addition to Christian ceremonies, and SS-centric celebrations of the summer and winter solstice were instituted.

Himmler placed particular importance on the death's-head rings ; they were never to be sold, and were to be returned to him upon the death of the owner.

Himmler was not a member of Hitler's inner circle ; the two men were not very close, and rarely saw each other socially.

Margarete, by then living in Gmund with her daughter, learned of the relationship sometime in 1941 ; she and Himmler were already separated, and she decided to tolerate the relationship for the sake of her daughter.

Himmler adopted the doctrine of Auftragstaktik (" mission command "), whereby orders were given as broad directives, with authority delegated downward to the appropriate level to carry them out in a timely and efficient manner.

By the mid-1930s, Hitler ’ s most powerful subordinates were Hermann Göring, as head of the Four Year Plan for crash rearmament, and Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS and police apparatus.

50 stills from the filming in Krün near Mittenwald were later found and from these, surviving prisoners were able to identify 29 camp inmates who worked for Riefenstahl and were then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in the first weeks of March 1943 following Himmler ’ s December 1942 decree.

On 17 June 1936 all police forces throughout Germany were united, following Hitler appointing Himmler as Chief of German Police.

These uniforms were rarely worn after the war began, however, as Himmler ordered that the all-black uniforms be turned in for use by others.

After the war began, Himmler ordered the uniforms to be turned in and many were then sent west to be used by Germanic-SS units such as the ones in Holland and Denmark.

His positions were taken over by Ernst Kaltenbrunner in January 1943, following a few short months of Heinrich Himmler personally running the RSHA while searching for Heydrich's replacement.

Hitler's chief lieutenants, Göring and the SS chief Heinrich Himmler, took this and other comments by Hitler at this time ( most of which were not recorded, but were attested to at postwar trials ) as authority to proceed with a definitive " final solution of the Jewish question " ( Die Endlösung der Judenfrage ) involving the complete removal of the Jews from the German-occupied territories.

Himmler had initially been a supporter of Röhm, arguing that the charges of homosexuality against him were manufactured by Jews.

According to Geoffrey J. Giles ( mentioned earlier ) the SS, and its leader Heinrich Himmler, were particularly concerned about homosexuality.

With Himmler as Chief of the German Police, the SS also controlled the Ordnungspolizei, which over the course of World War II would be increasingly overshadowed and infiltrated by the SS.

After receiving a quiet-but nonetheless deadly-dressing-down from Reichsfuehrer Himmler personally, Kappler attempts to end the Monsignor's activities and destroy the group, but is increasingly frustrated by O ' Flaherty's repeated successes, due to a combination of his clever plans, numerous disguises ( a coalman, a peddler of religious souvenirs, a dustman, a postman, a nun and even an SS-Sturmbannführer ) and stressing the very limits of international law.