Before Herman Göring became the leader of Germany’s air force, he was appointed by Hitler to the Ministry of the Interior of Prussia, Germany’s most important state, which included the Rhineland industrial centers and Berlin, and charged with solidifying order at any cost. His first act to that end was promoting his ministry’s “brownshirts” beyond the powers of the police, giving them, essentially free reign to loot and arrest anyone (though they targeted mostly Jews) as they see fit. Then Göring disbanded most of the police and deputized those same brownshirts to take over the policing duties — and to root out any potential enemies of the regime.

On this day, April 23, in 1933, the Secret State Police (Geheime Staats Polizei) was officially created. The abbreviation, from the first several letters of each word, supposedly came from a German postal official who wanted a name that could fit on a postage stamp.

The Gestapo proceeded proceeded ruthlessly against friend and foe alike. Much to Göring’s delight, the Prussian Ministry of the Interior already had secret dossiers on many of the top Nazi leaders. He made the most of them to ensure his rise to the top would not be opposed, although his spot for the leadership of the Gestapo was ultimately taken over by Heinrich Himmler, the man most associated with the chaos the brownshirts were about to sow.