The SS were Hitler's elite guard units who became the special forces of the German Army, and ultimately carried out the Nazi party's ideals, including overseeing and orchestrating the Holocaust.
At first the SS were simply Hitler's thugs used for political purposes. But then Hitler decided to roll them into the German Army during its reformation during the early 1930's. At first the SS was looked down on by the German soldiers as being political pawns. However, in battle, their fierce fighting and brutal tactics quickly earned them the respect of the German Army.
Some of the SS were used to hunt for Jewish citizens hiding out in occupied territories, and some were used to squash resistance movements by conquered nations citizens. They also enforced the Nazi doctrine in the public, and quickly eliminated any challenges to the party's ideals. The SS secret police were also called the Gestapo.
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It sounds as if you are thinking of the Gestapo - which was a secret and political police.
Yes, from 1934 Himmler was head of the SS and the entire German police, uniformed and secret. He was head of the entire Nazi terror apparatus.
The Nazi secret police were the Geheime Staats Polizei; which was shortened to Gestapo.
The Gespato was the German Secret Police when Adolf Hitler was rounding up Jews for death camps.
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