Prussian Secret Police
Encyclopedia
The Prussian Secret Police was the state police
agency of the German
state of Prussia
in the 19th century and early 20th century.
In 1851 Police Union of German States was set up by the police forces of Austria
, Prussia, Bavaria
, Saxony
, Hanover
, Baden
, and Württemberg
. It was specifically organised to suppress political dissent in the wake of the 1848 Revolutions which spread across Germany. For the next fifteen years there were annual meetings.
Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey, the Police President of Berlin
was appointed by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV on November 16, 1848. He was to prove to be a key figure in the development of the secret police in Prussia as well as the whole union. By 1854 thanks to his close relationship with the King, he was appointed Generalpolizeidirektor (General Director of Police). Effectively he was a minister of police independent from the minister of the interior. Von Hinckeldey founded the Berlin political police in Berlin and developed a Prussian information system on political opponents, focusing on revolutionaries involved with the 1848 uprisings. But as he saw Paris
and London
as the centers of political intrigue he was keen to organize the policing of political opponents outside borders of national jurisdictions.
The Prussian Secret Police has historically held a bad reputation, as it was the model upon which the Gestapo
was later founded. The Prussian Secret Police, however, did not routinely engage in persecution or abuse of police powers, and did not behave in the way that other secret police
forces might.
The Prussian Secret Police ceased to exist in 1933 with the founding of the Gestapo and was never formed again since Prussia, as both a country and a state of Germany
, no longer exists.
State police
State police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canadian provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national...
agency of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
in the 19th century and early 20th century.
In 1851 Police Union of German States was set up by the police forces of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Prussia, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
, and Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. It was specifically organised to suppress political dissent in the wake of the 1848 Revolutions which spread across Germany. For the next fifteen years there were annual meetings.
Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey, the Police President of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
was appointed by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV on November 16, 1848. He was to prove to be a key figure in the development of the secret police in Prussia as well as the whole union. By 1854 thanks to his close relationship with the King, he was appointed Generalpolizeidirektor (General Director of Police). Effectively he was a minister of police independent from the minister of the interior. Von Hinckeldey founded the Berlin political police in Berlin and developed a Prussian information system on political opponents, focusing on revolutionaries involved with the 1848 uprisings. But as he saw Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as the centers of political intrigue he was keen to organize the policing of political opponents outside borders of national jurisdictions.
The Prussian Secret Police has historically held a bad reputation, as it was the model upon which the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
was later founded. The Prussian Secret Police, however, did not routinely engage in persecution or abuse of police powers, and did not behave in the way that other secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
forces might.
The Prussian Secret Police ceased to exist in 1933 with the founding of the Gestapo and was never formed again since Prussia, as both a country and a state of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, no longer exists.