The Schutzstaffel, more commonly known as the SS, were initially a small sub-division of the SA responsible for protecting Hitler. After Himmler took over leadership of the SS in 1929, it was dramatically expanded and became an organisation in its own right. The SS were the most ideologically committed division of the Nazi state. They were in charge of racial policy and were also used as a force to terrorise and control people. They became key to the administration and organisation of the Holocaust.