Title: The Night of the Long Knives
1The Night of the Long Knives
- Hitler seizes total control of the Nazi Party and
the SA
2Why destroy the power of the SA?
This is a power struggle between old and new
Nazis
- Old Nazis
- Roehm
- SA
- Gregor Strasser
- New Nazis
- Hitler
- Reichswehr (Army)
- Industry
- SS
Versus
3The SA (Brownshirts, Stormtroopers)
- 400,000 members 1934
- German Army should be incorporated into a Nazi/SA
army - Social Revolution
- Anti-Capitalist and big business
- Unruly
- Both Roehm (who gave Hitler the job to spy on the
DAP in 1919 and was an earlier member of the
party) and his troopers were difficult to control - Roehms sexuality could cause a scandal
4Hitler
- Supported by rich industrialists, the Army
generals and the SS - If Hitler does not deliver on his promises then
they may withdraw support - The SA, if they are not controlled, could bring
about social revolution and economic disaster - The SA had been used to intimidate, beat up and
kill the opposition pre 1933. - Now he was in power what did Hitler need the SA
for ?
5Why shoot Roehm?
Adolf is a swine. He will give us all Away. He
only associates with industrialists now..getting
matey with Prussian generals. Weve got to
produce something new you see? A real discipline,
a new principle of organisation. The generals are
a lot of old farts. They never had a new ideaI
am the centre and beginning of the new army,
dont you see that? Ernst Roehm 1934
6The Night of the Long Knives
Now I have got rid of opposition political
groups, I can now deal with opposition in my
party. Ernst Rohm (an old friend), head of the
S.A. is very unpopular with the German army
leaders. They have the power to overthrow me.Ive
been worried about Roehm for a while, so this is
a good excuse.I can also remove all those other
opponents in the Party and outside. Then my power
base will be secure
June 1934
7The Night of the Long Knives
- Hitler had to get rid of Rohm. He wanted to make
the 2 million strong SA part of the German Army. - On the night of 30th June 1934 Hitlers S.S.
killed over 1000 SA members including Rohm. - Hitler had gained the support of the army who saw
the SA as being basically thieves and sods. - Hitler had removed the last threat to his own
personal power The Nazi Party.
8The Night of the Long Knives
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9What are the key parts?