Hitler’s executive

Austrian policemen in the Third Reich

The police were one of the main pillars of the National Socialist dictatorship. Their work was part of the Nazi regime’s racist policies of extermination and conquest. Their main tasks comprised establishing and maintaining “order and security” in the German Reich, both on the home front and in the occupied territories. Austrian police officers and gendarme were also significantly involved in the persecution and murder of people, in war crimes, and in the Holocaust. The present catalogue, published in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition, provides a concise overview of the organization, ideology, and options for action of the Austrian police under National Socialism.

• By (author) Martina Zerovnik