Sicherheitsdienst
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Sicherheitsdienst (SD) sleeve insignia. |
The
Sicherheitsdienst (SD, Security Service) was the
intelligence service of the
SS. The organization was the first
Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was considered a "sister organization" with the
Gestapo. Between
1933 and
1939, the SD was under the authority of the
Sicherheitspolizei, after which it was transferred to the authority of the
Reichssicherheitshauptamt.
The SD was created in
1932 by
Reinhard Heydrich and became more powerful after the
Nazis took control of
Germany. It was in some competition with the
Sturmabteilung (SA), but under its chief, Heydrich, on
June 9,
1934, it was made the sole "Party information service". In
1938 it was made the intelligence organization for the State as well as for the Party, supporting the
Gestapo and working with the General and Interior Administration.
The SD was tasked with the detection of actual or potential enemies of the Nazi leadership and the neutralization of this opposition. To fulfill this task, the SD created an organization of agents and informants throughout the Reich and later throughout the occupied territories. The organization consisted of a few hundred full-time agents and several thousand informants. The SD was the information-gathering agency, and the
Gestapo, and to a degree the
Kriminalpolizei, was the executive agency of the political police system. Both the SD and the
Gestapo were effectively under the control of
Heinrich Himmler as Chief of the German Police.
In
1936 the police were divided into the
Ordnungspolizei (ORPO or Order Police) and the
Sicherheitspolizei (
Sipo or Security Police). The
Ordnungspolizei consisted of the
Schutzpolizei (Safety Police), the
Gendarmerie (Rural Police), and the
Gemeindepolizei (Local Police). The
Sicherheitspolizei was composed of the
Reichskriminalpolizei Kriminalpolizei (
Kripo) and the
Geheime Staatspolizei (
Gestapo). Heydrich became Chief of the Security Police and SD.
The
Sicherheitspolizei was centralized in the
Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA, Reich Security Main Office). The operational sections of the SD became
Amt III (except for foreign intelligence which was placed in
Amt VI); the
Gestapo became
Amt IV and the
Kripo became
Amt V.
Otto Ohlendorf was named the Chief of
Amt III, the SD-Inland (within Germany);
Heinrich Müller was named the Chief of
Amt IV, the
Gestapo;
Artur Nebe was named the Chief of
Amt V; and
Walter Schellenberg became Chief of
Amt VI, the SD-Ausland (outside Germany). Later, in
1944, most of the sections of the
Abwehr (military intelligence) were incorporated into
Amt VI.
Heydrich was Chief of the Security Police and SD (RSHA) until his assassination in
1942, after which
Ernst Kaltenbrunner became Chief. Kaltenbrunner took office on
January 30,
1943, and remained there until the end of the war. The SD was declared a criminal organization after the war and its members were tried as war criminals at Nuremberg.
The SD was one of the oldest security organizations of the SS and was first formed in
1931 as the
Ic-Dienst, operating out of a single apartment and answering directly to
Heinrich Himmler. By
1933, the organization was known as the
SD-Amt and, in 1934, became the basis for the official state security organization of the
Sicherheitspolizei. In 1939, the SD was divided into two offices, the
Inland-SD and
Ausland-SD, and placed under the authority of the
RSHA.
By
1941, the SD had been organized into the following sections:
Inland-SD
The Inland-SD was responsible for intelligence and security within Germany and was divided into the following sub-offices:
* Department A (Law and Legal Structures)
* Department B (Race and Ethnic Matters)
* Department C (Cultural and Religious Matters)
* Department D (Industry and Commerce)
* Department E (High Society)
Ausland-SD
The Ausland-SD was the civilian foreign intelligence agency of the
Third Reich. In
1944, the Ausland-SD also took over all functions of the
Abwehr. The Ausland-SD was divided into the following sections:
* Department A (Organization and Administration)
* Department B (Espionage in the West)
* Department C (Espionage in the Soviet Union and Japan)
* Department D (Espionage in the American sphere)
* Department E (Espionage in Eastern Europe)
* Department F (Technical Matters)
Security Forces
The SD was the main source of security forces in occupied territories, and SD battalions were typically placed under the command of the
SS and Police Leaders. The SD also maintained a presence at all
concentration camps and supplied personnel, on an as needed basis, to such special organizations as the
Einsatzgruppen. The SD was also the primary agency, in conjunction with the
Ordnungspolizei, assigned to maintain order and security in the
Jewish Ghettos of
Poland. The typical image of SS troops, storming through ghettos murdering innocent victims, can be attributed to SD troops under the command of local SS and Police Leaders.
Local Offices
The SD also maintained local offices in Germany's cities and larger towns. The small offices were known as
SD-Unterabschnitte, and the larger offices were referred to as
SD-Abschnitte. All SD offices answered to a local commander known as the
Inspektor des Sicherheitspolizei und SD who, in turn, was under the dual command of the
RSHA and local
SS and Police Leaders.
*
List of SS personnel
