Reichssicherheitsdienst

The Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD) was an SS security force of Nazi Germany. Originally the personal bodyguards of Adolf Hitler, it later provided men for the protection of other high-ranking leaders of the Nazi regime. The group, although similar in name, was completely separate from the Sicherheitsdienst which was the formal intelligence service for the SS and entire Nazi Party.

Its role also included personal security, investigation of assassination plots, surveillance of locations before the arrival of Nazi dignitaries and vetting buildings as well as guests. The RSD had the power to request assistance from any other SS organisations and take command of all Ordnungspolizei (order police) in its role protecting the Nazi functionaries.

Formation
The RSD was founded on 15 March 1933 as the Führerschutzkommando ("Führer protection command") under the command of then SS-Standartenführer Johann Rattenhuber. Its original members were Bavarian police officers who were charged with protecting the Führer only while he was inside the borders of Bavaria. Hitler's protection outside Bavaria was already entrusted to an eight-member bodyguard called the SS-Begleitkommando des Führers which was founded in February 1932.

Hitler wanted a home-grown close protection group while in Munich because this was the traditional birthplace of the Nazi Party and where any plots would therefore have added significance.

In 1934, the Führerschutzkommando replaced the Begleitkommando for protection throughout Germany. The group was renamed the Reichssicherheitsdienst (Reich Security Service) on 1 August 1935.

Pre-war role
In 1936 a resolution of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht required all members of the RSD to be Wehrmacht officers but with authority that included extra jurisdiction and privileges. It was then called the Reichssicherheitsdienst Gruppe Geheime Feldpolizei z. b. V. The group was technically on the staff of Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler with its personnel wearing the uniform of the SS with the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) diamond on their lower left sleeve. Those who were eligible to claim SS membership could join the RSD and all officers had to present proof that they were of German blood. In 1937 all RSD officers were made members of the SS.

Wartime operations
On the outbreak of World War II, the RSD protected Hitler and other leaders as they travelled around occupied Europe. As RSD chief, Rattenhuber was responsible for securing Hitler's field headquarters. In particular, a battalion guarded the Wolf's Lair near the town of Rastenburg, now Kętrzyn in Poland. Hitler first arrived at the Wolf's Lair on 23 June 1941 and departed for the last time on 20 November 1944. Overall, he spent over 800 days there during that three and half year period. Peter Högl became the deputy to Johann Rattenhuber in the RSD and was appointed Chief of Department 1 (responsible for the personal protection of Hitler).

In January 1945, Rattenhuber accompanied Hitler and his entourage into the bunker complex under the Reich Chancellery gardens in the central government sector of Berlin. On 27 April, Högl was sent to find Himmler's liaison man in Berlin, SS-Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of the Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein who had deserted his post at the bunker complex. Högl's squard found Fegelein who was brought back to the Führerbunker and later shot on 28 April. After Hitler committed suicide on 30 April, Rattenhuber and other RSD officers were captured by the Red Army in Berlin on 1 May 1945. Rattenhuber served 10 years in prison before being released by the Soviets in 1955.