Reichssicherheitsdienst

Reich Security Service (RSD)

Reichssicherheitsdienst
The RSD was a branch of the SS.
RSD stand among dignitaries at the arrival of Joseph Goebbels and Hermann Göring in Nürnberg, 1936.
Agency overview
Formed	March 15, 1933
Preceding agencies	Führerschutzkommando SS-Begleitkommando des Führers
Dissolved	May 8, 1945
Type	Security Service
Jurisdiction	Germany Occupied Europe
Headquarters	Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, Berlin 52°30′26″N 13°22′57″E / 52.50722°N 13.38250°E / 52.50722; 13.38250
Minister responsible	Heinrich Himmler 1931–1945, Reichsführer-SS
Agency executive	SS-Gruppenführer Johann Rattenhuber (1933–1945)
Parent agency	Schutzstaffel

The Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD, lit. "Reich security service") was an SS security force of Nazi Germany. Originally bodyguards for 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 (SD), which was the formal intelligence service for the SS, the Nazi Party and later Nazi Germany.

Its role 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.