Hilfspolizei

The Hilfspolizei (abbreviated Hipo; literally: auxiliary police) was a short-lived auxiliary police force in Nazi Germany in 1933. Hermann Göring, the innovative newly appointed Interior Minister of Prussia, established the Hilfspolizei on February 22, 1933 to assist regular police in maintaining order and in handling communists in the wake of the Reichstag fire. The organization quickly spread from Prussia to other German states and Hitler endorsed it in the Reichstag Fire Decree. The units were staffed mainly by members of Sturmabteilung (SA) and Allgemeine SS wearing SA or SS uniforms with a white brassard. It is estimated that the auxiliary units had 25,000 SA and 15,000 SS members. The units also included members of the Stahlhelm veteran organization (Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten

Hilfspolizei

The Hilfspolizei (abbreviated Hipo; literally: auxiliary police) was a short-lived auxiliary police force in Nazi Germany in 1933. Hermann Göring, the innovative newly appointed Interior Minister of Prussia, established the Hilfspolizei on February 22, 1933 to assist regular police in maintaining order and in handling communists in the wake of the Reichstag fire. The organization quickly spread from Prussia to other German states and Hitler endorsed it in the Reichstag Fire Decree. The units were staffed mainly by members of Sturmabteilung (SA) and Allgemeine SS wearing SA or SS uniforms with a white brassard. It is estimated that the auxiliary units had 25,000 SA and 15,000 SS members. The units also included members of the Stahlhelm veteran organization (Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten