Sicherheitspolizei

division of SS, Nazi Germany

Also known as: Security Police, Sipo

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July 13, 2026

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The Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo) was a Nazi German security organization that combined the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police) and the Gestapo (political police) under the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Central Office). The Gestapo was known for ruthlessly suppressing opposition to the Nazi Party and, alongside the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), was instrumental in the roundup and deportation of Jews to extermination camps across Europe.123

The Ordnungspolizei (Order Police) were the uniformed police agencies of the Third Reich and became an integral part of the SS and police bureaucracy. They participated in mass murder and atrocities in occupied territories during World War II, including escorting trains to death camps and murdering an estimated one million people, primarily Jews. Both the Sicherheitspolizei and the Ordnungspolizei were under the command of Heinrich Himmler, who also headed the SS.41

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Gestapo
Powers of the Gestapo and its role in the Holocaust
…of a new organization, the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo; “Security Police”). Under a 1939 SS reorganization, the Sipo was joined with the Sicherheitsdienst, an SS intelligence department, to form the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (“Reich Security Central Office”) under Heydrich. In that bureaucratic maze, the functions of the Gestapo often overlapped with those of other…
Read More
…of a new organization, the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo; “Security Police”). Under a 1939 SS reorganization, the Sipo was joined with the Sicherheitsdienst, an SS intelligence department, to form the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (“Reich Security Central Office”) under Heydrich. In that bureaucratic maze, the functions of the Gestapo often overlapped with those of other…
Read More