consequences of the night of the long knives

The Nazi adoption of the phrase for an upcoming violent event was well known even to the foreign press, with the 2 August 1932 issue of The Times reporting that: Prominent Nazi leaders have played upon the imaginations of their followers..with such phrases as the night of the long knives and a vengeance for every Nazi killed.[79]. 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. "[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. 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. [38] Joseph Goebbels, who had been with Hitler at Bad Wiessee, set the final phase of the plan in motion. By some estimates, as many as 1,000 were rounded up, never to be seen again. 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". 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 strike, which will end just before midnight, comes after a High Court . [37] Sepp Dietrich received orders from Hitler for the Leibstandarte to form an "execution squad" and go to Stadelheim Prison where certain SA leaders were being held. This fear was Many of the prisoners were tortured and abused. [5] In June 1932, one of the worst months of political violence, there were more than 400 street battles, resulting in 82 deaths. Rhm's contempt for the party's bureaucracy angered Hess. 95.7% of the population voted. [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. "[74] Hearing of the murder of former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and his wife, he also commented, "We have ceased to live under the rule of law and everyone must be prepared for the possibility that the Nazis will push their way in and put them up against the wall! Hitler and Himmler unleashed the Gestapo against old enemies, as well. A firefighter in the burnt out ruins of the Reichstag building. 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]. 25 terms. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Gring and Heinrich Himmler, ordered a series of political extrajudicial executions . Answer (1 of 5): if you were Ernst Rohm, or former conniving Chancellor Gen von Schleicher or his wife, the consequences were terminal. Finally, Hitler used the purge to attack or eliminate German critics of his new regime, especially those loyal to Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, as well as to settle scores with old enemies.[a]. This decree suspended the democratic aspects of the Weimar Republic and declared a state of emergency. They would later reopen it to liquidate the d ghetto. This event reputedly occurred during the fifth century Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, when Vortigern and the British leaders were invited to discuss peace and the Saxon leader Hengist commanded his men to draw their Seax (the infamous long knives) and massacre the unarmed Britons. [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 SS found Breslau SA leader Edmund Heines in bed with an unidentified eighteen-year-old male SA senior troop leader. 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. For the full article, see Night of the Long Knives . isabellaaellis. "[46], Some SA members died saying "Heil Hitler" because they believed that an anti-Hitler SS plot had led to their execution. Blomberg, Hitler and Goebbels. By 1935, over 1,600 newspapers had been closed. The Nazi Party used the atmosphere of panic to their advantage, encouraging anti-communism. [79] This story would be popularized across western Europe in the 12th century as part of the History of the Britons by Geoffrey of Monmouth, which introduced many of the Arthurian legends to Germany.[80][81]. Leading officers in the SS were shown falsified evidence on 24 June that Rhm planned to use the SA to launch a plot against the government (Rhm-Putsch). [4] The violent confrontations between the two contributed to the destabilization of the Weimar Republic. Ernst Rhm was murdered in the event known as the Rhm Putsch, or the Night of Long Knives. This act legalised removing anyone of non-Ayran descent from the civil service. As such, the Nazis consolidation of power relied on maintaining the illusion of a stable democracy. [34], At about 04:30 on 30 June 1934, Hitler and his entourage flew to Munich. Once inside Rhm's cell, they handed him a Browning pistol loaded with a single cartridge and told him he had ten minutes to kill himself or they would do it for him. [73] However, despite the rehabilitation of the two murdered officers, the Nazis continued in private to accuse Schleicher of high treason. , SS men stormed the hotel, and Hitler personally placed Rhm and other high-ranking SA leaders under arrest. The Nazis also took steps to ensure they couldnt be openly opposed in the press. Hess, present among the assembled, even volunteered to shoot the "traitors". 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. They had placed many in the first In Berlin, on Gring's personal orders, an armed SS unit stormed the Vice-Chancellery. Deprived of Communist party meetings to disrupt, the stormtroopers would sometimes run riot in the streets after a night of drinking; they would attack passers-by and then attack the police who were called to stop them. 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. The army's support for the purge, however, would have far-reaching consequences for the institution. [35] Schneidhuber was executed later that day. On 25 April 1933, the Law Against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities was issued, restricting the number of Jewish students. Terror and intimidation became one of the main ways that the Nazis sought to control or suppress their opposition, and Germans in general. An atmosphere of panic and terror followed the event. There were 4 main reasons why the Night of the Long Knives occurred: Ernst Rhm had become too powerful with 3 million SA loyal to him. [21] By the beginning of June everything was set and all that was needed was permission from Hitler. Hitler entitled the purge the 'Night of the Long Knives' - a reference to the lyrics from a popular Nazi song. As the leader of the SA, Rhm was seen as a threat to Hitlers power. . Night of the Long Knives, in German history, purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. The leaders of the SA were ordered to attend a meeting at a hotel in Bad Wiesse, Bavaria. This photograph was taken the same day, showing the Reichstag still burning. The History Learning Site, 9 Mar 2015. [25] While Mussolini's criticism did not win Hitler over to acting against the SA, it helped push him in that direction.[25]. Consumed with rage, Hitler denounced "the worst treachery in world history". The Night of Long Knives occurred on June 30, 1934. coalition 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. With these measures in place, the Nazification of the judicial system was complete. 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. "[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. by Gring and Himmler, who gave Hitler news of Rhm organising a potential It will first explore this topic in chronological order, from the Reichstag Fire through to the death of President Hindenburg, and then explore it thematically in the last section. This would allow them to rule unopposed and unhindered by coalition governments. The SA evolved out of the remnants of the Freikorps movement of the post-World War I years. On 1 April 1933, the Nazi Party led a nationwide boycott of Jewish-owned businesses across Germany. Political instability in the Weimar Republic, Hyperinflation and the invasion of the Ruhr, Strength and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic. 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. But the Night of the Long Knives they kill over 100 people, not just Rhm and his closest associate, but also others who are on a hit list that Hitler, Gring, and Himmler and others put together. In this photo, Rhm is talking to a group of SA men, who appear to be listening intently. "[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 a new pair Rally Coach this worksheet. On 7 April 1943, the SS shut down the Chemno death camp for the first time. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet, one-third of the total. We want to wait till Papa Hindenburg is dead, and then the SA will march against the army. To take control of cultural policy, the Nazis appointed Joseph Goebbels as Minister for Public Engagement and Propaganda on the 13 March 1933. [78], The term "long knives" as a metonym for treachery and violence had been used to describe the Treason of the Long Knives since this incident was recorded in the 9th century Historia Brittonum. Rhm left the Reichswehr in 1923 and later became commander of the SA. Excellency, save Germany for the fourth time! Despite this improvement, the Nazis still did not command a majority in the Reichstag. 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. Although President Hindenburg and the Reichstag continued to exist, Hitler could now govern by decree. consolidate SA violence in Prussia gravely concerned Gring. 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. [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. 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. The Nazis consolidation of power can be grouped into three main themes: pseudo-legality, terror and intimidation and pseudo-moderation. You were murdered June 30-July 2, 1934, the Night of the Long Knives. The tension between the SA and the Nazi leadership grew. 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. Plenary: Form a circle of 6-8 students and paraphrase passport everything you have learnt about the Night of the Long Knives. In British politics, the " Night of the Long Knives " was a major Cabinet reshuffle that took place on 13 July 1962. isabellaaellis. Rhm was very critical of Hitler's policies of working with rich businessmen and the army. Gring declared that the communists had planned a national uprising to overthrow the Weimar Republic. [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. Local governments proved more difficult to infiltrate, and even at the end of 1945 only 60% of local mayors were Nazi Party members. The Party had generally been aligned with the Social Democrats and Catholic Church during the rise of Nazism, being critical of Nazi ideology, but voting nonetheless for the Enabling Act of 1933 which granted Hitler dictatorial authority. Its membership plummeted from 2.9 million in August 1934 to 1.2 million in April 1938. "[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. Having earlier imprisoned or exiled prominent Social Democrats and Communists, Hitler used the occasion to move against conservatives he considered unreliable. [42] The Gestapo also murdered Erich Klausener, the leader of Catholic Action, and a close Papen associate. 20 terms. They will . "[9], Hitler's speech signalled his intention to rein in the SA, whose ranks had grown rapidly in the early 1930s. [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. People could be imprisoned for any or no reason. On the 5 March 1933, the elections took place, with an extremely high turnout of 89%. Most officers are too old and have to be replaced by young ones. [69] Finally, Hammerstein and Mackensen asked that Hindenburg reorganize the government by firing Baron Konstantin von Neurath, Robert Ley, Hermann Gring, Werner von Blomberg, Joseph Goebbels and Richard Walther Darr from the Cabinet. [72] Fritsch and Blomberg suddenly now claimed at the end of 1934 that as army officers they could not stand the exceedingly violent press attacks on Schleicher and Bredow that had been going on since July, which portrayed them as the vilest traitors, working against the Fatherland in the pay of France. On the 28 February 1933, President Hindenburg signed the Emergency Decree for the Protection of the German People. Hitler did not exercise absolute power, however, despite his swift consolidation of political authority. Officially 85; estimates range up to 1,000. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Night of Long Knives, one of most noteworthy events during Hitler's rule, was a purge that occurred on the 30th June 1934. . Whilst Gleichschaltung aimed to reach every aspect of rule in Germany, this was not always possible. of democracy. 1 Quoted in Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power (New York: Penguin Books, 2005), 37-38. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini sent four army divisions up the Brenner Pass and to the Carinthian frontier, and the Italian press vehemently denounced German imperialism and bad faith. concentration camp By early 1934, this vision directly conflicted with Hitler's plan to consolidate power and expand the Reichswehr. He left Neudeck with the intention of both destroying Rhm and settling scores with old enemies. The long term impact brought forth by the consequences or legacy of the Nazi party included a population decrease and an increase in deaths. Source starter, video introducing the night of the long knives, source analysis assessing causes and consequences of the night of the long knives, describe 4 mark question built in and overall judgement building on the learning sequence of the most significant reason Hitler was able to establish a dictatorship. Gleichschaltung was applied across every possible aspect of government policy. Blomberg, who had been meeting with the president, uncharacteristically reproached Hitler for not having moved against Rhm earlier. With Hindenburg gone, there was no longer a limit to Hitlers power. leaders knew consequences of questioning Hitler - role of SA was reduced - membership dropped from 2.9 million to 1.6 million. Sixty years ago today, Harold Macmillan carried out a cabinet reshuffle which became known as the 'Night of the Long Knives'. 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. British cartoon by David Low, 1934 They salute with both hands, now! In reality, the laws that the Nazis put forward secured their future as the sole ruling party in Germany. The Night of the Long Knives L.O. Give Hitler four years to rebuild it! 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. [21], Demands for Hitler to constrain the SA strengthened. The day after the Reichstag fire, the 28 February 1933, Hindenburg signed a decree giving Hitler emergency powers. The camps were brutal and had extremely unsanitary conditions. Goebbels soon radicalised each of these areas, ensuring that they advocated Nazi ideas. Courtesy of The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections. He also wanted to appease leaders of the Reichswehr, the German military, who feared and despised the SA as a potential rival, in particular because of Rhm's ambition to merge the army and the SA under his own leadership. Enraged, Hitler tore the epaulets off the shirt of Obergruppenfhrer August Schneidhuber, the chief of the Munich police, for failing to keep order in the city the previous night. [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. How did the Night of the Long Knives help to create a dictatorship out of a democracy? [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. Religion and The Bloody Chamber. Omissions? To a lesser extent, the Sturmabteilung (SA), a Nazi paramilitary organization, remained somewhat autonomous within the party. [69], Hindenburg never responded to the memo, and it remains unclear whether he even saw it, as Otto Meiner, who decided that his future was aligned with the Nazis, may not have passed it along. Gring's personal police battalion also took part in the killings. coup These acts removed peoples ability to oppose the Nazi Party, in any form. [25] During the summit in Venice, Mussolini upbraided Hitler for tolerating the violence, hooliganism and homosexuality of the SA, which Mussolini stated were ruining Hitler's good reputation all over the world. You must first remember and recite all the points made earlier in the circle then add your own point. The atmosphere of uncertainty following the Reichstag Fire secured many voters for the Nazi party. Both Kurt von Schleicher, Hitler's predecessor as Chancellor, and his wife were murdered at their home. The Night of the Long Knives was the least important factor, as it did no help much towards Hitler's consolidation of power. [8], On 6 July 1933, at a gathering of high-ranking Nazi officials, Hitler declared the success of the National Socialist, or Nazi, seizure of power. Through these aspects the Nazis suppressed any opposition to their power, and were able to start the road from democracy to a dictatorship. ", "The most general theory that National Socialism was a revolution of the lower middle class is defensible but inadequate. 464 Words. [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. 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. [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. By June 1934 this had grown to over 3,000,000 members. [7] Complaints of "overbearing and loutish" behaviour by stormtroopers became common by the middle of 1933. However, most accounts argue that as many as 1,000 deaths occurred during the Night of the Long Knives. "[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. Refusing to take his own life, he was shot on 1 July 1934 by two SS guards. Reichswehr Wilhelm Miklas, and recalled his minister from Vienna. Updates? The Enabling Law allowed them to do this under the guise of legality. , issuing the Act for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on the 7 April 1933. In response to conservative pressure to constrain Rhm, Hitler left for Neudeck to meet with Hindenburg. [32] Blomberg and General Walther von Reichenau, the army's liaison to the party, gave it to him by expelling Rhm from the German Officers' League. Also killed that night were hundreds of other perceived . 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. The biggest threat to Hitler was Ernst Rhm. Some estimates, however, put the total number killed at between 150 and 200. Max Heydebreck, an SA leader in Rummelsburg, denounced the army to his fellow brownshirts, telling them, "Some of the officers of the army are swine. The Night of the Long Knives was a helping event in Hitler becoming a dictator. [m] Years later, in November 1945, while being interviewed by psychologist Gustave Gilbert in his cell during the Nuremberg trials, Gring angrily justified the killings to Gilbert, "It's a damn good thing I wiped them out, or they would have wiped us out!"[85]. Historian Gavin Mortimer explains how Hitler nearly came unstuck as early as 1934 - and that the bloody purge that followed was a warning of horrors to come . Also known as the "brownshirts" or "stormtroopers," the SA became notorious for their street battles with the Communists. Goebbels became responsible for controlling the national media, film, theatre, arts, and other cultural aspects. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Gring and Heinrich Himmler, ordered a series of political extrajudicial executions intended to consolidate his power and alleviate the concerns of the German military about the role of Ernst Rhm and the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Nazis' paramilitary organization, known colloquially as "Brownshirts". And let it be known for all time to come that if anyone raises his hand to strike the State, then certain death is his lot. government, under President Hindenburg. The Nazis had the support of the DNVP, and had banned the communist party, the KPD, from attending. The speed and scale of the reshuffle caused it to be associated by its critics with the 1934 Night of the Long Knives in Nazi Germany . 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. The elections were neither free or fair. [75] Lutze did little to assert the SA's independence in the coming years, and the organization lost its power in Germany. [1] More than a thousand perceived opponents were arrested. How seriously Hitler took the socialist character of National Socialism was to remain one of the main causes of disagreement and division within the Nazi party up to the summer of 1934. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This photograph shows the SA as they marched victoriously through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin the same day. [He] died with words "Heil Hitler" on his lips. Tes paid licenceHow can I reuse this? Let the nation know that its existence which depends on its internal order and security cannot be threatened with impunity by anyone! [66], Rumours about the Night of the Long Knives rapidly spread. They murdered Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in his chancellery, but the putsch failed in its main purpose. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This resource hasn't been reviewed yet. On the 23 March 1933, Hitler proposed the Enabling Law to the Reichstag. Until then, Lippert had been one of the few executioners of the purge to evade trial.

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