Gestapo

American  

[guh-stah-poh, guh-shtah-poh] / gəˈstɑ poʊ, gəˈʃtɑ poʊ /

noun

1. the German state secret police during the Nazi regime, organized in 1933 and notorious for its brutal methods and operations.

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adjective

1. (sometimes lowercase) of or resembling the Nazi Gestapo, especially in the brutal suppression of opposition.

   The new regime is using gestapo tactics.

Gestapo British  

/ ɡɛˈstɑːpəʊ, ɡeˈʃtaːpo /

noun

1. the secret state police in Nazi Germany, noted for its brutal methods of interrogation

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Gestapo Cultural  

1. The secret police of the Third Reich in Germany. The Gestapo operated against Germans suspected of treason by using brutal interrogation and torture; they instilled widespread fear by their terrorist methods.

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Figuratively, any brutal secret police organization may be called a “gestapo.”

“Gestapo tactics” in general are intimidating official procedures.

Etymology

Origin of Gestapo

< German Ge ( heime ) Sta ( ats ) po ( lizei )

Example Sentences

“Music transports them to regions where the Gestapo can do them no harm.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Does anyone think it would have been a good idea to keep an allegedly “reformed” Gestapo in place as a postwar law enforcement agency?

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

Cabaret performer Werner Finck opened a club in 1929 and dared Gestapo members in the audience to write down his every word.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

Fraenkel chose to continue representing clients in the Berlin courts from the beginning of 1933 up until 1938, when he had to flee because he was targeted by the Gestapo.

From Slate • May 27, 2025

As the war intensified, the Gestapo arrested people who denounced Hitler, the Nazi Party, or the war.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti