History 101: Nazi Germany, Hitler and the Night of the Long Knives

Hitler's rise to power was not as meteoric as many people believe.  Hitler began his long climb towards ultimate power in the early 1920's, and even though he served some time in jail and skirted the law on a number of occasions he was ultimately granted power over Germany based on the letter of the law.  Yes, that's right, he did not take over the government, rule over Germany was willingly and legally given to him.  There were a number of hurdles that he had to overcome, and some of those were internal within his own followers.  As he cleared each milestone in his rise to power, and went from position to position as the Nazi party continued to gain power, Hitler aligned with individuals or groups and then shed them as they were no longer needed.  The biggest "step" in which Adolf Hitler turned his back on people who had supported him and helped him rise to the level he was at, in the moment, is now referred to as the "Night of the Long Knives."  Hitler had gone as far as he felt he could with the support of the Nazi Storm Troopers (the SA) and their four million members.  Within the SA there were a number of people who took his previous propaganda push too seriously, and Hitler felt these people and their supporters had to be eliminated.  In spite of it being impossible for him to have reached the position he had in 1934, on June 30th Hitler launched a bloody purge of everyone that he felt could become a threat to his gaining ultimate power in Germany.  

In the early 1920s, Hitler's Nazi party great quickly with millions of angry and resentful Germans.  These supporters leaned heavily towards hating the Jews, the democratic government and any leftist thinking.  And after Germany resumed the payment of World War I reparations as dictated in the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler harnessed all that anger and attempted a military takeover of the German government called the "Beer Hall Putsch."  Even though it enjoyed initial success, the Putsch ultimately failed and landed Hitler in jail for five years for high treason.

While in Landsberg jail, Hitler worked on his speaking skills and his masterwork, "Mein Kempf".  While in jail, Hitler recognized that the only way to truly rule Germany and bring her back to her rightful place on top of the world was to do it legally.  He was released after serving only nine months because of political pressure.  Once released, he reorganized the Nazi party and began building support for gaining control over the government through legal channels.  Hitler ran for President against President Hindenberg, only to lose.  However, support was growing.  Hindenberg and others in the government saw Hitler as a threat and chose to keep him close.  After much wrangling and dealing, Hindenberg appointed Hitler as chancellor and a part of his cabinet.

Unfortunately, Hindenberg underestimated Hitler.  When the Reichstag building burned, Hitler used the clearly staged tragedy to call for new general elections.  One of the more powerful Nazi leaders, Hermann Goering, led the German police in suppressing party opposition during this election to help the Nazi party gain more power in the Reichstag and continue to grow the party power base.  And then in 1934, President Hindenberg died and Hitler took power as the Fuhrer through the Enabling Acts.

Hitler was concerned that the brownshirted SA soldiers might not like that he was not going to lead a second revolution, that his power was simply to be declared and no one else would share in it.  In February of 1934, he

holds a meeting where he declares that the SA would not be the elite military force of Germany, that they would only be a police force to be used when needed.  SA leader Ernest Rohm was a a World War I veteran, and saw Hitler as nothing more than an ambitious corporal who served in the war and pushed his way to power.  Rohm saw a military coup coming, and he saw the SA as leading the way.  Hitler was aware of this, and knew that and saw the SA as a real threat to the future of Nazi Germany.  Hitler decided to meet Rohm one on one to address the situation.  On June 4th, 1934 Hitler and Rohm met for over five hours of heated discussion and argument.  The results of this meeting were to have the SA go on leave for the entire month of July, and Rohm would be taking a leave of absence for a "personal illness."  This was to be followed up with a meeting between Hitler, Rohm and the rest of the leadership of the SA at the end of June.  Instead, on June 30, 1934 Hitler launched his internal cleansing.

At 6:30AM Hitler went to Ernst Rohm's hotel room and, after accusing him of treason, Hitler placed Rohm under arrest.  At 10:00AM Hitler placed a call to Goring, gave him the prearranged codeword "Kolibri" (hummingbird) and that signaled a full assault on everyone Hitler felt was a threat.  The SS was let lose in Berlin and twenty other cities across Germany.  The SS execution squads alone with Goring's own private police, the Gestapo, SA leaders and dozens of others on the "enemies list" or "Reich List of Unwanted Persons" were rounded up and executed.  Some of those included were: Gregor Strasser, one of the original party founders but had fallen out of favor with Hitler over political differences; Kurt von Schleicher, former chancellor of Germany; Gustav von Kahr, who opposed Hitler during the Beer Hall Putsch; Father Bernhard Stempfle, a priest who helped edit Mein Kempf and "knew too much" about Hitler's relationship with Geli Raubal and the SA leader Karl Ernst, who was shot along with three other SA men who were thought to be responsible for burning the Reichstag.

Given the long list of prominent and known figures who were brutally slaughtered, and the sheer numbers of those executed, this could hardly be kept quiet.  On July 13, Hitler addressed the Reichstag:

"In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people.  I gave the order to shoot the ringleaders in this treason, and I further gave the order to cauterize down to the raw flesh the ulcers of this poisoning of the wells in our domestic life.  Let the nation know that its existence -- which depends on its internal order and security -- cannot be threatened with impunity by anyone!  And let it be known for all time to come that if anyone raises his hand to strike the State, then certain death is his lot."

And with that, and cabinet approval of the sterilization of those seen as enemies of the state by his cabinet, Adolf Hitler legally murdered everyone whom he saw as a threat to his power. 

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Bruce holds a degree in Computer Science from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Biblical History from Liberty University and is working towards a Masters Degree in American History at American Public University.  He has worked in educational and technology for over 18 years, specializes in building infrastructures for schools that work to support the mission of technology in education in the classroom.  He also has served as a classroom teacher in Computer Science, History and English classes.  

Bruce is the author of five books: Sands of Time, Towering Pines Volume One:Room 509, The Star of Christmas, Philadelphia Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel and The Insider's Story: A Lance Carter Detective Novel