Question

In a totalitarian state, what is the main function of the secret police?

to protect compliant citizens from those who aren't compliant
to instill terror and fear so citizens will follow government policies
to investigate countries that would work to overthrow the government
to torture, imprison, or execute people after criminal charges or trial
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Answer 1

To create fear among people and create obedient subjects who will blindly follow the regime

Step-by-step explanation:

Secret police organizations are characteristic of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. They protect the political power of a dictator or regime, and often operate outside the law to repress dissidents and weaken political opposition, frequently using violence.The secret police's role is to keep the totalitarian state totalitarian. (An example being the Gestapo) In certain dictatorships, you see secret police maintaining the state by identifying threats to the state and getting rid of them. They're "secret" because they often carry out illegal tasks like assassination, exile, or torture.Secret police is one of the most important levers of totalitarian regimes. The basic task of the secret police is to protect the absolutist rule of the dictator, and it does so in a variety of violent ways. This, of course, involves acts that are not in accordance with the law for the elimination of political opponents, and even those who are suspected of being against the regime. This creates fear among people and makes them obedient.