Editing Reich Security Main Office (section)

{{Short description|Nazi German police and intelligence organization (1939–45)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name   = Reich Security Main Office
|nativename    = {{lang|de|Reichssicherheitshauptamt}} (RSHA)
|nativename_a  = 
|nativename_r  = 
|logo          = Stander Chef der SiPo und SD 1942.svg
|logo_width    = 
|logo_caption  = Flag for the Chief of the SiPo and SD
|type          = RSHA
|formed        = 27 September 1939
|preceding1    = {{lang|de|[[Sicherheitspolizei]]}} (SiPo)
|preceding2    = {{lang|de|[[Sicherheitsdienst]]}} (SD)
|dissolved     = 8 May 1945
|superseding   = 
|jurisdiction  = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}<br />[[German-occupied Europe|Occupied Europe]]
|headquarters  = {{lang|de|[[Niederkirchnerstraße|Prinz-Albrecht-Straße]]|italic=no}} 8, Berlin
|coordinates   = {{coord|52|30|26|N|13|22|57|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}
|employees     = 50,648 (February 1944 {{estimation}}){{sfn|Nachama|2010|p=358}}
|budget        = 
|minister1_name  = [[Heinrich Himmler]]
|minister1_pfo   = (1939–1945)
|minister2_name  = 
|minister2_pfo   = 
|chief1_name     = [[Reinhard Heydrich]] (1939–1942) 
|chief1_position = Chief of SiPo and SD
|chief2_name     = Heinrich Himmler (1942–1943)
|chief2_position = Acting Chief of SiPo and SD
|chief3_name     = [[Ernst Kaltenbrunner]] (1943–1945)
|chief3_position = Chief of SiPo and SD
|agency_type     = {{•}}[[Secret police]]<br />{{•}}[[Intelligence agency]]
|parent_agency   = [[Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)|Ministry of the Interior]] (nominally)<br/>{{lang|de|[[Allgemeine SS]]}}
|child1_agency   = [[Gestapo]]
|child2_agency   = {{lang|de|[[Sicherheitsdienst]]}} (SD)
|child3_agency   = {{lang|de|[[Sicherheitspolizei]]}} (SiPo)
|child4_agency   = {{lang|de|[[Kriminalpolizei (Nazi Germany)|Kriminalpolizei]]}} (Kripo)
|footnotes       = 
}}
The '''Reich Security Main Office'''{{efn|The ''Reichssicherheitshauptamt'' is variously translated in sources as "Reich Security Main Office", "Reich Main Security Office", "Reich Central Security Main Office", "Reich Security Central Office", "Reich Head Security Office", or "Reich Security Head Office".}} ({{langx|de|Reichssicherheitshauptamt}} {{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪ̯çsˌzɪçɐhaɪ̯t͡sˌhaʊ̯ptʔamt|pron|De-Reichssicherheitshauptamt.ogg}}, '''RSHA''') was an organization under [[Heinrich Himmler]] in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and {{Lang|de|[[Reichsführer-SS]]}}, the head of the [[Nazi Party]]'s ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS). The organization's stated duty was to fight all "enemies of the [[German Reich|Reich]]" inside and outside the borders of [[Nazi Germany]]. From its very inception, the RSHA was a central institution for the [[Nazism|Nazis]], playing a pivotal role in orchestrating and executing [[the Holocaust]].

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