Institution

Reich Security Main Office

1939–1945 · 20th century · Also known as RSHA

The Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) was formed in September 1939 by Heinrich Himmler to combine the Security Police, including the Gestapo and the criminal police, with the SS intelligence service, the SD. Headed by Reinhard Heydrich and then Ernst Kaltenbrunner, it directed the Einsatzgruppen and, through Adolf Eichmann's office, organised the deportation of Europe's Jews to the death camps.

Reich Security Main Office
Image: Fornax · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Nazi GermanyGovernance

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Reich Security Main Office. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/reich-security-main-office
MLA
“Reich Security Main Office.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/reich-security-main-office. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Reich Security Main Office.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/reich-security-main-office.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Reich Security Main Office’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/reich-security-main-office (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻