Foundations of the Nazi Police State: The Formation of Sipo and SD

The abbreviation “Nazi,” the acronym “Gestapo,” and the initials “SS” have become resonant elements of our vocabulary. Less known is “SD,” and hardly anyone recognizes the combination “Sipo and SD.” Although Sipo and SD formed the heart of the National Socialist police state, the phrase carries none of the ominous impact that it should. Although no single organization carries full responsibility for the evils of the Third Reich, the SS-police system was the executor of terrorism and “population policy” in the same way the military carried out the Reich’s imperialistic aggression. Within the police state, even the concentration camps could not rival the impact of Sipo and SD. It was the source not only of the “desk murderers” who administered terror and genocide by assigning victims to the camps, but also of the police executives for identification and arrest, and of the command and staff for a major instrument of execution, the Einsatzgruppen. Foundations of the Nazi Police State offers the narrative and analysis of the external struggle that created Sipo and SD. This book is the author’s preface to his discussion of the internal evolution of these organizations in Hitler’s Enforcers: The Gestapo and the SS Security Service in the Nazi Revolution. George C. Browder is retired professor of history at SUNY and has dedicated nearly 50 years to the study of Germany, World War II, and the Nazi police state. A welcome addition to the literature on National Socialist Germany. -- American Historical Review [The book] makes major changes in our understanding of the structure and functioning of the Nazi police state. -- Canadian Journal of History This is the first comprehensive study of how the Gestapo and all other detective police came to be united under the Sipo (Security Police) and tied to the SD (The Security Services of the Party and SS). -- Educational Book Review The work fills an important gap in the literature on the Third Reich. -- Historian Sheds new light on Himmler\u27s role in the complex web of the Nazi police state. -- Publishers Weeklyhttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_european_history/1003/thumbnail.jp

The numerical strength of the Sicherheitsdienst des RFSS

Grunddaten, wie die Größe einer Organisation während verschiedener Stadien ihrer Entwicklung sind nicht nur die notwendige Voraussetzung für verfeinerte quantitative Analysen, sondern werfen auch ein bezeichnendes Licht auf viele wichtige Aspekte der Organisationsgeschichte. Da solche Daten für den Sicherheitsdienst des RFSS nur für die Jahre 1935 und 1937 bis 1944 vorhanden sind, mußte das numerische Wachstum der früheren Jahren rekonstruiert werden. Dies wurde mittels Projektionen von Daten des Führerkorps im Vergleich zu einer Auswahl bekannter Mitglieder und zwei noch existierender Richtgrößen getan. Eine weitere Analyse der vorhandenen Daten zeigt: Die Auswirkungen der Personalerfordernisse in Kriegszeiten auf die Mitgliedschaft im SD, das sich verändernde Verhältnis zwischen amtstätigen SD und Angehörigen in der Polizei, die relative Größe des SD-HA und des RSHA-Büros. Zusammengenommen erwecken die sich ergebenden Daten Fragen über bislang erwähnte Quellen der Größe des SD und zur Analyse seiner Personalpolitik. (KWübers.)'Such basic data as the size of an organization at various stages of its development are not only essential to more sophisticated quantitative analyses, but they cast light on many important aspects of organizational history. Since such data are available on the Sicherheitsdienst des RFSS for only the years 1935 and 1937-1944, the numerical growth of the early years must be reconstructed. This is done by projections from data on the Führerkorps compared with samples of known members and two surviving benchmarks. Further analysis of available data reveals: the effect of wartime personal requirements on SD membership; the changing relation between Amtstätige SD and members in the police; and the relative size of the SD-HA and the RSHA office staffs. All together, the resultant data raises questions about previously cited sources on the size of the SD and analyses of its personnel policy.' (author's abstract

A theorem on maximal monotonic sets in Hilbert space

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32073/1/0000117.pd

Prognostic impact of matched preoperative plasma and serum VEGF in patients with primary colorectal carcinoma

In serum, the major part of vascular endothelial growth factor derives from in vitro degranulation of granulocytes and platelets. Therefore, plasma may be preferred for vascular endothelial growth factor measurements. However, which specimen is the best predictor of survival is still debated. The present study analyzed the prognostic value of matched preoperative serum and plasma vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations in patients with colorectal cancer. To establish the reference range among healthy people, vascular endothelial growth factor was analyzed in 50 matched EDTA-plasma and serum samples from healthy blood donors. Preoperatively, in 524 patients with colorectal cancer, matched plasma and serum vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations were analyzed. In the colorectal cancer patients, the median plasma vascular endothelial growth factor concentration (44 pg ml−1) was significantly (P=0.01) higher than the median plasma vascular endothelial growth factor concentration (30 pg ml−1) in the healthy blood donors. In serum, no significant (P=0.30) difference in the median vascular endothelial growth factor concentration was found between colorectal cancer patients (268 pg ml−1) and healthy blood donors (220 pg ml−1). The preoperative vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations were dichotomized by the 95th percentile of the healthy blood donors (plasma=112 pg ml−1, serum=533 pg ml−1). In univariate survival analyses, both high plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (>112 pg ml−1) and high serum vascular endothelial growth factor (>533 pg ml−1) predicted a reduced survival. In multivariate survival analyses, high serum vascular endothelial growth factor (>533 pg ml−1) independently predicted a reduced survival (HR=1.65, P=0.015), while high plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (>112 pg ml−1) did not (HR=1.27, P=0.23). This study indicates that preoperative serum vascular endothelial growth factor apparently is a better predictor of overall survival than the preoperative plasma vascular endothelial growth factor

New generalized fuzzy metrics and fixed point theorem in fuzzy metric space

In this paper, in fuzzy metric spaces (in the sense of Kramosil and Michalek (Kibernetika 11:336-344, 1957)) we introduce the concept of a generalized fuzzy metric which is the extension of a fuzzy metric. First, inspired by the ideas of Grabiec (Fuzzy Sets Syst. 125:385-389, 1989), we define a new G-contraction of Banach type with respect to this generalized fuzzy metric, which is a generalization of the contraction of Banach type (introduced by M Grabiec). Next, inspired by the ideas of Gregori and Sapena (Fuzzy Sets Syst. 125:245-252, 2002), we define a new GV-contraction of Banach type with respect to this generalized fuzzy metric, which is a generalization of the contraction of Banach type (introduced by V Gregori and A Sapena). Moreover, we provide the condition guaranteeing the existence of a fixed point for these single-valued contractions. Next, we show that the generalized pseudodistance J:X×X→[0,∞) (introduced by Włodarczyk and Plebaniak (Appl. Math. Lett. 24:325-328, 2011)) may generate some generalized fuzzy metric NJ on X. The paper includes also the comparison of our results with those existing in the literature

The clinical course of low back pain: a meta-analysis comparing outcomes in randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and observational studies.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that the course of low back pain (LBP) symptoms in randomised clinical trials (RCTs) follows a pattern of large improvement regardless of the type of treatment. A similar pattern was independently observed in observational studies. However, there is an assumption that the clinical course of symptoms is particularly influenced in RCTs by mere participation in the trials. To test this assumption, the aim of our study was to compare the course of LBP in RCTs and observational studies. METHODS: Source of studies CENTRAL database for RCTs and MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and hand search of systematic reviews for cohort studies. Studies include individuals aged 18 or over, and concern non-specific LBP. Trials had to concern primary care treatments. Data were extracted on pain intensity. Meta-regression analysis was used to compare the pooled within-group change in pain in RCTs with that in cohort studies calculated as the standardised mean change (SMC). RESULTS: 70 RCTs and 19 cohort studies were included, out of 1134 and 653 identified respectively. LBP symptoms followed a similar course in RCTs and cohort studies: a rapid improvement in the first 6 weeks followed by a smaller further improvement until 52 weeks. There was no statistically significant difference in pooled SMC between RCTs and cohort studies at any time point:- 6 weeks: RCTs: SMC 1.0 (95% CI 0.9 to 1.0) and cohorts 1.2 (0.7to 1.7); 13 weeks: RCTs 1.2 (1.1 to 1.3) and cohorts 1.0 (0.8 to 1.3); 27 weeks: RCTs 1.1 (1.0 to 1.2) and cohorts 1.2 (0.8 to 1.7); 52 weeks: RCTs 0.9 (0.8 to 1.0) and cohorts 1.1 (0.8 to 1.6). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical course of LBP symptoms followed a pattern that was similar in RCTs and cohort observational studies. In addition to a shared 'natural history', enrolment of LBP patients in clinical studies is likely to provoke responses that reflect the nonspecific effects of seeking and receiving care, independent of the study design

The Physics of the B Factories

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C