Gleichschaltung was the process of the Nazi Party taking control over all aspects of Germany. "[26] According to his memoirs, von Papen, a Catholic aristocrat with ties to army and industry, privately threatened to resign if Hitler did not act. [83], Before its execution, the purges instigators referred to the plans under the codename Hummingbird (German: Kolibri), the word used to command execution squads into action on 30 June. Also killed that night were hundreds of other perceived . 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. Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections. , issuing the Act for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on the 7 April 1933. , Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Gring and Heinrich Himmler, ordered a series of political extrajudicial executions . by Gring and Himmler, who gave Hitler news of Rhm organising a potential The Nazis had the support of the DNVP, and had banned the communist party, the KPD, from attending. A telegram purportedly from the ailing Hindenburg, Germany's highly revered military hero, expressed his "profoundly felt gratitude", and congratulated Hitler for "nipping treason in the bud",[61] although Hermann Gring later admitted during the Nuremberg trials that the telegram was never seen by Hindenburg, and was actually written by the Nazis. This fear was He wanted the Nazi Party to focus on socialist policies to support . 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. 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. Many of those that were harassed by the SA and the SS or imprisoned in camps were terrified to speak out about their ordeal fearing that they would be further abused or re-imprisoned. You must first remember and recite all the points made earlier in the circle then add your own point. The Nazis improvised. Wilhelm Miklas, and recalled his minister from Vienna. [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. Consumed with rage, Hitler denounced "the worst treachery in world history". They used any space they could get their hands on to create temporary camps. On 19 April 1943, the beginning of the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto was met with organised armed resistance by its residents. Over 150 people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet, one-third of the total. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. She even compared him to Frederick the Great, the 18th-century king of Prussia.[2]. [4] The violent confrontations between the two contributed to the destabilization of the Weimar Republic. They had placed many in the first The History Learning Site, 9 Mar 2015. The Night of the Long Knives was extremely significant in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship and ultimately Hitler's power. illusion pardoned Hitler entitled the purge the 'Night of the Long Knives' - a reference to the lyrics from a popular Nazi song. As a result, a political struggle within the party grew, with those closest to Hitler, including Prussian premier Hermann Gring, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, Reichsfhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, and Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, positioning themselves against Rhm. He dismissed seven ministers - one-third of the cabinet - and . Night of the Long Knives 30 June 1934. [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. Whilst Gleichschaltung aimed to reach every aspect of rule in Germany, this was not always possible. The Night of the Long Knives (in addition to Hindenburgs deatha few months later) helped Hitler and the Nazi Party to consolidate absolute power in Germany by removing their political opposition. [68] Besides working for the rehabilitation of Schleicher and Bredow, Hammerstein and Mackensen sent a memo to Hindenburg on 18 July setting out in considerable detail the circumstances of the murders of the two generals and noted that Papen had barely escaped. To take control of cultural policy, the Nazis appointed Joseph Goebbels as Minister for Public Engagement and Propaganda on the 13 March 1933. , which opened just a few days before the vote on the 20 March 1933. Updates? 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. With Hindenburg gone, there was no longer a limit to Hitlers power. coup Consequences of the Night of the long Knives Death of Hindenburg and Fuhrer Army Oath Plenary - hierarchy task. Many of the prisoners were tortured and abused. This essentially meant that the Nazis used the atmosphere of panic following the Reichstag Fireto put forward the Enabling Law. Despite some initial efforts by local prosecutors to take legal action against those who carried out the murders, which the regime rapidly quashed, it appeared that no law would constrain Hitler in his use of power. 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. "[63] The statements that Schleicher had been killed because he wanted to partition Poland with the Soviet Union were later published in the Polish White Book of 1939, which was a collection of diplomatic documents detailing GermanPolish relations up to the outbreak of the war. If that was indeed true then, as a legal matter, the law was entirely unnecessary and redundant. In the years preceding the purge, the term "long knives" had become a popular description of treachery in Germany and was used as a criticism of Nazi actions and deceitfulness. Hitler told the crowd that "undisciplined and disobedient characters and asocial or diseased elements" would be annihilated. The first concentration camp, Dachau, opened in a broken-down munitions factory on the 20 March 1933, imprisoning primarily political prisoners. ", "But in origin the National Socialists had been a radical anti-capitalist party, and this part of the National Socialist programme was not only taken seriously by many loyal Party members but was of increasing importance in a period of economic depression. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. SA violence in Prussia gravely concerned Gring. of any opponents, who were be framed as traitors to the republic. However, most accounts argue that as many as 1,000 deaths occurred during the Night of the Long Knives. [64] One retired captain, Erwin Planck, seemed to realize this: "If you look on without lifting a finger", he said to his friend, General Werner von Fritsch, "you will meet the same fate sooner or later. Despite this improvement, the Nazis still did not command a majority in the Reichstag. From 20 August onwards, the [30] At Hitler's direction, Gring, Himmler, Heydrich, and Victor Lutze drew up lists of people in and outside the SA to be killed. With the army limited by the Treaty of Versailles to one hundred thousand soldiers, its leaders watched anxiously as membership in the SA surpassed three million men by the beginning of 1934. 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. [76], According to Albert Speer, "the Right, represented by the President, the Minister of Justice, and the generals, lined up behind Hitler the strong left wing of the party, represented chiefly by the SA, was eliminated. [2] The purge strengthened and consolidated the support of the military for Hitler. Hitler had become a chancellor in 1933 henceforth he had the power to establish his power. One key example of an event posed as moderate was the Night of Long Knives. Night of the Long Knives: newspaper coverage, Third Reich: The Rhm affair and the Night of the Long Knives, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Night-of-the-Long-Knives, Spartacus Educational - Night of the Long Knives, History Learning Site - The Night of the Long Knives, Alpha History - The Night of the Long Knives, German soldiers swearing allegiance to Adolf Hitler. The law needed two thirds of the Reichstag to vote for it to pass. They will . On the 28 February 1933, President Hindenburg signed the Emergency Decree for the Protection of the German People. Omissions? 5. impact of nazi foreign policy mrmarr 4.9K views . Hess, present among the assembled, even volunteered to shoot the "traitors". Night of the Long Knives, (June 30, 1934) Purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler. [69] Mackensen and Hammerstein ended their memo with: Excellency, the gravity of the moment has compelled us to appeal to you as our Supreme Commander. [g] Many stormtroopers believed in the socialist promise of National Socialism and expected the Nazi regime to take more radical economic action, such as breaking up the vast landed estates of the aristocracy. The Nazis also took steps to ensure they couldnt be openly opposed in the press. The Night of the Long Knives: the bloody purge that secured Hitler's power. This photograph shows the SA as they marched victoriously through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin the same day. The SA traced its dramatic rise in numbers in part to the onset of the Great Depression, when many German citizens lost both their jobs and their faith in traditional institutions. 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. ", Coincidentally, Hitler had been incarcerated at. [41], The regime did not limit itself to a purge of the SA. [e] Over the next few months, during the so-called Gleichschaltung, Hitler dispensed with the need for the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic as a legislative body[f] and eliminated all rival political parties in Germany, so that by the middle of 1933 the country had become a one-party state under his direction and control. This night of brutal murder and elimination of the Sturm Abteilung (SA) gave Hitler the support of the army, which he need for both the creation of a totalitarian state and his future foreign policy and also relieved the pressures on Hitler. The SA were dramatically reduced in size, dropping by 40% to 1.8 million by 1935. It would become known in Welsh as "twyll y cyllyll hirion" (English: Deceit of the long knives) (first recorded around 1587) and in English as the "Treachery/Plot/Treason of the long knives" (recorded around 1604). The Night of the Long Knives L.O. [He] died with words "Heil Hitler" on his lips. Some of Hitlers other enemies were also murdered, including the last chancellor of the Weimar Republic, Kurt von Schleicher; Gregor Strasser, who until 1932 had been second only to Hitler in the Nazi Party; Bavarian ex-separatist Gustav von Kahr; conservative critic Edgar Jung; and Catholic professor Erich Klausener. First was his old comrade Ernst Rhm, chief of staff of the SA (Sturmabteilung; German: Assault Division), or Brownshirts. Tes paid licenceHow can I reuse this? "It was plain that there was wide acceptance of the deliberately misleading propaganda put out by the regime. The SS found Breslau SA leader Edmund Heines in bed with an unidentified eighteen-year-old male SA senior troop leader. 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. [71], In late 1934early 1935, Werner von Fritsch and Werner von Blomberg, who had been shamed into joining Hammerstein and Mackensen's rehabilitation campaign, successfully pressured Hitler into rehabilitating Generals von Schleicher and von Bredow. He asked, "What would people have said if I had done such a thing? 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. This hysteria helped to turn the public against the communists, one of the Nazis main opponents, and 4000 people were imprisoned. 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. [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. Alleging that Rhm was plotting a putsch, Hitler ordered a massacre. [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. This act was reinforced by the German Civil Service code of 26 January 1937, which retired any judges or judicial official who would not intervene in cases and rule in favour of the Nazis. The Nazis immediately used the Enabling Law to remove civil rights. Only the SPD opposed it. "[14], Despite such hostility between the brownshirts and the regular army, Blomberg and others in the military saw the SA as a source of raw recruits for an enlarged and revitalized army. "[55] Reich Justice Minister Franz Grtner, a conservative who had been Bavarian Justice Minister in the years of the Weimar Republic, demonstrated his loyalty to the new regime by drafting the statute, which added a legal veneer to the purge. In Berlin, on Gring's personal orders, an armed SS unit stormed the Vice-Chancellery. "[35] Having heard nothing in the allotted time, they returned to Rhm's cell at 14:50 to find him standing, with his bare chest puffed out in a gesture of defiance. The news of it was received with consternation and disgust in the other European capitals, but the shock was greatest in Rome. Censorship was heightened, and any person publishing actively anti-Nazi material was threatened or imprisoned. 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. [47], Rhm was held briefly at Stadelheim Prison[j] in Munich, while Hitler considered his future. 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. For new Germany unit - 1890-1945. leaders knew consequences of questioning Hitler - role of SA was reduced - membership dropped from 2.9 million to 1.6 million. Because their plans for the army conflicted, Rhm's success could come only at Hitler's expense. [51] Meanwhile, Goebbels tried to prevent newspapers from publishing lists of the dead, but at the same time used a 2 July radio address to describe how Hitler had narrowly prevented Rhm and Schleicher from overthrowing the government and throwing the country into turmoil. The Nazi Party used the atmosphere of panic to their advantage, encouraging anti-communism. 9. Kurt von Schleicher's stepdaughter received 250 marks per month up to the age of 21, and the son of General von Bredow received a monthly allowance of 150 marks.[59]. Quick Reference. 2 Lucy S. Dawidowicz, The War against the Jews, 1933-1945 (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975), 82. Ernst Rhm was murdered in the event known as the Rhm Putsch, or the Night of Long Knives. [53][54], Wanting to present the massacre as legally sanctioned, Hitler had the cabinet approve a measure on 3 July that declared, "The measures taken on June 30, July 1 and 2 to suppress treasonous assaults are legal as acts of self-defence by the State. Night of the Long Knives, in German history, purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. , was then given the choice of suicide or murder. Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934. On 19 August 1934, the German people were asked to vote on whether or not they approved of the merging of the two offices and Hitlers new role as Fhrer. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization's leaders, including Ernst Rhm. By 1935, over 1,600 newspapers had been closed. [21], As a means of isolating Rhm, on 20 April 1934, Gring transferred control of the Prussian political police (Gestapo) to Himmler, who, Gring believed, could be counted on to move against Rhm. On 7 April 1943, the SS shut down the Chemno death camp for the first time. concentration camp 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. You give Hitler power and time by voting HITLER!. 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 support of respected individuals such as von Papen and Hindenburgs son, Oskar von Hindenburg, gave the Nazis further legitimacy for these actions. Many were terrified of voting of at all, and many turned to voting for the Nazi Party out of fear for their own safety. They understood the need to appear moderate and take over slowly by democratic means where possible, maintaining the stability and illusion of a democracy. On the 2 May 1933 trade unions were banned. Hitler and Himmler unleashed the Gestapo against old enemies, as well. Following the purge, the Nazi's sculpted the media coverage to portray the event as a preventative measure against a revolutionary, violent, and . The 'Night of the Long Knives' is a name given to an internal purge within the National Socialist movement in mid-1934. The Bill passed by 444 votes for to 94 against on the 24 March 1933. The Night of the Long Knives is regarded as an important political episode that had far-reaching consequences, not only in Nazi Germany but across the world. In the judicial system specifically, this act removed any judges that were deemed non-compliant with Nazi laws or principles. Rhm is pictured here on the left next to Rudolf Hess, who was the deputy Fhrer from 1933-1941. The long term impact brought forth by the consequences or legacy of the Nazi party included a population decrease and an increase in deaths. The Nazis used the SA and the newly expanded SS to harass and imprison any potential opponents of the Nazi Party. It followed a secret deal between himself and units of his personal bodyguard, the SS. The crowd, which included party members and many SA members fortunate enough to escape arrest, shouted its approval. [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. As such, the Nazis consolidation of power relied on maintaining the illusion of a stable democracy. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The loyalty of the SS men would prove useful to both when Hitler finally chose to move against Rhm and the SA. These acts removed peoples ability to oppose the Nazi Party, in any form. Gring's personal police battalion also took part in the killings. Also killed that night were hundreds of other perceived opponents of Hitler. [28] Hitler had hesitated for months in moving against Rhm, in part due to Rhm's visibility as the leader of a national militia with millions of members. On 17 June 1934, conservative demands for Hitler to act came to a head when Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, confidant of the ailing Hindenburg, gave a speech at Marburg University warning of the threat of a "second revolution. The humbling of the SA ended the threat it had posed to the army but, by standing by Hitler during the purge, the army bound itself more tightly to the Nazi regime. By June 1934 this had grown to over 3,000,000 members. After Hitler had promised to protect the interests of the Catholic Church, the party conceded and supported the bill. "[74], Hitler named Viktor Lutze to replace Rhm as head of the SA. Night of the Long Knives, in German history, purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. Rhm left the Reichswehr in 1923 and later became commander of the SA. When the Nazi regime did not take such steps, those who had expected an economic as well as a political revolution were disillusioned. Hitler announced that he would occupy this new role. The elections were neither free or fair. President Hindenburg died at the age of 87 on 2 August 1934. Hence, the Freikorps were in opposition to the new Weimar Republic, which was born as a result of the November Revolution, and whose founders were contemptuously called "November criminals". This continued when a young Dutchcommunist, Van der Lubbe was arrested for the crime. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. ultimate power over Germany, whilst maintaining an Gring alone had over a thousand people arrested. Hitler formally adopted this title in April 1942, thus placing himself above the reach of the law de jure and de facto. [35] Goebbels emphasised this aspect in subsequent propaganda justifying the purge as a crackdown on moral turpitude. Captain Ernst Rhm of the Reichswehr served as the liaison with the Bavarian Freikorps. Hitler, knowing that military strength was necessary for his foreign policy and that antagonizing the generals could be fatal to himself, decided to sacrifice Rhm. Hitler shouted at Schneidhuber and accused him of treachery. Having earlier imprisoned or exiled prominent Social Democrats and Communists, Hitler used the occasion to move against conservatives he considered unreliable. [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. [31] On 27 June, Hitler moved to secure the army's cooperation. 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. [15] In January 1934, Rhm presented Blomberg with a memorandum demanding that the SA replace the regular army as the nation's ground forces, and that the Reichswehr become a training adjunct to the SA.[16]. For the full article, see Night of the Long Knives . Reviews Something went wrong, please try again later. Excellency, save Germany for the fourth time! Also known as the "brownshirts" or "stormtroopers," the SA became notorious for their street battles with the Communists. 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. During the years of the rise of the Nazi Party, the SA had been instrumental in helping the party to gain support. 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. By the end of May 1934, Hitler had been chancellor for 16 months and dictator for 14 (under the Enabling Act of March 24, 1933), but two obstacles to his absolute power remained. The consolidation of power that had begun barely a month before with the purge of Rhm and the SA was complete. 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. The murders of SA leaders were also intended to improve the image of the Hitler government with a German public that was increasingly critical of thuggish SA tactics. Whilst the pseudo-legal measures were one factor that helped the Nazis to consolidate power, another was terror and intimidation. [38], Although Hitler presented no evidence of a plot by Rhm to overthrow the regime, he nevertheless denounced the leadership of the SA. 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. Carried out primarily by the SS and the Gestapo, over 150 people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested. [6], Hitler's appointment as chancellor, followed by the suppression of all political parties except the Nazis, did not end the violence of the stormtroopers. No one in the SA spoke more loudly for "a continuation of the German revolution" (as one prominent stormtrooper, Edmund Heines, put it) than Rhm himself. Thereupon the German generals agreed to the merging of the office of president of the Reich and supreme head of the armed forces with that of chancellor, in Hitlers person. 15 Apr 2023. Hitler's task would not be simple, however, as the SA made up a large part of Nazism's most devoted followers. With instructions from Berlin and with active help from the German legation in Vienna, Austrian Nazis on July 25, 1934, tried to take over their countrys government by an insurrectionary putsch. Goering, Himmler, and Heydrich, Hitler's new head of internal security for the SS, got together and drew up a list of opponents to Hitler's new Government, while Goebbels publicly accused Ernst Rhm of planning a takeover or 'Putsch'. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organizations leaders, including Ernst Rhm. And realize that this is Germany that was a Rechtsstaat, the Germans always say, a state with laws. They come in PDF and Powerpoint formats and can be amended and changed to suit. In response to conservative pressure to constrain Rhm, Hitler left for Neudeck to meet with Hindenburg. info)), or the Rhm purge (German: Rhm-Putsch), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: Unternehmen Kolibri), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934.

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