A crucial and often overlooked aspect of authoritarian regimes are the ranks of the political or secret police. More akin to a paramilitary force than your average cops, secret police enforce the ideology of the State and the personal agenda of a dictator. On this podcast, Jack takes a deep and detailed dive into the history, methods, and the people of the world’s most infamous secret police forces such as the KGB or the Gestapo. Follow @secretpolicepodcast on Instagram! Please subscribe, give a rating, and a review. Thank you!
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A crucial and often overlooked aspect of authoritarian regimes are the ranks of the political or secret police. More akin to a paramilitary force than your average cops, secret police enforce the ideology of the State and the personal agenda of a dictator. On this podcast, Jack takes a deep and detailed dive into the history, methods, and the people of the world’s most infamous secret police forces such as the KGB or the Gestapo. Follow @secretpolicepodcast on Instagram! Please subscribe, give a rating, and a review. Thank you!
German Secret Police pt. 1 Prussia & The Police Union
Secret Police
1 hour 30 minutes 42 seconds
4 months ago
German Secret Police pt. 1 Prussia & The Police Union
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
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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.
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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.
Secret Police
A crucial and often overlooked aspect of authoritarian regimes are the ranks of the political or secret police. More akin to a paramilitary force than your average cops, secret police enforce the ideology of the State and the personal agenda of a dictator. On this podcast, Jack takes a deep and detailed dive into the history, methods, and the people of the world’s most infamous secret police forces such as the KGB or the Gestapo. Follow @secretpolicepodcast on Instagram! Please subscribe, give a rating, and a review. Thank you!
