As early as 1924, Hitler had, as bodyguards, a dedicated protection squad known as the SS. Following the crushing of the SA, the SS came to play a key role in enforcing Hitler's objectives. The SS, along with the SD - the Security Service - maintained tight control within the Reich, and later, in its occupied territories. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler had control of the activities of the SS and Secret Police, known as the Gestapo. It was in ensuring that these secret services were motivated, loyal and indoctrinated in Nazi ideology that they were able to enforce the laws and terror of Nazi Germany so effectively.