The SA had two million members and it wanted to take over the much smaller army. Hitler did not want to annoy the military because it could overthrow him and he needed them to co-operate with his ambitious foreign policy. Hitler believed the SA was the only group that could stop him achieving a dictatorship. The Night of the Long Knives was very significant because: it destroyed all opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party; it gave more power to the brutal SS, which became more important than the Nazi Party in running the dictatorship; it discouraged potential opponents because they knew they would be dealt with ruthlessly.
The SA also ran a violent campaign of terror against any and all opponents of the Nazi regime. Many were terrified of voting of at all, and many turned to voting for the Nazi Party out of fear for their own safety. The elections were neither free or fair. The Nazis secured Despite this improvement, the Nazis still did not command a majority in the Reichstag.
This new law gave Hitler the power to rule by decree rather than passing laws through the Reichstag and the president. If passed, the law would establish the conditions needed for dictatorial rule. The law needed two thirds of the Reichstag to vote for it to pass. The SA and the SS had also been on a month long campaign of violence to scare or imprison other opponents to the party. They had placed many in the first concentration camp , Dachau , which opened just a few days before the vote on the 20 March After Hitler had promised to protect the interests of the Catholic Church, the party conceded and supported the bill.
Only the SPD opposed it. Although President Hindenburg and the Reichstag continued to exist, Hitler could now govern by decree. Carried out primarily by the SS and the Gestapo, over people were murdered and hundreds more were arrested.
In August there were approximately , members of the SA. By June this had grown to over 3,, members. They were often given a free rein on their activities and were violent and difficult to control. 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. During the years of the rise of the Nazi Party, the SA had been instrumental in helping the party to gain support.
Hitler and the rest of the Nazi leadership disagreed with their approach. They understood the need to appear moderate and take over slowly by democratic means where possible, maintaining the stability and illusion of a democracy. The tension between the SA and the Nazi leadership grew. On 30 June these tensions came to a head.
Over the next two days, most of the SA leadership were placed under arrest and murdered without trial. Refusing to take his own life, he was shot on 1 July by two SS guards.
Whilst the purge focused on the SA, the Nazis also used the event to eliminate other political opponents, such as the former chancellor Kurt von Schleicher. From 20 August onwards, the Reichswehr , who had previously been a separate organisation, now swore a personal allegiance to Hitler. As the SA were known for being violent and unruly, many saw this as a legitimate move by the government to ensure public order.
On 13 July the Reichstag retrospectively approved a bill legalising the purge as emergency defence measures. Gleichschaltung was the process of the Nazi Party taking control over all aspects of Germany.
It is otherwise known as coordination or Nazification. The process primarily took place between This act legalised removing anyone of non-Ayran descent from the civil service. In the judicial system specifically, this act removed any judges that were deemed non-compliant with Nazi laws or principles. This act was reinforced by the German Civil Service code of 26 January , which retired any judges or judicial official who would not intervene in cases and rule in favour of the Nazis.
With these measures in place, the Nazification of the judicial system was complete. Goebbels became responsible for controlling the national media, film, theatre, arts, and other cultural aspects.
By , the SA was three million strong. However, the SA was a complex movement. It was used to support men who were out on strike and attacked strike breakers. He was also a threat to the dominance that Himmler wanted as his SS was much smaller in numeric terms that the SA. Hitler still very much needed them despite the negative press that the SA received for their rowdy and drunken behaviour when in uniform.
Many saw SA men as believing that they were above the law when it came to their behaviour. It never happened. Hitler had needed big business to get him into power and he knew that their leaders would never tolerate any advance in the power of the working class at their expense.
Senior army leaders were horrified at the suggestion.
0コメント