What happens when a loose collective of states and political entities see a revolution in France and then invasion by Napoleon? Hint: it probably has to do with secret police. Following the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the Confederation of German State banned together by common language. The experience of being occupied by a foreign enemy and seeing their neighbors bleed from revolution inspired the German States' first collective police network. Along with the police network also came the development of an extensive international spy ring. They aimed to protect Germany's many sovereigns and prevent petty and political crimes.    Socials: IG: @secretpolicepodcast X: hush_popo Gmail: secretpolicepodcast@gmail.com Special Thanks to: Jan Bögel as Paul Hilken Sources: Police and State in Prussia 1815-1850 by Alf Lüdtke The Gestapo: A History of Horror by Jacquese Delarue  The Gestapo: The Myth and Reality of Hitler’s Secret Police   International Policing in Nineteenth-Century Europe: The Police Union of German States, 1851-1866. (2025). Blogspot.com. https://deflem.blogspot.com/1996/09/international-policing-in-19th-century.html   Facts About Germany. Geography & Climate. https://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/germany-glance/geography-climate    Ten Facts About Agriculture. https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/environment/agriculture-in-germany-ten-facts#:~:text=Grain%20is%20grown%20on%20about,followed%20by%20barley%20and%20rye.    Global Beer Consumption by Country in 2023. Kirin Holdings. https://www.kirinholdings.com/en/newsroom/release/2024/1219_01.html#:~:text=The%20Czech%20Republic%20consumed%20152.1,31st%20consecutive%20year%20since%201993.    Sullivan, R. E. (1999, July 26). Charlemagne | Biography, Accomplishments, Children, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charlemagne    Wagner, G. A., Krbetschek, M., Degering, D., Bahain, J.-J., Shao, Q., Falguères, C., Voinchet, P., Dolo, J.-M., Garcia, T., & Rightmire, G. P. (2010). Radiometric dating of the type-site forHomo heidelbergensisat Mauer, Germany. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(46), 19726–19730. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1012722107   The. (1998, July 20). Saint Leo III | Pope, Charlemagne Coronation. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Leo-III   Why Did Russia & Prussia Have Such Similar Names? Name Explain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdqE-u0JJz0&ab_channel=NameExplain    ‌Smith and Locke on Property | Adam Smith Works. (2019). Adamsmithworks.org. https://www.adamsmithworks.org/documents/smith-and-locke-on-property    Carl Schurz. (2025). American Battlefield Trust. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/carl-schurz 1923 – how our history started. (2023). Interpol.int. https://www.interpol.int/Who-we-are/Our-history/How-our-history-started   ‌Barkin, K. (1998, July 20). Otto von Bismarck | Biography, Significance, Accomplishments, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-von-Bismarck/Prime-minister Proclamation of the German Empire, 1871. (2018, August 23). Palace of Versailles; Versailles. https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/proclamation-german-empire-1871#:~:text=On%2016%20December%201870%20a,in%20the%20Hall%20of%20Mirrors. The Siege of Paris. (2022, November 15). Warfare History Network. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-siege-of-paris/ Swift, J. (2024, February 20). Siege of Paris (1870−71) | Summary. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siege-of-Paris-1870-1871 Barkin, K. (1998, July 20). Otto von Bismarck | Biography, Significance, Accomplishments, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Otto-von-Bismarck/Prime-minister Bauer, D. S. (2025). Georges Boulanger: The Third Republic’s Spy Master? Proceedings of the Western Society for French History, 39. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.0642292.

The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission

The secret police of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

The secret police of the Congo Free State.

The history and methods of Iran’s secret police, the SAVAK.

History and methods of Japan’s secret police, the Kempeitai.

Bonus Episode! V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Llyod. The story shows a bleak future where the United Kingdom is run by a totalitarian government run by a political party called Norsefire. A masked vigilante known simply as "V" is bent on sparking a revolution, driven by a vendetta against those in the government that subjected him and his country to repression and terror. V orchestrates a series of symbolic attacks, picking off government officials in an effort to inspire resistance. Every Hammond gets caught up in V’s schemes when she’s rescued from Norsefire's secret police, The Fingermen.Thank you for listening! YouTube - please subscribe! :D https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsC0ajH6e2ko0wYGEhklbog Socials https://www.instagram.com/secretpolicepodcast/   Patreon https://www.patreon.com/SecretPolicePodcast    Sources:   V for Vendetta graphic novel by Alan Moore - Thank you to yodaskid on YouTube for reading the entire novel with images.  V for Vendetta (film)   V for Vendetta wiki Vforvendetta.fandom.com   Alan Moore talks - 01 - V For Vendetta. Livestreaming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX7ehbE1vc0&ab_channel=Livestreaming    Selected bits from V for Vendetta (2006)   Music: Scorching Action by Jon Presstone Tension in the Dark by Jon Presstone Gnosienne by Eric Satie performed by Neil Cross and Raighes Factory Introitus by Michele Nobler 1 Minute Suspense Cinematic Dark Ambient Riser Build Trailer by MEDIA MUSIC GROUP "Hun Dun" - Hard Trap Beat by C.j. Harris

The Haitian secret police.

An interview with Kristaps Andrejsons.

A summary of Russian secret police and the future of Secret Police podcast.

History and methods of the Russian Federal Security Service.

How the KGB met its end

The KGB ramps up repression

An interview with History Impossible

The KGB during the Cuban Missile Crisis

KGB spy craft

Khrushchev takes the reigns of power.

The Thought Police from 1984.

The later years of the NKVD under the leadership of Lavrenti Beria.

The history and methods of Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD.