The very name of Hitler's secret police has become synonymous with the rule of terror that, under Heinrich Himmler, first maintained and then extended the Fuhrer's iron grip on Germany and its people. Waging relentless war on political dissidents. Disaffected citizens and religious minorities alike, the Gestapo's tactics of torture, interrogation and summary execution bolstered Hitler's crumbling regime to the last and established a reputation for brutality and oppression that would endure long after the last Gestapo commandant met his fate at the gallows.