Very few state organisations in history have instilled fear into citizens like the Gestapo, Adolf Hitlers secret police. During the darkest days of the Third Reich, the most dreaded sound was a knock at the door after dark. Everyone who lived under Nazi rule lived in fear of the secretive agents known colloquially as V-Men. Hitler called them his deadliest weapon, and without them the Führers ambition could never have been realised. Until now, their full story has not been told.

Within six years of its inception, the Gestapo had grown from a regional secret police force into a crucial executive arm of the Nazi Party. By the outbreak of World War II, it had evolved into a wide-reaching organisation whose success in crushing resistance to the state was unparalleled. As the war in Europe raged, the Gestapo extended their operations to include areas under German control, leading to a new era of terror which culminated in Hitlers Final Solution. This fascinating documentary from HISTORY explores the inner workings of the Gestapo, from its origins to its rise to prominence as Hitlers main instrument of fear a sinister organisation that held the power of life and death over millions.