[music] It is the 6.30am on the 30thJune 1934, at the hotel Hanselbauer, 30 miles south of Munich, A convoy of cars screech to a halt and dozens of SS and regular German police officers surround and then storm the hotel, Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany leads the party and after rapidly ascending the staircase, he finds several leaders of the S.A in compromising positions. Hitler bursts into another room confronting one of his oldest and closest comrades who hangs his head in shame. The compromised S.A officers are arrested, and a day later on the 1st of July 1934, the man is executed in Stadelheim prison in Munich, marking the final death of the night of the long knives. His name, Ernst Rohm, Lord of the SA. The man known to history as Ernst Julius Günther Röhm was born on the 28th of November 1887, in the Bavarian region of the Empire of Germany. Ernst’s father was Guido Julius Josef Röhm, he worked as a railway administration, and because this was a government position, the family lived relatively affluently. Röhm had trouble getting along with his father, who was often described as strict, but when left to his own devices, he showed great potential, as he naturally gravitated toward his interests, and pursued them with vigor, whenever given the opportunity. Röhm’s mother was Sofia Emilie Röhm, whom he described as the best wife and mother in the world, stating that his mother loved him the most, of all the family, he also had two older siblings, a sister Emilie and a brother Julius, Röhm was closer to his sister than his brother, and despite her moving to Austria after she was married, they held a close bond. Röhm grew up in an increasingly tumultuous time in Europe, as Germany had thrust itself onto the world stage, turning a once-shattered array of small duchies and kingdoms, into an economic, political, and militaristic powerhouse, hungry to prove itself. The German unification movement began in 1862, 25 years before Röhm was born, under the leadership of the famed Otto von Bismarck, who would skillfully challenge Europe, as if facing an opponent in a chess match. The North German Confederation was officially dissolved on the 18th of January 1871, and the Prussian-ruled German Empire was established, and whilst the German unification would not be complete for some years, with Habsberg- ruled Austria-Hungary remaining sovereign, it was the closest the German people had yet come to the realization of a cohesive, German, nation state. A relatively united German world, living in the shadow of competing empires, shaped Röhm’s views on European politics. Röhm attended the Royal Maximilian High School but was unmoved by academics, deciding to join the military instead, he officially joined the Royal Bavarian 10th Prinz Ludwig Infantry Regiment as a cadet on the 23rd of July 1906, in the garrison town of Ingolstadt and received his commission on the 12th of March 1908, and with the outbreak of the first world war, Röhm became the adjutant to the Koenig Regiment’s 1st Battalion, which was sent to Remilly near Metz, to defend the border and railways. Röhm first saw action at Flainval on the 25th of August 1914, and by the 10th of September, he had only eight active officers in the field, after suffering terrible casualties near Gellenoncourt. and whilst fighting in the Spada in Lorraine, Röhm was struck in the face by a shell fragment, which shattered the bridge of his nose, leaving the first and most distinctive, of more than a dozen wounds, that Röhm sustained, during his service in World War I. After recovering, Röhm would be given the rank of first lieutenant, or oberleutnant, along with the command of the 10th company at Ailly Wood. After his promotion, Röhm spent time in France and Romania, commanding troops at the Battle of Verdun in June of 1916. His company would be the first to storm the French trenches and take the redoubt at Thiaumont. He was wounded repeatedly, most dramatically by a bullet passing close to his lung and exiting his shoulder, but would survive, receiving the first of his first military honors, the Iron Cross First Class for his quote: “outstanding devotion to duty and bravery on all occasions since the beginning of the war”. Following his recovery, Röhm was accepted into the War Ministry under Colonel Koller, being appointed adjutant to the head of the Army Department, and by April of 1917, Röhm had been promoted to Captain or Hauptmann, following this, in mid-May, he would be sent to Focsani, Romania to work as an adjutant to the divisional staff for the 26th, 27th, and 28th Infantry Regiments and the 22nd Artillery Regiment, but towards the end of 1917, Russia and Romania negotiated a truce, which meant that Röhm’s division was moved to Mizil, to retrain for the Western Front. Röhm left Romania on the 17th of April 1918, and continued to serve on divisional staff, until the 2nd of October, when he was transferred to the Gardekorps staff, and after numerous officers came down with the Spanish Influenza, Röhm was made 3rd Generalstabsoffizier, which allowed him to consolidate and better evaluate all reports from the front for his division. He also had control of all scouting missions from aerial to ground units, and in October of 1918, Röhm was transferred to the 12th Bavarian Infantry Division, when they withdrew from Flanders, and became the 2nd Generalstabsoffizier, tasked with receiving feedback and complaints from troops, and by this time, he had gained a reputation with his comrades, for bravery and even rashness, showing little concern for his own safety. The Spanish Influenza struck the Triple-Entente with devastating force, and even Röhm himself came down with the flu, he was admitted to a field hospital on the 21st of October 1918, and later transferred to Halle near Brussels, Röhm’s case of Spanish Influenza had become so severe, that the divisional doctor feared for Röhm’s life and suggested they should replace him, but, he eventually recovered after a lengthy convalescence, and returned to his post at St. Sauveur, on the 3rd of November 1918, only to discover, that his post had been taken after all, but only eight days later, World War I would officially end. Following his return to health, after his second bout of Spanish Flu in less than two months, Röhm traveled back to Munich, he arrived only a few weeks after the November Revolution, during which, the Bavarian Soviet Republic had been declared, and Bavaria’s former noble ruler deposed, a sergeant discreetly approached Röhm and recommended he remove the black, white, and red cockade of imperial Germany from his cap, the sergeant whispered, quote: “That is how far things have got here.” Röhm sought out Lieutenant Colonel von Sonnenberg, questioning the failures of the Bavarian army, to react to the threat of a communist Revolution, the colonel responded, that the revolt had taken them by surprise, and that they must allow it to develop quietly and run its course, this left Röhm discouraged. Röhm regarded this strategy as an unpatriotic betrayal, believing that the commanders of the Bavarian Army had shown quote: “their cowardice, lack of resolve, and inability to act, hastening to comply with the advice of the trembling civilian bureaucracy.” These military commanders, in Röhm’s eyes, had surrendered themselves to the “mutinous mob”, without standing up for the King and Kaiser, in effect, hiding from their responsibilities, and so, Röhm felt compelled to leave Bavaria, along with other army officials, in February of 1919, to join the Freikorps, a right-wing, Nationalist, paramilitary organization. During his journey, his train was halted near Dachau, as Kurt Eisner, the leader of the People’s State of Bavaria, had just been assassinated in Munich, after losing control of the government, his killer, called Eisner, quote: “a Bolshevist and a Jew, not a real German,”, which illustrates the fraught political climate in Germany, at the end of the Great War and Röhm was lucky to make it to Ohrdruf, as many potential troops and officers, intending to join the Bavarian Freikorps, like himself, were caught and arrested. Röhm’s return to Munich saw him becoming active in political life with the German National People’s Party and a frequent speaker at meetings. He quickly became displeased with the party, as he deemed them too narrow-minded, many of them coming from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, than Rohm, but it wasn’t long before a friend invited him to attend a meeting of the German Workers’ Party, he was instantly attracted to this new organisation, and was amongst the first few dozen people to join the party, which would attract many orators, including Adolf Hitler. Upon reporting to the Freikorps general staff officer, Röhm would be assigned to Colonel Franz Ritter von Epp as an aide, Röhm excelled in management, and was tasked with the command of catering and supplies, and when he was first given the position, the Freikorps were experiencing constant supply problems, but under Röhm’s guidance, the trains full of weapons, equipment, and horses began to roll in regularly. It is believed that Röhm illegally “requisitioned” the weapons and other supplies, from stocks pilfered from the former German army, including caches of weapons, which were supposed to have been destroyed under the Versailles treaty, and the logistical company that was assigned to handle everything, became overwhelmed by the supplies flooding into Ohrdruf. By the 14th of April 1919, the situation in Bavaria had deteriorated so dramatically, that the Reichswehr Ministry decided to speed up the formation of the Freikorps, in order to deploy them. The Bavarian Soviet Republic, seated in Munich, had fractured, and the People’s State of Bavaria was formed, seated in Bamberg. Military supplies were ready for mobilization when the first troop transports left Ohrdruf on the 22nd of April, with many more to come in the following days. The Freikorps was sent via Stuttgart, to Ulm on the western side of Bavaria, and only two days later, on the 24th of April 1919, the Freikorps marched into Ingolstadt, after short skirmishes with the Spartacists, but the Bavarian Freikorps did not fight alone, as the Landsberg and Swabian Freikorps, as well as small detachments of the German military, worked in tandem to surround Munich, and although joint operations broke down, the Bavarian Freikorps did manage to capture Munich on the 2nd of May 1919. Röhm had never seen himself as an overtly political figure, but he understood that due to his standing as an officer, he would inevitably be thrust into a political position, he argued that, the imperial authorities, had discouraged military officers from political pursuits or participation, believing that it lay outside their duty and capacity, and Röhm himself was surprised, by the relatively apolitical attitudes of officers, especially since 94% of active officers had been either killed or wounded in the imperial, political pursuits of World War I, he believed that this statistic alone, should have encouraged a more politically active attitude. Röhm believed that an officer could be apolitical as a mercenary in a foreign land, in which he serves, but not in his own country, the politicians and parliamentarians now had influence over the army, something that had never occurred in the old regime and Röhm would continue to view the military, but not the politicians, as the supreme instrument, of an increasingly dangerous people’s nationalism. On the 24th of February 1920, at a mass meeting in the famous Munich beerhall, the Hofbräuhaus, the German Workers Party, led by Adolf Hitler, presented the twenty-five points of its program to the public for the first time. This, in the minds of many historians, constituted the founding of the Nazi Party, and news of the event, would push the party into the public spotlight. In the spring of 1920, Röhm began attending meetings of the group, Iron Fist or Eiserne Faust, held in the apartment of Captain Beppo Römer, this political organization held strongly nationalistic views as well as some revolutionary aims, and it would be here, that Röhm would first be introduced to Adolf Hitler, a training officer at the time, under Captain Mayr. As a consequence of the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, Germany had been significantly demilitarized, to prevent another World War, and further action would be taken by the Weimar Republic, with the Reich Law for the Disarmament of the Population in 1920, which would jail citizens for five years, if they knowingly withheld information about secret weapons caches. Further humiliation, in Röhm’s eyes, would occur on the 21st of January 1921, when the German Army was reduced from a fighting force of 200,000 to 100,000. Members of the armed forces had hoped that the German government would refuse, and their anger and frustration grew, at yet another capitulation to the Allies, and the ordinance depots at Bamberg, Munich, and Ingolstadt were ordered destroyed. On the 29th of July 1921, after significant internal party struggles, Adolf Hitler was elected chairman, of the newly renamed Nationalsozialistiche Deutsche Arbeiter Partei, or, the National Socialist German Workers Party, known as the NSDAP, Röhm, who was already an ally and friend of Hitler, had grown intrigued with the NSDAP “storm troops”, known as the Sturmabteilung or SA. When Röhm was invited by Captain Heiss, to establish a Reichsflagge, or National Flag unit in Munich, he wavered on the offer, reluctantly accepting it, but upon building up a small following, he quickly threw himself into recruitment, and commenting on the frenzy surrounding these Nationalist movements, Röhm observed that, quote: “Flaming protests and mass demonstrations are certainly valuable for whipping up sentiment, and are perhaps often indispensable, but if there is no man to make the practical preparations behind the smoke screen and then act, they will be without effect.” Röhm became convinced of the need for an ultimate clash, between Nationalist militias and the “internationalist and anti-Fatherland” Allied and parliamentary-dominated government forces, in his estimation, there would be no resolution by preaching peace and order, but only through the use of force and violence. The merger between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, was an admission of the desire to counter the Nationalist and Völkisch movement, and an expression of the anxiety felt, over the movement’s steady growth. On the 8th of October 1922, Bavaria replaced First Minister Graf Lerchenfeld with Eugen von Knilling, a pro-Nationalist politician and Hitler’s Nazi Party was successfully gaining traction, and with fascism rising successfully in Italy, it only emboldened the Nationalist cause, the Vienna newspaper Neue Freie Presse, wrote on the 14th of December 1922, that Hitler had once been an ‘outsider not really taken seriously’, but was now the ‘strongest power in South German nationalism.’ In an effort to curb the effects of the Nationalist climate in Bavaria, the government placed the Bavarian Reichswehr, under the control of the main army, and made them “subordinate to the Reich president and the command headquarters in Berlin, separating them almost completely from the influence of the Bavarian state”, to Röhm, this was a coup, an attempt by the Reich, to divert power away from Bavaria and the Nationalists. According to a memorandum sent out by the leader of the Bavarian Freikorps, Colonel von Epp, an official of the Bavarian government named Deputy Erhard Auer, had made, quote, a “series of personal attacks against Captain Röhm and his colleagues, which were to some extent fictitious.” In reality, Auer had quite reliably accused Röhm of weapons smuggling, in addition to racketeering, political violence, murder, and desiring to impose a military dictatorship in Germany, uniting it with Austria. As a result of these accusations, and the increasing pressure from the presence of Röhm’s right-wing militiamen, as well as the earlier order assimilating the Bavarian military into the command of the Reichswehr, Captain Röhm was transferred and demoted from General Staff of Infantry Leader VII, to General Staff 7th Division, Röhm was deeply frustrated by this blatantly political move by the Social Democrat-controlled Reichstag, and Colonel von Epp refused to accept their choice for Röhm’s replacement. This move by the Social Democrats, was designed to gain control of the weapons stocks in Bavaria, a plan which had been long in the making, ever since the introduction of the disarmament laws, but due to their inability to convince the men guarding the weapon stocks to release them, the Social Democrats sought to weaken their resolve, by removing Röhm and other officers who would openly resist the disarmament of the Bavarian army, to Röhm, the Reichswehr had become a puppet for the “Reds”, a government that could be wielded by whomever controlled the Reichstag. Röhm described 1923 as a “distressing year”, due to his separation from Colonel von Epp and the Freikorps, not to mention the criminal charges he faced, none of which, however, resulted in conviction, but the experience nonetheless, left him bitter about having to defend himself, from what he referred to as “salvoes of abuse” – a clear demonstration, that like most Nazi Party members, Röhm viewed law and justice as flexible, relative, and mostly secondary to questions of power. As a result of Germany’s inability to deliver the reparations, owed to the French and Belgians, the two countries forcefully occupied the Rhine and Ruhr, and on the 23rd of January 1923, the Reichstag, passed a half-hearted resolution, to hold quote: “a solemn protest against the occupation of the Ruhr, by armed force, in breach of international law and treaties”, they claimed that the Reichstag, would quote: “support the government in any measure of purposeful resistance to the act of force by any means.”, and Munich reacted with extreme protest, with many condemning ‘French Imperialism’. As the government scrambled to unite the Reich, the NSDAP made plans for a two-day rally in Munich, originally scheduled for the 27th and 28th of January 1923, rumours circulated that Hitler planned to use the rally as a springboard to a coup, and Bavaria, in response, imposed strict regulations on the rally, leaving Hitler outraged and demanding the right to hold the rally outdoors, to ensure the greatest number of attendees and as big a fanfare as possible. Hitler’s threats to use force, led Bavaria to declare a state of emergency, but Hitler would find the support he needed within the Reichswehr itself, as government troops increasingly flocked to his side, causing increasing unease within the Bavarian government, Hitler assured them, that all he wanted was a peaceful rally, and so, after meeting with numerous officials, the rally was eventually approved. Röhm, along with many other Nationalists, viewed the government’s reaction to outside threats, such as those of France and Belgium, as mild, in comparison to their treatment of their own right-wing domestic groups, however, groups like Hitler’s SA, commonly known as the “brownshirts”, were frequently seen bullying targets in the streets, and invading rival political party spaces, using intimidation and violence on the NSDAP’s behalf, however, Hitler vehemently denied that such things were happening, blaming wealthy Jews for circulating “lies.” On the 23rd of January, 1923, Röhm was appointed a member of the policy staff of the Reichsflagge, or National Flag Unit, he was empowered now, to make political decisions, he began by working closely with Hitler to quietly consolidate, the various right-wing Nationalist militias, into an amalgamated pro-Fatherland Kampfbund, or “battle league,” to support the Nazi Party’s eventual seizure of power, formed initially as only a loose confederation of groupings. By the spring of 1923, Röhm was being increasingly pressured, to end his involvement with the group, as their activities and military exercises, would be quote: “highly welcome material to the French”. Röhm resigned his leadership role with the Reichsflagge, and distanced himself from the Kampfbund policy committee, but nevertheless, by the early summer of 1923, tensions would grow still further. The Kampfbund policy committee presented the Bavarian Government with a declaration, in an attempt to prevent a May Day parade from being held, by socialist and proletarian militias, as to the Nationalist, they claimed, a Soviet-style armed parade was an affront to the people, and a grim reminder of Bavaria’s Red Revolution of 1918, the Kampfbund policy committee thought this declaration would provoke the Bavarian government, to declare a state of emergency, cancelling all political activities, but instead, the Bavarian government stumbled and failed to respond, and reports of communists arming themselves, despite later being proven false, provoked the Nationalists into calling a meeting, to consolidate their allies, and mobilize a force of their own. On the morning of the 1st of May, the Kampfbund set up their battle line on the Oberwiesenfeld, while the May Day demonstrators mobilized at Theresienwiese, Röhm had been asked to mediate between the two groups, but mindful of government scrutiny over his previous involvement with the Kampfbund, he refused, but apparently, no Bavarian government official believed Röhm’s denials of involvement and on the day of the demonstrations, he discovered that his telephone had been tapped. Following the 1st of May standoff, Röhm was relieved of his post and was instead appointed company commander in Bayreuth however, Röhm resigned this commission the same day he received it, but administrative and procedural negotiations, prevented the acceptance of Röhm’s resignation, giving him time to quietly continue to work and plan for the fruition of the NSDAP’s plans. By July, the international situation had further deteriorated, and France was “demanding subjugation from Germany”, with Poland and Czechoslovakia also “snapping at their heels.” Röhm used this moment of Nationalist uproar, to return to the leadership of the Reichsflagge, and lead them in a massive rally, which took place between the 25th and 26th of July. While Röhm still doubted the overall military strength, unity, and readiness of the Kampfbund, he realized that the Nationalists’ situation was urgent, the Reichswehr and the state police, would be used as a weapon against them, if they failed to unite in an organized, disciplined way, and following an impassioned speech to the leadership of the Kampfbund, Hitler’s exhortation to fully support his political leadership, was received with acclaim. Röhm described it as a highly emotional moment, and with the unification of the Nationalist cause under one leader, Röhm submitted his second formal resignation to the army. The consistent attempts to suppress the Kampfbund, left Hitler in a fighting mood, but Röhm advised patience, Hitler issued an order prohibiting NSDAP members from joining any brigades unaffiliated with the Kampfbund, and tensions would build, throughout October, when the Bavarian government forced the Reichsflagge to disband, defiantly, Röhm reformed the group under the new name, Reichskriegflagge, also known as the Reich War Flag, or RFK, a further escalation of tensions occurred, when the Republic of the Rhine was declared in Saxony, under a Marxist government, aggravating anti-communist, Nationalist sensibilities, this, along with the rising rate of inflation in the German state as a whole, created the perfect storm. On the 8th of November 1923, State Commissioner Gustave von Kahr was leading a meeting of officials at the Bürgerbräukeller hall, with nearly 3,000 people in attendance, Hitler and his paramilitary forces surrounded the beer hall, and at 8:45 pm, they stormed the building, to command the crowd’s attention in the confusion Hitler jumped onto a chair, and firing a shot into the air, promptly proclaimed the dissolution of the government, and the establishment of a Nationalist Republic. Within the hour, the NSDAP had announced the composition of both the new Bavarian government, as well as the provisional German Nationalist government, and had placed Kahr in protective custody, Röhm was tasked with delivering news of the coup to the War Ministry, and when Röhm’s order to accept the new government was rejected, and the sentries refused him entrance, he seized the War Ministry by force. Hitler arrived at 11pm, to greet and congratulate Röhm and the RFK, yet an uneasy atmosphere still prevailed, it was still an open question whether the government and its military forces, would either accept or oppose the coup, meanwhile, Röhm was still holed up in the War Ministry, when he heard reports that the Reichswehr and state police, were finally en-route to drive him out. Röhm prepared his officers to defend the War Ministry, giving strict orders not to fire upon Reichswehr troops, stating that “the Reichswehr is Nationalist, and sooner or later will stand shoulder to shoulder with us, in the struggle for liberation”, and after lengthy negotiation, the terms of surrender arrived which were to: honorably lower the RFK flag, surrender all weapons to the state police, and surrender Röhm to state custody. Lacking any alternative, Röhm accepted the terms of the surrender, and while Röhm was being taken into custody, Hitler was shot, whilst leading a march on Munich, but was whisked away before he could be captured, and on the 12th of November, Röhm was taken to Neudeck, for his first hearing, and transferred two days later to Stadelheim prison, to await trial, the Putsch had failed. Whilst in prison, Röhm authored a pamphlet entitled, Savior of the Fatherland, to counter the claims, that Kahr had saved the country, to Röhm, Hitler was the savior, acting in defense of the Reich, while Kahr was the suppressor, and according to Röhm, the Revolution of 1918, had ruined Germany, the forced acceptance of blame for The Great War, had crippled their political and economic standing, Germany had been robbed of Upper Silesia, the Rhine, and the Ruhr, without any attempt to retain those territories, and the Reich’s ongoing policy of international appeasement, was starving the German people. On the 26th of February, 1924, Hitler, Röhm, and the other Putsch conspirators were brought to trial, all were convicted and sentenced, but Röhm was one of the few given a conditional discharge, and thus, served no jail time following the trial, Hitler and four other conspirators were incarcerated, but none would serve their full sentences, and during his imprisonment, Hitler would write his manifesto: Mein Kampf, but in the meantime, Hitler requested that Röhm begin rebuilding the Kampfbund forces, a process which had been forbidden by State Commissioner Kahr. The Reichstag elections on the 4th of May 1924, brought stunning results, as the National Socialist Freedom Party won 32 seats, one of which, was taken by Röhm himself, and whilst in government, he sponsored bills relating to the rights and conditions of soldiers at the front, the treatment of prisoners of war, and the intervention for the Ruhr fighters in French jails, none of these bills would come to the floor for debate, as they were sidelined by the deputies in the majority, and this experience soured Röhm on the political process, and made him question whether parliaments could ever function properly, reinforcing his view of the military, as the ideal arm, for the establishment of a people’s national will. In the wake of attempts to reform some of the militia groups, such as the Reichsflagge, the Bavarian government proposed the Notbann, an emergency force that would absorb all fighting forces under government control, and in response, Röhm prohibited prior Kampfbund members, from submitting to the Notbann, Röhm met with Captain Göring, who was in exile in Innsbruck, to plan a major conference for SA Leaders, to take place on the 17th and 18th of May 1924 and Röhm founded the Frontbann, or Front League, in order to consolidate the fighting brigades within the Reich. Following Hitler’s release from prison, he re-founded the NSDAP, despite its having been banned and Hitler offered the command of the SA to Röhm, but he declined to accept the position unless his conditions were met, whilst few of his colleagues would have attempted to impose conditions on Hitler, Röhm described his relationship with Hitler, as an honest friendship, and was frequently observed speaking to him, both openly and informally. On the 26th of April 1925, he presented Hitler with a memorandum, stipulating his conditions for acceptance of the leadership of the SA, Röhm would be in sole command of the Frontbann, and it would remain an independent organization within the movement, also they would be forbidden involvement in party affairs, nor could they take direct orders from political leaders, and lastly, the Frontbann would only accept directives from state authorities and the Reich army, if they were deemed necessary for the protection of the Fatherland. These conditions clearly highlighted the orientation of Röhm’s politics, which were, belief in the power of the citizen-soldier, who could violently exercise his political will, without being subordinated by politicians, and belief in the military, as the ideal instrument of nationalism. Hitler vehemently disagreed with Röhm’s proposal, as he wanted the Frontbann merged with the NSDAP, thus, Röhm declined Hitler’s offer and resigned his position, Captain Weiss wrote of him, “Wherever Captain Röhm appeared… there was ‘life in the place’ and above all, practical work was done, he was the real founder of the German Kampfbund and the soul of this creation”, and following his resignation, Röhm moved to Bolivia, where he served as a military advisor for the Bolivian Army. One of the most frequently repeated facts about Röhm’s personal life, is his sexual orientation, as Ernst Röhm lived virtually his entire adult life, as an openly gay man, a fact that sometimes perplexes those familiar with the traditionalist views of the Nazi Party, with which he was so deeply involved from the beginning. Having spent most of his life as a soldier, Röhm approached life with a hyper-masculine aggressivenesss, which some biographers have speculated might have been a counterbalance to his homosexuality, due to society’s view of gay men as naturally effeminate, his attitude and militaristic view, aligned him with the NSDAP, but both his openness about his sexual orientation, as well as the very fact of it, would make him many enemies within the party. Following the failed Stennes Revolt, an attempt to splinter the NSDAP, Hitler recalled Röhm to Germany to lead the SA, under somewhat more lenient terms, Röhm returned to find the SA a disorganized mess, hardly a competitive unit, his first act was to establish new Gruppens, or Groups, that encompassed many regions, under the command of an SA Gruppenführer, who answered only to Hitler and Röhm. The SA under Röhm exploded into a powerful organization, that would rival the size of the Reichswehr, by nearly 20 times, the SA’s main activities involved threats, intimidation, assaults, and street battles with communists, political rivals, Jews, and others whom the Nazis perceived as opposed to the Nationalist, Völkisch cause, the contrasting politics of the brownshirts, with their more middle class or elite fellow party members, was apparent in their support for labor strikes, and their willingness to publicly and viciously beat strikebreakers. The Schutzstaffel, or SS, a small sub-section of the SA, formed an intense rivalry with its parent organization, as the leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, was looking for a way to break free of the SA’s jurisdiction, the SS had taken over the important role of protecting the top Nazi officials, while the SA were increasingly viewed as little more than uncouth street thugs, the SS were fanatics, cultishly devoted to Hitler, and this devotion made them the perfect bodyguards, and they quickly became an elite organization within the Nazi Party. When the Nazis assumed full power in 1933, Röhm was made a Minister without Portfolio, as well as being named Reichsleiter, the second highest political office in the Nazi Party, in this position, Röhm made major political moves, his first was to attempt merging the SA into the Reichswehr, but Hitler felt threatened by this proposal, as it gave the impression, that Röhm might be preparing to overthrow the government. Not only did it threaten Hitler, it also threatened everyone in the existing military structure, who were likely all insecure, about Röhm’s extreme popularity with the SA, Röhm wanted to make the Reichswehr a training organization for the SA, but he made enemies, by trying to consolidate the two, and in an attempt to ease the tension, Röhm tried to compromise, by stating that only a few thousand of the SA, would be allowed into the Reichswehr, but his proposal was rejected outright. Many SA members felt, that following the Nazis’ rise to power, Hitler had not done enough, to reward them for their service during the Kampfzeit, or “fighting times”, they were hoping for radical social changes, that would elevate their position, yet nothing of the sort had happened, the members of the SA were relatively poor, and typically came from working-class backgrounds, unlike the primarily middle-class SS, and the rivalry between the SA and SS, would become increasingly bitter. Under Röhm’s leadership, the SA created some of the first concentration camps, for political prisoners and other “undesirables”, from the perspective of the Nazi party, the introduction of the camps, marked the height of Röhm’s power, but this displeased Himmler and Göring, heads of the SS and Gestapo, respectively, and so, the SS opened their own camps, to rival the SA’s in 1933, and it wasn’t long before Himmler also successfully gained control, of the SA’s concentration camps, replacing their staff with the SS Totenkopfe, or Death-Head regiments. Hitler held both fear and contempt, for the power the SA could wield, and wished to reduce their numbers, Röhm resisted heavily, the proposed reduction of the SA, and instead expanded them, leading to speculations of a potential SA coup, Hitler would resist suppressing Röhm directly, but subtly worked against him, and with aging President, Paul von Hindenburg, on the verge of death, Hitler attempted to gain the army’s support, by promising to reduce Röhm’s influence, and focus on rebuilding the Reichswehr and Kriegsmarine. A political power struggle ensued, as Himmler, Göring, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, and Röhm, all fought for control, both Himmler and Göring despised Röhm, for his open homosexuality, as well as his tolerance of it, within the SA leadership, Hitler himself had always known of Röhm’s homosexuality, and seemingly turned a blind eye, due to Röhm’s undying support for the National Socialist movement, and, their friendship might have played a role as well, as Röhm was the only Nazi official, who was ever allowed to address Hitler as Adolf, or Adi, instead of Mein Fürher. As a result of Himmler’s and Göring’s hatred of Röhm, Göring transferred de facto control of the Gestapo to Himmler, on the 20th of April 1934, this consolidation was done to counteract Röhm’s influence, and with tension growing in Germany, over Röhm’s increasingly egregious demands, Hitler was threatened by Hindenburg, who warned that, if he did not act to contain Röhm, Hindenburg would declare martial law, and allow the army to take control, it was probably at this point, that Hitler realized the SA was becoming more of a liability, than an asset. In preparation for the political purge, documents were fabricated, to suggest that Röhm had received payment from France, to overthrow the Nazi government, . leading officers of the SS were shown the falsified documents, on the 24th of June 1934, implicating Röhm and the SA, in a plan to overthrow the government, and so, with the intention of luring the SA leadership into a trap, Hitler requested a meeting with them, in Bad Wiesse, on the 30th of June, 1934, Hitler, along with SS officials, burst into the Hanselbauer Hotel and arrested Röhm, along with other high-ranking SA officials in the early morning Joseph Goebbels, who was with Hitler during the initial arrest, returned to Berlin and issued the code word Kolibri, or Hummingbird, unleashing the execution squads on the other unsuspecting victims of the purge, Hitler would make a public spectacle of the hotel raid, claiming treachery and moral degradation of the officers, as the cause of the mass arrest, and Röhm and other SA leaders, were accused of planning a coup, as well as indulging in sexual activities, culturally offensive to the Nazi Party’s policy. Most of those arrested that morning, were executed immediately, yet for unknown reasons, Röhm was simply imprisoned during the initial round of arrests, Hitler might have been hesitant to execute Röhm, because of their friendship, but on the 1st of July 1934, two days after the purge began, he finally gave the order, and SS officials entered Röhm’s cell, gave him a pistol, and told him he had 10 minutes to kill himself, or they would do it for him, Röhm retorted, quote: “If I am to be killed, let Adolf do it himself”, minutes later, having heard no shots, the SS officials re-entered the cell to find Röhm standing to attention they raised their pistols, and fired multiple rounds into Röhm, killing him. The Night of the Long Knives, as it would come to be known, would be the end of Ernst Röhm, along with roughly 100 to 200 other individuals, including those connected to the SA, as well as other political rivals to Hitler’s power, and with Röhm’s death, Himmler gained the autonomy he sought with the SS, and Göring was finally able to rid himself of a rival, and in an attempt to erase Röhm from the party’s history, the Nazis destroyed all known copies of the propaganda film “The Victory of Faith,” in which Röhm had appeared. Röhm’s world was shaped by the wars and political chaos of the mid 20th century, Germany had become a politically unstable country following World War One, with communist and fascist movements fighting for control of the government, the stalemate was only broken, with the success of Italy’s fascist movement, along with the actions of highly militaristic and rabidly Nationalist individuals like Röhm, and it was the inability of the Weimar Republic, to form a functioning government, that could meet the people’s needs, which allowed people like Röhm and Hitler, to take advantage of the people’s desperation. Röhm was instrumental in Hitler’s rise, as well as the creation of the concentration camps, which the SS would grimly perfect, and following Röhm’s death, the SA would slip into obscurity, as they had outlived their usefulness, they were a sacrifice Hitler made, in order to maintain power, and appease the conservative elements of the party and although the SA lost influence, the SS and Gestapo would step into their place, establishing Hitler’s brutal reign of terror across Europe. What do you think of Ernst Röhm? Was he merely a brutal thug, who wanted to seize power in Germany for himself, by force of arms, or was he a cold, calculating schemer, who if given the chance, would have replaced Adolf Hitler, as Fuhrer of the Third Reich. Please let us know in the comment section, and in the meantime, thank you very much for watching.
