The Gestapo, the secret state police of Nazi Germany, was one of the most heinous pillars on which the Third Reich relied for the oppression and extermination of those opposing German National Socialism. Its criminal activities extended to the Nazi-occupied European territories. It was the organization of the Hitler regime that played a crucial role in the persecution of Jews and the Holocaust.

The book unfolds the history of the Gestapo, from its establishment in 1933 to its collapse in 1945, and depicts the inhumane methods and practices it employed to interrogate and annihilate its hundreds of thousands of victims. Drawing on numerous sources, the author presents the profiles of the main leaders of the Gestapo. He records the causes that led to its expansion, in a short period of time from its founding, and describes the missions of the units that spread terror in Germany and occupied Europe.