How Did the Night of the Long Knives Help Hitler Consolidate Power?
The Night of the Long Knives was extremely significant in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship and ultimately Hitler’s power. This night of brutal murder and elimination of the Sturm Abteilung (SA) gave Hitler the support of the army, which he need for both the creation of a totalitarian state and his future foreign policy and also relieved the pressures on Hitler. However, The Night of the Long Knives was also the continuation of many other events, which could be described as equally as important, such as the Enabling Act and the Reichstag Fire.
Ernst Rohm a professional soldier and once a close friend of Adolf Hitler was a major threat against Hitler’s power and reign. Rohm was a natural rebel who had strong revolutionary views, more instinctive than ideological. He once commented that he had more in common with Communists than with the bourgeoisie. In 1933 he was appointed to the Cabinet, but tension grew over his view that the SA should be a major force for a revolution. His unruly actions and behavior further worried the conservatives, who Hitler needed to please. In the end his political sense overrode his friendship and decided to eliminate Rohm. The removal of Ernst Rohm pleased the powerful of supporters of Hitler who had complained about Rohm previously. Adolf was also aware that Rohm and the SA had power to remove him as leader. His death ultimately reassured Hitler, his power and his supporters.
One reason why the Night of the Long Knives took place was due to the ideology of the SA. The SA was promoted as being rather more left wing than what Hitler had intended. The major goal of the SA as a political and military movement was the idea of a 'Second Revolution.' This was a set of extreme and liberal reforms of the SA, which were verging on socialism. This included pushing for nationalisation of major industrial firms, expanding worker control, confiscation and redistribution of the estates of the old aristocracy and also social equality.
Ernst Rohm a professional soldier and once a close friend of Adolf Hitler was a major threat against Hitler’s power and reign. Rohm was a natural rebel who had strong revolutionary views, more instinctive than ideological. He once commented that he had more in common with Communists than with the bourgeoisie. In 1933 he was appointed to the Cabinet, but tension grew over his view that the SA should be a major force for a revolution. His unruly actions and behavior further worried the conservatives, who Hitler needed to please. In the end his political sense overrode his friendship and decided to eliminate Rohm. The removal of Ernst Rohm pleased the powerful of supporters of Hitler who had complained about Rohm previously. Adolf was also aware that Rohm and the SA had power to remove him as leader. His death ultimately reassured Hitler, his power and his supporters.
One reason why the Night of the Long Knives took place was due to the ideology of the SA. The SA was promoted as being rather more left wing than what Hitler had intended. The major goal of the SA as a political and military movement was the idea of a 'Second Revolution.' This was a set of extreme and liberal reforms of the SA, which were verging on socialism. This included pushing for nationalisation of major industrial firms, expanding worker control, confiscation and redistribution of the estates of the old aristocracy and also social equality.