The Night of the Long Knives

1
The Night of the Long Knives

• Hitler seizes total control of the Nazi Party and
  the SA

2
Why 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
3
The 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

4
Hitler

• 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 ?

5
Why 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
6
The 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
7
The 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.

8
The Night of the Long Knives
6
2
1
5
3
4
4
4
9
What are the key parts?

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7