From their origin as a handful of men protecting Nazi political rallies, the SS and Gestapo grew to be the feared Police of the Master Race and subjected two-thirds of Europe to their organized tyranny. Under Himmler and Heydrich, these corps of "Aryan" elite administered the systematic genocide of European Jews and a reign of terror on all enemies of the Reich.
From their origin as a handful of men protecting Nazi political rallies, the SS and Gestapo grew to be the feared Police of the Master Race and subjected two-thirds of Europe to their organized tyranny. Under Himmler and Heydrich, these corps of "Aryan" elite administered the systematic genocide of European Jews and a reign of terror on all enemies of the Reich.