The fortress of Europe with its frontiers must be held and will be held too, as long as is necessary.

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler later appointed him Commander of the Replacement (Home) Army and General Plenipotentiary for the entire Reich's administration (Generalbevollmächtigter für die Verwaltung). Himmler developed the SS into a powerful group with its own military and following Hitler's orders set up and controlled the Nazi concentration camps.