The Geheime Staatspolizei ([ɡəˈhaɪmə ˈʃtaːtspoliˌtsaɪ] ⓘ, lit. ‘‘Secret State Police’’), abbreviated Gestapo ([ɡəˈstaːpo] ⓘ),[3] was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.

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