Selected Clips from the movie Bent that depict the Night of the Long Knives. Most officers are too old and have to be replaced by young ones. This included Vice-Chancellor Papen and those in his immediate circle. [41] Several leaders of the disbanded Catholic Centre Party were also murdered in the purge. The Night of the Long Knives commences. As such, the Nazis consolidation of power relied on maintaining the illusion of a stable democracy. 95.7% of the population voted. The Reichstag, the German lower house of parliament, was set on fire on the 27 February 1933. Hitler wanted to consolidate his power and settle old scores. The purge of the SA was kept secret until it was announced by Adolf Hitler on July 13. Others killed included Gregor Strasser, a former Nazi who had angered Hitler by resigning from the party in 1932, and Gustav Ritter von Kahr, the former Bavarian state commissioner who had helped crush the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. 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. "It was plain that there was wide acceptance of the deliberately misleading propaganda put out by the regime. [21] Brning fled to the Netherlands while Schleicher dismissed the tip-off as a bad practical joke. [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. Night of the Long Knives. By the end of it, Hitler's party had been shaken by a major crisis, and the long knives were put quietly back in their box while all the Fhrer kept out was a wary ear. 1. Why did Hitler turn on the SA in the Night of the Long Knives? 2. They were under the control of Ernst Rhm, a loyal follower of Hitler since the early days of the Nazi Party. Behind Hitler is a backdrop of the Swastika. Leading members of the leftist-leaning Strasserist faction of the Nazi Party, including its leader Gregor Strasser, were also killed, as were establishment conservatives and anti-Nazis, such as former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and Bavarian politician Gustav Ritter von Kahr, who had helped suppress Hitler's Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. Rhm was given the nickname "The Machine Gun King of Bavaria" in the early 1920s, since he was responsible for storing and issuing illegal machine guns to the Bavarian Freikorps units. 7 Night of the Long Knives - 30 June 1934 . Have a Free Meeting with one of our hand picked tutors from the UK's top universities. [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. The faction headed by Hermann Gring and also . [66], Rumours about the Night of the Long Knives rapidly spread. Several of Hitler's lieutenants feared Rhm's growing power and restlessness, as did Hitler. In response to conservative pressure to constrain Rhm, Hitler left for Neudeck to meet with Hindenburg. The Night of the Long Knives was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany. The law needed two thirds of the Reichstag to vote for it to pass. [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. "[9], Hitler's speech signalled his intention to rein in the SA, whose ranks had grown rapidly in the early 1930s. However, soon after the purge Hitler himself would name the events the "Night of the long knives" in a public speech on 13 July 1934 defending the actions (despite the violence taking place over several days). The army's support for the purge, however, would have far-reaching consequences for the institution. [2] The purge strengthened and consolidated the support of the military for Hitler. 'The Night of the Long Knives' is now commony associated with a particularly violent political purge in Nazi Germany in 1934. . Lippert was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[50]. , which opened just a few days before the vote on the 20 March 1933. This decree gave the Nazis a legal basis for the One-to-one online tuition can be a great way to brush up on your History knowledge. A convoy of lorries moved quietly through the night. Adolf Hitler needed Ernst Rhm and his storm troops to climb to power in faction-torn Germany. 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. David Low responded to what became known as the Night of the Long Knives by producing a cartoon that deeply angered Hitler. Rhm, who was initially It's helped us to become more accustomed to acts of grim self-interested political butchery; but for those witnessing these events as they happened, they were simply unprecedented. The Night of the Long Knives was a helping event in Hitler becoming a dictator. A copy of the original film, before Rhm was edited out, was found in the 1980s in the German Democratic Republic's film archives. Whilst Gleichschaltung aimed to reach every aspect of rule in Germany, this was not always possible. [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. Hitler's task would not be simple, however, as the SA made up a large part of Nazism's most devoted followers. Night of the Long Knives 30 June 1934. [h], The action Hitler took would not only defang Rhm and the SA as a potential threat to Hitler's personal control of the Nazi Party, but would also serve to strengthen his relationship with the Wehrmacht the German armed forces which had long considered the SA to be their primary rival, and which at times outnumbered the military in manpower.[10]. The Censorship is really evident when . Battle to save 'Night of the Long Knives' hotel where Hitler turned on Brownshirts' leader Ernst Rhm - the only man standing in his way to absolute power - in deadly 1934 purge. [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. By early 1934, this vision directly conflicted with Hitler's plan to consolidate power and expand the Reichswehr. The Night of the Long Knives, which was originally published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories in 1960, feels surprisingly current the character names are the most dated-feeling aspect of the story. 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. This act legalised removing anyone of non-Ayran descent from the civil service. [37] Meanwhile, the SS arrested the other SA leaders as they left their train for the planned meeting with Rhm and Hitler. Following the Enabling Law, much of this harassment and imprisonment was legal. [75] Lutze did little to assert the SA's independence in the coming years, and the organization lost its power in Germany. [19] The British historian Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, who knew Schleicher and his circle well, wrote that Bredow displayed a "lack of discretion" that was "terrifying" as he went about showing the list of the proposed cabinet to anyone who was interested. June 30, 1934 - July 12, 1934 News articles about the arrest and murder of leadership within the SA, as well as political opponents of the Nazis ("Night of the Long Knives"). Hitler announced that he would occupy this new role. She even compared him to Frederick the Great, the 18th-century king of Prussia.[2]. The SS found Breslau SA leader Edmund Heines in bed with an unidentified eighteen-year-old male SA senior troop leader. Long Knives phrase. Opposition from outside the Nazi party was being strangled . Gleichschaltung was applied across every possible aspect of government policy. [84], The Night of the Long Knives represented a triumph for Hitler, and a turning point for the German government. On the 2 May 1933 trade unions were banned. With Hindenburg gone, there was no longer a limit to Hitlers power. ", Coincidentally, Hitler had been incarcerated at. The Night of the Long Knives was a major purge of the SA and Nazi Party. 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. 3. The leaders of the SA were ordered to attend a meeting at a hotel in Bad Wiesse, Bavaria. [23] Himmler envied the independence and power of the SA, although by this time he and Heydrich had already begun restructuring the SS from a bodyguard formation for Nazi leaders (and a subset of the SA) into its own independent elite corps, one loyal to both himself and Hitler. Overall, what is the meaning of the cartoon? ", followed by 12,263 people on Pinterest. , issuing the Act for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on the 7 April 1933. Grtner also declared in cabinet that the measure did not in fact create any new law, but simply confirmed the existing law. 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. On the floor near the SA are guns and knives, this could resemble the 'Night Of The Long . In addition to this, there was a mutual dislike between the traditional conservative elite who maintained many key positions in the government and the army during the first years of the Third Reich and the SA. Reichswehr They had defended his meetings, and attacked opponents. [56] Germany's legal establishment further capitulated to the regime when the country's leading legal scholar, Carl Schmitt, wrote an article defending Hitler's 13 July speech. [69] The request that Neurath be replaced by Nadolny, the former Ambassador to the USSR, who had resigned earlier that year in protest against Hitler's anti-Soviet foreign policy, indicated that Hammerstein and Mackensen wanted a return to the "distant friendliness" towards the Soviet Union that existed until 1933. ", "The most general theorythat National Socialism was a revolution of the lower middle classis defensible but inadequate. The Enabling Law allowed them to do this under the guise of legality. "A chancellor", he wrote, "sentences and shoots members of his own private army! The message of the cartoon "They Salute with Both Hands Now" is that in the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler turned on his previously loyal supporters, the SA, in order to consolidate his position by eliminating the threat of Ernst Rohm and the SA and winning over the Army. July 1-13, 1934 Editorials, opinion pieces, letters-to-the-editor, and political cartoons regarding the "Night of the Long Knives". By June 1934 this had grown to over 3,000,000 members. He stated that 61 people had been executed and 13 had committed suicide. 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. Censorship was heightened, and any person publishing actively anti-Nazi material was threatened or imprisoned. Both Kurt von Schleicher, Hitler's predecessor as Chancellor, and his wife were murdered at their home. [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. In the judicial system specifically, this act removed any judges that were deemed non-compliant with Nazi laws or principles. Called the Nacht der langen Messer in Germany, this event occurred over a series of days and entailed the Nazi regime's murder of those Hitler considered to be political enemies. 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. These acts removed peoples ability to oppose the Nazi Party, in any form. Now that the NSDAP had seized the reins of power in Germany, he said, it was time to consolidate its control. Background Hitler was Chancellor (Prime Minister), but not yet completely in control. 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]. [63], Former Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was in exile in Doorn, Netherlands, was horrified by the purge. Uploaded: 09/18/2002. ", Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:34, Night of the Long Knives (disambiguation), The History Place Triumph of Hitler Night of the Long Knives, German Culture The Third Reich Consolidation of Power, The German Embassy in the United States The Era of National Socialism, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Night_of_the_Long_Knives&oldid=1142048294, Operation Hummingbird, Rhm Putsch (by the Nazis), The Blood Purge. [73] Hitler's speech was not reported in the German press, but the army was appeased by the speech. [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. "[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! The Night of the Long Knives L.O. Nazi propaganda presented the murders as a preventive measure against an alleged imminent coup by the SA under Rhm the so-called Rhm Putsch. 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. The Nazis consolidation of power can be grouped into three main themes: pseudo-legality, terror and intimidation and pseudo-moderation. 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. ", "After the 'Night of the Long Knives,' [Reich Minister for Justice Franz Grtner] nipped in the bud the attempts of some local state prosecutors to initiate proceedings against the killers. His perceived enemies were executed on the night of June 30, 1934. On 30 June 1934 these tensions came to a head. The Nazi Party used the atmosphere of panic to their advantage, encouraging anti-communism. British cartoon by David Low, 1934 H I UN TL PR KE ER OM PT 'S IS ES They salute with both hands, now! Nov 3, 2012 - Explore S o l s h e i 's board "Yay, it's Friday! 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. Hitler remained indecisive and uncertain about just what precisely he wanted to do when he left for Venice to meet Benito Mussolini on 15 June. The Night of Long Knives, one of most noteworthy events during Hitler's rule, was a purge that occurred on the 30th June 1934. Following the purge, the Nazis sculpted the media coverage to portray the event as a preventative measure against a revolutionary, violent, and uncontrollable force, rather than a series of political murders. 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. While Nazism was not exclusively or even primarily a working-class phenomenon, the SA fulfilled the yearning of many unemployed workers for class solidarity and nationalist fervour. "[65] Another rare exception was Field Marshal August von Mackensen, who spoke about the murders of Schleicher and Bredow at the annual General Staff Society meeting in February 1935 after they had been rehabilitated by Hitler in early January 1935. [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. One key example of an event posed as moderate was the Night of Long Knives. 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). In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people. [25] Neurath's manoeuvre to put pressure on Hitler paid off, with Mussolini agreeing to the request (Neurath was a former ambassador to Italy, and knew Mussolini well). [35] Goebbels emphasised this aspect in subsequent propaganda justifying the purge as a crackdown on moral turpitude. The Night of the Long Knives - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Rhm, however, wanted to eliminate the generalship of the Prussian aristocracy altogether, using the SA to become the core of a new German military. They were often given a free rein on their activities and were violent and difficult to control. People could be imprisoned for any or no reason. 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 Nazi's paramilitary organization, known colloquially as "Brownshirts". By 1935, over 1,600 newspapers had been closed. 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. ultimate power over Germany, whilst maintaining an 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.. [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. Night of the Long Knives, in German history, purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. Although President Hindenburg and the Reichstag continued to exist, Hitler could now govern by decree. [He] died with words "Heil Hitler" on his lips. 3. They used any space they could get their hands on to create temporary camps. [11] Rhm saw violence as a means to political ends. Definition of Long Knives in the Idioms Dictionary. Despite his earlier agreement with Hitler, Rhm still clung to his vision of a new German army with the SA at its core. [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. Used for Educational purposes only. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. Blomberg, who had been meeting with the president, uncharacteristically reproached Hitler for not having moved against Rhm earlier. Upon returning to Berlin, Goebbels telephoned Gring at 10:00 with the codeword Kolibri to let loose the execution squads on the rest of their unsuspecting victims. Many members of the SA, including its leader Ernst Rhm, were demanding that the Nazi party carry out its socialist agenda and that the SA take over the army. What does night of the long knives expression mean? It was all three of these men that were responsible for this night, because Hitler asked Goering and Goebbels to compile a list of disloyal SA members,; this list formed the basis of those killed on the Night of the Long Knives. 2. [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. Moonlight glistened on numerous silvery revolvers, contrasting with the sinister black uniforms. [21] By the beginning of June everything was set and all that was needed was permission from Hitler. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet, one-third of the total. 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. Do Damage By Placing Guns, Knives And Rockets In. Hitler did not exercise absolute power, however, despite his swift consolidation of political authority. Carried out primarily by the SS and the Gestapo, over 150 people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested. Both Himmler and Gring welcomed Hitler's decision, since both had much to gain by Rhm's downfall the independence of the SS for Himmler and the removal of a rival for the future command of the army for Gring. Rhm left the Reichswehr in 1923 and later became commander of the SA. [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. to control. They had placed many in the first Just two months later, on 14 July 1933 the Nazis used the Enabling Act to ban all political parties except the Nazi Party. While many officers were impressed by Hitler's promises of an expanded army, a return to conscription, and a more aggressive foreign policy, the army continued to guard its traditions of independence during the early years of the Nazi regime. 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. Night of the Long Knives: Directed by Lance Miccio, Grant Slawson. , was then given the choice of suicide or murder. Give Hitler four years to rebuild it! 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. "[46], Some SA members died saying "Heil Hitler" because they believed that an anti-Hitler SS plot had led to their execution. Consumed with rage, Hitler denounced "the worst treachery in world history". 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. In this photo, Rhm is talking to a group of SA men, who appear to be listening intently. Its membership plummeted from 2.9 million in August 1934 to 1.2 million in April 1938. Prisons soon became stretched for space. By the summer of 1934, the SA's numbers had swollen to 2 million men. President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. 3. I have the earlier 2005 History Channel video of Night of the Long Knives - before it was Heavily Censored to remove all references to the fact that the Nazis were founded and led by Boy Raping Diseased Homo-Anal Coprophile Ephebophiles, including Founder Ernst Rohm and his male prostitute protege Hitler. On the 4 October 1933, it was declared that all editors must be Aryan. On the 30 January 1933 Hitler was appointed as chancellor of the Weimar Republic. By the end of 1934, the Nazis had managed to infiltrate and take control of every major aspect of German government. Goebbels soon radicalised each of these areas, ensuring that they advocated Nazi ideas. [24] Before Hitler left, and at the request of Presidential State Secretary Otto Meiner, Foreign Minister Baron Konstantin von Neurath ordered the German Ambassador to Italy Ulrich von Hassell without Hitler's knowledge to ask Mussolini to tell Hitler that the SA was blackening Germany's good name. You give Hitler power and time by voting HITLER!. [21] At the end of May, Brning and Schleicher, two former chancellors, received warnings from friends in the Reichswehr that their lives were in danger and they should leave Germany at once. The SS also murders several conservative critics of the Nazi regime including . On 27 February 1933, as the campaign moved into its final, frantic days, theReichstag, the German Parliament building, was set on fire and burnt down. [44] The murdered included at least one accidental victim: Willi Schmid, the music critic of the Mnchner Neuste Nachrichten newspaper, whose name was confused with one of the Gestapo's intended targets. Some estimates, however, put the total number killed at between 150 and 200. The caption They salute with both hands now is a joke about the Nazi salute. Under pressure from Hitler, Rhm reluctantly signed a pledge stating that he recognised the supremacy of the Reichswehr over the SA. However, to gain power Adolf Hitler built up a close and friendly relationship with Germany's industrialists. How did the Night of the Long Knives help to create a dictatorship out of a democracy? [37] Arriving back at party headquarters in Munich, Hitler addressed the assembled crowd. The Peoples Court, a court created by the Nazis in April 1934 with judges chosen specifically for their Nazi beliefs, replaced the Supreme Court. Germany feared revolution. The atmosphere of uncertainty following the Reichstag Fire secured many voters for the Nazi party. Search ID: CS308675. SA violence in Prussia gravely concerned Gring. Wiskemann, Elizabeth, "The Night of the Long Knives", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:34. [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. The "knives of the long night" episode, as it is now called, took place with brutal swiftness. Historians have often wondered why Hitler turned on the SA. 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. To a lesser extent, the Sturmabteilung (SA), a Nazi paramilitary organization, remained somewhat autonomous within the party. [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.