Night of the Long Knives (Nacht der Langes Messer)
I must preface this by saying that in no way is this an endorsement, nor is it sympathetic to the National Socialist past or present ideology. Rather, this serves as a cautionary tale against fascism.
June 30, 1934 — Night of the Long Knives
It had been a rather cool night; morning arrived around Munich and Berlin with a light mist and sharp chill piercing the air. At approximately 4:30 am, Operation Hummingbird (Röhm Putsch) commenced, lasting until July 2. A systematic roundup and execution of the leadership of the SA (Sturmabteilung, or the 'brownshirts') occurred with estimates of between 85 and 200+ executions, while over 1000 men in leadership roles were detained. The rest of the millions of lower-rank SA members were allowed to continue in the organization, but it lost its power and purpose and faded into obscurity. Most notably, the chief of staff of the SA, Ernst Röhm, was arrested and executed. It wouldn’t just be the SA targeted, however; civilians and political opponents were additionally targeted.
In a month’s time, by the end of the massacre, Adolf Hitler would rise to the position of Führer of Germany and would become Germany's most powerful man.
What was the SA?
The SA (Sturmabteilung, or the ‘brownshirts’) were a paramilitary force formed as a tool of Hitler’s in 1921 to be a security force while also bothering his opponents; their role was to use fear and violence to ensure Hitler rose to power, removing political enemies, Communists, and the like. Nearing the Röhm Putsch, the membership had grown to a staggering 4 million+ members; the group was known to be both fiercely loyal to the Nazi cause and a destructive and unrestrained force.
It was led by a man named Ernst Röhm, a close friend of Hitler's; however, this friendship was not to stand in Hitler’s path. Röhm and his brownshirts were incredibly important in the beginning. Hitler understood that victory was to come through the very democratic system he was working to undo; this didn’t mean he couldn’t mobilize the SA to ensure the pendulum of democracy swung in his favour, but nearing the end this usefulness dried up. As the group became harder to control and too large, many in the party and industries wanted the SA removed. Hitler chose their appeasement over his friend. As well, near the end, Röhm had actually agreed to cede the Malartic ambitions to the army proper and limit the group’s political activities; however, Röhm grew disillusioned quickly by the lack of power they held. To make matters worse, Röhm was well known to be homosexual, which was increasingly looked down upon, and this was something Hitler understood could derail the momentum towards his goals. So, the decapitation of the SA and the rendering of the greater organization as inconsequential were his only option.
The leadup to June 30, 1934
Following the end of the First World War in 1918, a new democratic government formed in Germany, the Weimar Republic; a year later, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and Germany was held fully responsible. In the same year, the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP, which would become the Nazi party) was formed, and by 1921, Hitler rose to party chairman. The defeat in World War One ushered in the subsequent loss of territory and resources, while the ‘loss of prestige’ sat in the minds of the people. Hitler weaponized citizens by preying on and feeding the misery believed to be caused first by Germany’s defeat and internal enemies (especially the Jewish population). In this same year, Hitler formalized the Brownshirts into a paramilitary for his Nazi Party. The SA would temporarily dissolve while Hitler was in jail due to his failed Beer Hall Putsch; however, it resumed its terror in 1925. Until 1933, it would grow larger with peak membership over 4 million.
By 1933, however, Hitler would rise to the position of chancellor, utilizing the SA as a self-sufficient police force; they were even deputized as an auxiliary force. Unfortunately for them, their time as the head military force was short-lived. Hitler knew he’d need Germany’s old guard to assist in the transformation of the crumbling Weimar Republic into his new, stronger Germany. By the end of 1933, Hitler had enacted the 'Enabling Act,' set up the first concentration camp in Dachau (for political opponents and eventually some of the SA), and outlawed all other political parties. All that remained was to appease the elites, and especially the German army, by eliminating the SA. Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring were alarmed by the influence and power of the SA and worked to persuade Hitler to enact ‘a change of guard’ in favour of the SS (the Schutzstaffel).
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The nail in the coffin, at least in the minds of the government, was on June 21, when German President Paul von Hindenburg gave Hitler the authorization to move against the SA by force. The SA had become a thorn in the side for many in Germany, and the time for a change would soon be upon them.
A Sharp Deceit
The Night of the Long Knives didn’t just begin on June 30; five days previously, the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr (German Army), Werner Von Fritsch, placed the entire military on high alert due to rumours (from Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich) that detailed a coming coup orchestrated by the SA to take control of Germany and position themselves as the army for Germany. This was false. In preparation, Hitler had Röhm meet at Bad Wiessee to await discussions on ending hostilities with the SS and Nazi Party; this, however, was a deceit by Hitler to isolate Röhm and SA leadership from their forces. The top leadership of the SA was sent to the party headquarters. As should also be noted, the SA for a time had already been facing a reduction in role even before the SA intelligence group was dissolved.
On June 30, when Hitler first arrived at the party headquarters, he caught the SA leaders oblivious to the coming events. All were arrested and delivered to Munich's Stadelheim Prison to be executed. From there, Hitler and his SS troops went to meet Röhm at Bad Wiessee, where he was subsequently arrested. Like the rest of the SA leadership, Röhm was transferred to Stadelheim, but unlike the rest of the SA, he was given a modicum of respect with the choice of suicide or execution. He refused suicide and was executed sometime later by SS officers.
The Other Victims
The Night of the Long Knives wasn’t just aimed at the erasure of the status and power of the SA but at a multitude of other targets. Hitler wasn’t one to allow a prime opportunity to slip past; he already purged the Communists using the Reichstag fire. This was an opportunity to eliminate a ‘pest’ and any other agitator or enemy under the guise of protection.
- Homosexuals were a major target during the night but were increasingly targeted by Nazi officials, and by 1939, thousands were incarcerated in camps or under SS surveillance. Hitler, in 1937, also strengthened paragraph 175 of the Penal Code, which increased abuse of homosexuals by the police. The German homosexual community at the time saw an impact on their culture and numbers, and the silencing and erasure of them became apparent.
- Communists were persecuted, but to a much lesser degree, as just a year prior, with the Burning of the Reichstag, Communists were blamed and subsequently rounded up in camps long before this purge.
- Individuals of importance (political opponents): Reichswehr General Kurt Von Schleicher, Major General Ferdinand von Bredow, Bavarian Chief of State Gustav von Kahr (who arrested Hitler during Beer Hall putsch), Gregory Strasser (attempted to stop Hitler’s rise), and the two aids to Vice Chancellor Von Papen.
July 1934 — The Aftermath
The Reich Cabinet on July 3 legalized the actions of the Röhm Putsch as an emergency action needed to protect Germany. On the 13th of July, Hitler himself addressed the Reichstag. He chose his defence as vital in safeguarding Germany as the Supreme Ruler against any threats; he would call his purge "Nacht der langen Messer." The range for the number of SAs killed on June 30 is astonishingly large, between 150 and 1000; furthermore, although impossible to accurately gauge, according to Jamie Chandler, a large percentage were either gay or unfortunately suspected of such. Germany was strict on homosexuality at the time (as was the rest of the world). Along with Hitler, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels used the event to project Nazi strength and show those in defiance the consequences. Göring used the radio to broadcast about the Purge, utilizing propaganda to portray the event as a positive move to punish and silence those conspiring against the Nazi party. The party worked overtime to ensure the narrative portrayed them as good and the SA and other victims as the aggressors.
This event was a major stepping stone in building a close relationship between Hitler and the SS and Hitler and the German army. For choosing the actual army over the SA, the military leadership supported Hitler and swore an oath to him as their future of Germany. While this occurred, the army gave approval following the death of President Hindenburg to abolish the presidential role and combine its responsibilities with the office of the chancellor. He completed the move towards dictatorship and became the Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany.
The SS were equally pleased with the outcome because the purge severed the SA and SS connection while also changing status; SA became nothing while the SS were rewarded. Eventually, many aspects of administration fell to the SS, handling the concentration camp system, the administration, and the extermination practices. Both state security and more regional police, while also managing intelligence, Einatzgruppen death squads, and the Gestapo secret police. The racial policies, such as the Final Solution, were equally under their purview, which was handled in conjunction with the police forces. and the concentration camps.
The Night of the Long Knives served one last purpose, cementing the lengths that the Nazi regime would go to to protect Germany. Violence, segregation, imprisonment, and extermination were now options that the regime could tap into when a new ‘enemy’ arose to be vanquished. This event created the framework and foundation for what would become the extermination of millions of Jewish people. The Final Solution could happen because this purge gave Hitler unchecked and absolute power, it emboldened the SS to use fear and control, and established legalized murder (under the guise of protection).
