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Political officer in Nazi Germany

Blockleiter (Block Warden), where block refers to city block, was from 1933 the title of a lower Nazi Party political rank responsible for the political supervision of a neighborhood. Referred to in common parlance as Blockwart, the Block Warden's duty was to form the primary link between the Nazi authorities and the general population. The derogatory term Blockwart ("snoop") survives in German colloquial language.

Whereas the old Blockwart position had been concerned with election district leadership, the new Block Warden (Blockleiter) was concerned with enforcing Nazi doctrine and supervising the local population. After 1933, the Block Warden was in charge of spreading propaganda and developing an acceptance to the policies of the NSDAP among the households (typically 40 to 60) in his area. It was also the duty of the Block Warden to spy on the population and report any anti Nazi activities to the local Gestapo office; thus the Block Warden was the prime element of the Nazi totalitarian state. This was helped by keeping files on each household (Haushaltskarten). Due to such activities, Block Wardens were particularly disliked by the general population. Other duties included allocating beds in homes for visiting NSDAP demonstrators, the collection of subscriptions and charitable donations especially for Winterhilfe (Winter Relief Campaigns) and organising the clearing of rubble after air raids. By the close of World War II, it is thought that there were nearly half a million Block Wardens.