The Night of Long Knives, also known as the Rhm Putsch, was the purge of the SA leadership and other political opponents from 30 June 1934 to 2 July 1934. On 27 February 1933, as the campaign moved into its final, frantic days, theReichstag, the German Parliament building, was set on fire and burnt down. Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934. Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections. The Enabling Law allowed them to do this under the guise of legality. This essentially meant that the Nazis used the atmosphere of panic following the Reichstag Fireto put forward the Enabling Law. On 19 April 1943, the beginning of the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto was met with organised armed resistance by its residents. Also killed that night were hundreds of other perceived opponents of Hitler. On 30 April 1945, Hitler took his own life in his bunker underneath the Reich chancellery in Berlin. This topic will explore how the Nazis managed to eliminate their opposition and ", "The most general theory that National Socialism was a revolution of the lower middle class is defensible but inadequate. [63], Former Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was in exile in Doorn, Netherlands, was horrified by the purge. The Nazis secured 43.9% of the vote, an improvement of almost 10% on the previous Novembers election. During a trip to Warsaw in January 1935, Gring told Jan Szembek that Schleicher had urged Hitler in January 1933 to reach an understanding with France and the Soviet Union, and partition Poland with the latter, and Hitler had Schleicher killed out of disgust with the alleged advice. The Night of the Long Knives was "an act of carnage" which had come out of the blue. The Nazi Party used the atmosphere of panic to their advantage, encouraging anti-communism. [21] By the beginning of June everything was set and all that was needed was permission from Hitler. The Foreign Office even complained of instances where brownshirts manhandled foreign diplomats. Because their plans for the army conflicted, Rhm's success could come only at Hitler's expense. The next German minister there was Papen, with the mission of steering Austro-German relations into a friendly and normal channel again. Soon after arriving in Vienna, he told the U.S. minister, George S. Messersmith, that all of southeastern Europe, to the borders of Turkey, was Germanys natural hinterland and that achieving control of Austria was to be the first step in that direction. A very large number of the Freikorps believed that the November Revolution had betrayed them when Germany was alleged to be on the verge of victory in 1918. For all the power the Enabling Act . By the end of May 1934, Hitler had been chancellor for 16 . The news of it was received with consternation and disgust in the other European capitals, but the shock was greatest in Rome. Although many Germans approached the official news of the events as described by Joseph Goebbels with a great deal of scepticism, many others took the regime at its word, and believed that Hitler had saved Germany from a descent into chaos. The biggest threat to Hitler was Ernst Rhm. , who had previously been a separate organisation, now swore a personal allegiance to Hitler. I gave the order to shoot the ringleaders in this treason, and I further gave the order to cauterise down to the raw flesh the ulcers of this poisoning of the wells in our domestic life. He stated that 61 people had been executed and 13 had committed suicide. "Rhm was given the opportunity to draw the consequences of his treacherous behaviour," said Hitler in . During the 1920s and 1930s, the SA functioned as a private militia used by Hitler to intimidate rivals and disrupt the meetings of competing political parties, especially those of the Social Democrats and the Communists. Through these aspects the Nazis suppressed any opposition to their power, and were able to start the road from democracy to a dictatorship. of any opponents, who were be framed as traitors to the republic. 5. impact of nazi foreign policy mrmarr 4.9K views . Despite this, on the whole, Gleichschaltung was largely successful. Hitler formally adopted this title in April 1942, thus placing himself above the reach of the law de jure and de facto. Religion and The Bloody Chamber. The Gestapo arrested and later executed Papen's close associate Edgar Jung, the author of Papen's Marburg speech, and disposed of his body by dumping it in a ditch. Shortly after Hindenburgs death, Hitler announced that offices of the chancellor and the president were to be combined to create one position, the Fhrer and chancellor. The long term impact brought forth by the consequences or legacy of the Nazi party included a population decrease and an increase in deaths. However, soon after the purge Hitler himself would name the events the "Night of the long knives" in a public speech on 13 July 1934 defending the actions (despite the violence taking place over several days). However, the threat of a declaration of martial law from Hindenburg, the only person in Germany with the authority to potentially depose the Nazi regime, put Hitler under pressure to act. The army's support for the purge, however, would have far-reaching consequences for the institution. Additionally, Hitler was uncomfortable with Rhm's outspoken support for a "second revolution" to redistribute wealth. Germany feared revolution. Grtner also declared in cabinet that the measure did not in fact create any new law, but simply confirmed the existing law. After this date, the SS lead by Heinrich Himmler was to become far more powerful in Nazi Germany. On the 31 January 1933, Hitler, conscious of his lack of a majority in the Reichstag, immediately called for new elections to try and strengthen his position. In his speech to the Reichstag on 13 July justifying his actions, Hitler denounced Schleicher for conspiring with Rhm to overthrow the government; Hitler alleged both were traitors working in the pay of France. Reichswehr [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. 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. Ernst Rhm was murdered in the event known as the Rhm Putsch, or the Night of Long Knives. [38], Although Hitler presented no evidence of a plot by Rhm to overthrow the regime, he nevertheless denounced the leadership of the SA. Originally designed and developed by the London Jewish Cultural Centre. Although Hitler ordered him released days later, Papen no longer dared to criticize the regime and was sent off to Vienna as German ambassador.[43]. Blomberg and many of his fellow officers were recruited from the Prussian nobility and regarded the SA as a plebeian rabble that threatened the army's traditional high status in German society. On the 28 February 1933, President Hindenburg signed the Emergency Decree for the Protection of the German People. Many members of the SA, including its leader Ernst Rhm, were demanding that the Nazi party carry out its socialist agenda and that the SA take over the army. You gave these parties 14 years to ruin Germany! [29] On 29 June, a signed article in Vlkischer Beobachter by Blomberg appeared in which Blomberg stated with great fervour that the Reichswehr stood behind Hitler. Hitler and Himmler unleashed the Gestapo against old enemies, as well. Many of those killed in the purge were leaders of the SA, the best-known being Rhm himself, the SA's chief of staff and one of Hitler's longtime supporters and allies. The Reichstag, the German lower house of parliament, was set on fire on the 27 February 1933. coalition This photograph shows the SA as they marched victoriously through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin the same day. Within weeks of Rhms death, Hitler made an attempt to settle the question of union with Austria through simple violence. The Night of the Long Knives: the bloody purge that secured Hitler's power. Conservatives in the army, industry and politics placed Hitler under increasing pressure to reduce the influence of the SA and to move against Rhm. Gring declared that the communists had planned a national uprising to overthrow the Weimar Republic. [19] The British historian Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, who knew Schleicher and his circle well, wrote that Bredow displayed a "lack of discretion" that was "terrifying" as he went about showing the list of the proposed cabinet to anyone who was interested. Excellency, save Germany for the fourth time! Answer (1 of 5): if you were Ernst Rohm, or former conniving Chancellor Gen von Schleicher or his wife, the consequences were terminal. The undersigned Generals and senior officers swear to preserve to the last breath their loyalty to you and the Fatherland. One of the men Gring recruited to assist him was Willi Lehmann, a Gestapo official and NKVD spy. On 7 April 1943, the SS shut down the Chemno death camp for the first time. The Nazis immediately used the Enabling Law to remove civil rights. [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. Wiskemann, Elizabeth, "The Night of the Long Knives", This page was last edited on 9 April 2023, at 02:08. 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. They come in PDF and Powerpoint formats and can be amended and changed to suit. Carried out primarily by the SS and the Gestapo, over 150 people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested. One key example of an event posed as moderate was the Night of Long Knives. 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.
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