consequences of the night of the long knives

It established Hitler as "the supreme leader of the German people", as he put it in his 13 July speech to the Reichstag. Corrections? A combat veteran of World War I, Rhm had recently boasted that he would execute 12 men in retaliation for the killing of any stormtrooper. The purge list is drawn up. On the 30 January 1933 Hitler was appointed as chancellor of the Weimar Republic. Through the use of primary sources, students will gain a deeper understanding of the motivations, actions, and consequences of the Night of the Long Knives. Sixty years ago today, Harold Macmillan carried out a cabinet reshuffle which became known as the 'Night of the Long Knives'. The History Learning Site, 9 Mar 2015. They understood the need to appear moderate and take over slowly by democratic means where possible, maintaining the stability and illusion of a democracy. The Freikorps were nationalistic organizations primarily composed of disaffected, disenchanted, and angry German combat veterans founded by the government in January 1919 to deal with the threat of a Communist revolution when it appeared that there was a lack of loyal troops. The Night of Long Knives was the purge of the SA leadership and other political opponents from the 30 June 1934 to the 2 July 1934. "[77], Rhm was purged from all Nazi propaganda, such as The Victory of Faith, the Leni Riefenstahl film about the 1933 Nuremberg rally, which showed Rhm frequently alongside Hitler. The army almost unanimously applauded the Night of the Long Knives, even though the generals Kurt von Schleicher and Ferdinand von Bredow were among the victims. [13], If the regular army showed contempt for the masses belonging to the SA, many stormtroopers returned the feeling, seeing the army as insufficiently committed to the National Socialist revolution. The Nazis also took several more steps to reduce their political opposition legally. This photograph shows the SA as they marched victoriously through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin the same day. [33] On 28 June Hitler went to Essen to attend the wedding celebration and reception of Josef Terboven; from there he called Rhm's adjutant at Bad Wiessee and ordered SA leaders to meet with him on 30 June at 11:00. However, most accounts argue that as many as 1,000 deaths occurred during the Night of the Long Knives. However, it did so under the guise of legality, and protecting the German people and their democracy. One key example of an event posed as moderate was the Night of Long Knives. Rhm, who was initially Germany feared revolution. [82] However, the term was soon adopted by the Nazis themselves to invoke what they saw as justifiable and necessary measures taken by Germanic peoples against an enemy. Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen only narrowly escaped inclusion among the victims, and he was dismissed from the vice-chancellorship three days later (July 3). 8. Many of the prisoners were tortured and abused. The long term impact brought forth by the consequences or legacy of the Nazi party included a population decrease and an increase in deaths. Civil Service To a lesser extent, the Sturmabteilung (SA), a Nazi paramilitary organization, remained somewhat autonomous within the party. The Foreign Office even complained of instances where brownshirts manhandled foreign diplomats. Night of the Long Knives, in German history, purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. [62] General von Reichenau went so far as to publicly give credence to the lie that Schleicher had been plotting to overthrow the government. In 1928, the popular Nazi song "Wetzt die langen Messer" (English: Sharpen the long knives) encourages the mass murder of Jewish people and the desecration of Synagogues. Reorganisation and the Bamberg Conference, The role of economic instability in the Nazi rise to power, The role of political instability in the Nazi rise to power, The role of the conservative elite in the Nazi rise to power. ", "The most general theory that National Socialism was a revolution of the lower middle class is defensible but inadequate. This meant, as well as removing other personal freedoms, that the Nazis could now imprison their political opposition for an indefinite period for any, or no, reason. Additionally, Hitler was uncomfortable with Rhm's outspoken support for a "second revolution" to redistribute wealth. The Third Reich was henceforth a totalitarian structure with one man as head of state, commander in chief, and leader of the only political party. illusion The widows of the murdered SA leaders received between 1,000 and 1,600 marks a month, depending on the rank of the murdered person. This included Vice-Chancellor Papen and those in his immediate circle. Not content solely with the leadership of the SA, Rhm lobbied Hitler to appoint him Minister of Defence, a position held by the conservative General Werner von Blomberg. On 25 June, General Werner von Fritsch placed the Reichswehr on the highest level of alert. Plenary: Form a circle of 6-8 students and paraphrase passport everything you have learnt about the Night of the Long Knives. From 20 August onwards, the By early 1934, this vision directly conflicted with Hitler's plan to consolidate power and expand the Reichswehr. [7] Complaints of "overbearing and loutish" behaviour by stormtroopers became common by the middle of 1933. Your Excellency has thrice before saved Germany from foundering, at Tannenberg, at the end of the War and at the moment of your election as Reich President. From the airport they drove to the Bavarian Interior Ministry, where they assembled the leaders of an SA rampage that had taken place in city streets the night before. By the end of 1934, the Nazis had managed to infiltrate and take control of every major aspect of German government. The Nazis used the guise of moderationto conceal their rapid consolidation of power. Following the Enabling Law, much of this harassment and imprisonment was legal. [l] Luise Solmitz, a Hamburg schoolteacher, echoed the sentiments of many Germans when she cited Hitler's "personal courage, decisiveness and effectiveness" in her private diary. [i] Rhm, as one of the earliest members of the Nazi Party, had participated in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, an attempt by Hitler to seize power by force in 1923. The generals, whose chief spokesman was the minister of defense, Werner von Blomberg, were certainly impressed by the efficiency with which Rhm and his SA clique had been eliminated. [37] Arriving back at party headquarters in Munich, Hitler addressed the assembled crowd. Leading members of the leftist-leaning Strasserist faction of the Nazi Party, including its leader Gregor Strasser, were also killed, as were establishment conservatives and anti-Nazis, such as former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and Bavarian politician Gustav Ritter von Kahr, who had helped suppress Hitler's Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. However getting rid of the SA did get the support of the army which was very helpful for Hitler. [35] Papen was unceremoniously arrested at the Vice-Chancellery, despite his insistent protests that he could not be arrested in his position as Vice-Chancellor. President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Hitler's desire to consolidate his power and settle old scores, Desire of Ernst Rhm and the SA to continue "the National Socialist revolution" versus Hitler's need for relative social stability so that the economy could be refocused to rearmament and the German people acclimated to the need for expansion and war, Hitler's need to bring the Reichswehr under his control, Significant reduction in the regime's opposition, Strengthening of relationship between Hitler and the military. , was then given the choice of suicide or murder. He held the same position with Rhm as I held with Himmler. [45] Then, on 13 July 1934,[52] Hitler justified the purge in a nationally broadcast speech to the Reichstag: If anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the regular courts of justice, then all I can say is this. 95.7% of the population voted. Over 150 people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested. Some estimates, however, put the total number killed at between 150 and 200. 2 Lucy S. Dawidowicz, The War against the Jews, 1933-1945 (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975), 82. The Night of Long Knives, one of most noteworthy events during Hitler's rule, was a purge that occurred on the 30th June 1934. . As the stormtroopers were hustled off to prison, Hitler assembled a large group of SS and regular police, and departed for the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee, where Ernst Rhm and his followers were staying.[36]. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organizations leaders, including Ernst Rhm. As the leader of the SA, Rhm was seen as a threat to Hitlers power. In addition to this, there was a mutual dislike between the traditional conservative elite who maintained many key positions in the government and the army during the first years of the Third Reich and the SA. To make both of these impacts, Hitler had to overcome many hard . He dismissed seven ministers - one-third of the cabinet - and . [20] Although Schleicher was in fact unimportant by 1934, increasingly wild rumours that he was scheming with Rhm to re-enter the corridors of power helped stoke the sense of crisis. Blomberg, Hitler and Goebbels. [69] The memo asked that Hindenburg instead create a directorate to rule Germany, comprising the Chancellor (who was not named), General Werner von Fritsch as Vice-Chancellor, Hammerstein as Minister of Defense, the Minister for National Economy (also unnamed), and Rudolf Nadolny as Foreign Minister. On 30 April 1945, Hitler took his own life in his bunker underneath the Reich chancellery in Berlin. On 1 April 1933, the Nazi Party led a nationwide boycott of Jewish-owned businesses across Germany. The Night of the Long Knives was "an act of carnage" which had come out of the blue. The Nazis aimed to increase their share of the vote so that they would have a majority in the Reichstag. "[46], Some SA members died saying "Heil Hitler" because they believed that an anti-Hitler SS plot had led to their execution. Blomberg, who had been meeting with the president, uncharacteristically reproached Hitler for not having moved against Rhm earlier. The bottom half of the poster reads The more power you give Hitler, the easier he will win and the more independent you make him from the parties that led the people to where they are today. The Night of the Long Knives was a turning point for the German government. During the years of the rise of the Nazi Party, the SA had been instrumental in helping the party to gain support. [18], Finally, in early 1934, the growing rift between Rhm and Hitler over the role of the SA in the Nazi state led former chancellor General Kurt von Schleicher to start playing politics again. [29], In preparation for the purge, both Himmler and Heydrich assembled a dossier of manufactured evidence to suggest that Rhm had been paid 12 million (EUR 29.1million in 2023) by France to overthrow Hitler. On the night of June 30, 1934, Rhm and many more leaders of the SA were shot by members of Heinrich Himmlers SS (Schutzstaffeln; German: Protective Echelon). While many officers were impressed by Hitler's promises of an expanded army, a return to conscription, and a more aggressive foreign policy, the army continued to guard its traditions of independence during the early years of the Nazi regime. To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it . In reality, the laws that the Nazis put forward secured their future as the sole ruling party in Germany. [68] Hammerstein, who was a close friend of Schleicher, had been much offended at Schleicher's funeral when the SS refused to allow him to attend the service and confiscated the wreaths that the mourners had brought. [63] During a meeting with Polish Ambassador Jzef Lipski on 22 May 1935, Hitler told Lipski that Schleicher was "rightfully murdered, if only because he had sought to maintain the Rapallo Treaty. Hitler arrived and personally placed Rhm and other high ranking SA leaders under arrest. It is otherwise known as coordination or Nazification. Also in 1932, the Nazi critic Carl von Ossietzky would use the term to describe the then unrealised plans for a violent uprising: At the beginning of 1932 the Nazis seemed on the verge of a dictatorship, and the air was full of the stench of blood. As the SA were known for being violent and unruly, many saw this as a legitimate move by the government to ensure public order. 15 Apr 2023. "A chancellor", he wrote, "sentences and shoots members of his own private army! It was named Der Fhrer schtzt das Recht ("The Fhrer Upholds the Law"). Within weeks of Rhms death, Hitler made an attempt to settle the question of union with Austria through simple violence. If that was indeed true then, as a legal matter, the law was entirely unnecessary and redundant. The Peoples Court, a court created by the Nazis in April 1934 with judges chosen specifically for their Nazi beliefs, replaced the Supreme Court. This fear was Gestapo officers attached to the SS unit shot Papen's secretary Herbert von Bose without bothering to arrest him first. The atmosphere of terror that had followed the Reichstag Fire, and Hindenburgs and von Papens support, made the proposal seem legitimate and, to some, necessary. Religion in Dracula. [40] Those not immediately executed were taken back to the Leibstandarte barracks at Lichterfelde, given one-minute "trials", and shot by a firing squad. Rhm was very critical of Hitler's policies of working with rich businessmen and the army. ultimate power over Germany, whilst maintaining an The resources all include suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. retrospectively Wiskemann, Elizabeth, "The Night of the Long Knives", This page was last edited on 9 April 2023, at 02:08. [27] While von Papen's resignation as vice-chancellor would not have threatened Hitler's position, it would have nonetheless been an embarrassing display of independence from a leading conservative. Purge in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934, Papen, nonetheless, remained in his position although people quite close to him were murdered, including, "At least eighty-five people are known to have been summarily killed without any formal legal proceedings being taken against them. Goebbels engineered the media coverage following the attack to present it as a preventative measure, in response to the SAs plan to overthrow the government. They used any space they could get their hands on to create temporary camps. [21] By the beginning of June everything was set and all that was needed was permission from Hitler. We want to wait till Papa Hindenburg is dead, and then the SA will march against the army. : Why did Hitler order the massacre of hundreds of Nazis. Prisons soon became stretched for space. In a new pair Rally Coach this worksheet. [3] It established Hitler as the supreme administrator of justice of the German people, as he put it in his 13 July speech to the Reichstag. [69] The memo went on to demand that Hindenburg punish those responsible, and criticized Blomberg for his outspoken support of the murders of Schleicher and Bredow. The primary instruments of Hitler's action, which carried out most of the killings, were the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary force under Himmler and its Security Service (SD), and Gestapo (secret police) under Reinhard Heydrich. Gleichschaltung was applied across every possible aspect of government policy. Several of Hitler's lieutenants feared Rhm's growing power and restlessness, as did Hitler. The Night of the Long Knives, in June 1934, saw the wiping out of the SA's leadership and others who had angered Hitler in the recent past in Nazi Germany. The consolidation of power that had begun barely a month before with the purge of Rhm and the SA was complete. Hitler, however, disclaimed all responsibility for the coup, sent a telegram of condolence to Austrian Pres. [56] Germany's legal establishment further capitulated to the regime when the country's leading legal scholar, Carl Schmitt, wrote an article defending Hitler's 13 July speech. [24] Before Hitler left, and at the request of Presidential State Secretary Otto Meiner, Foreign Minister Baron Konstantin von Neurath ordered the German Ambassador to Italy Ulrich von Hassell without Hitler's knowledge to ask Mussolini to tell Hitler that the SA was blackening Germany's good name. On 19 April 1943, the beginning of the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto was met with organised armed resistance by its residents. They would later reopen it to liquidate the d ghetto.

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