NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES (June 30 - July 2, 1934)
When the
NSDAP came to power in 1933, &
Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany via popular vote, the
Strasserist Faction (leftist wing of NSDAP/Nazi Party) plotted the overthrow of Hitler. Under the proactive leadership of Hitler, the conspiracy was thwarted in 1934 by
Operation Hummingbird.
On the night of the 30 June 1934, a phone call was placed from Adolf Hitler to
Hermann Göring in Berlin giving the prearranged code word "Kolibri" (hummingbird) which signaled a full go-ahead for a 3 day operation that unleashed a wave of murderous violence by the
Schutzstaffel (SS) in Berlin & 20 other cities. Adolf gave the order for "Nazis" to remove their political opponents & leaders of the paramilitary
Sturmabteilung or SA (brownshirts). The
Einsatzgruppen or so called "SS/Nazi Death Squads," along with the
Gestapo & Göring's private police roared through the streets hunting down SA leaders & anyone else on the
Prepared Enemies List (later called the Reich List of Unwanted Persons).
This series of political executions has become known as the
Night of the Long Knives, or the
Röhm Putsch. The general consensus is that at least 85 leftist "Nazis," & conservative "Anti-Nazis" were executed, while some quote the number to be as high as 400. The killings were perpetrated by the NSDAP upon non-jewish political enemies inside of the NSDAP party & were significant as they ended a possible takeover by the SA. The SA at this time was a necessary force, even though the
SA were called street fighting thugs by the uninformed. Its distribution of "law & order," was not completely understood by most people outside of Germany's turmoils during this time period, but the SA also deserves credit for being a force that fought back jewry with every ounce of strength it could muster.
Known homosexuals such as
Ernst Röhm were targeted for death, as were leading members of the leftist
Strasserist faction, along with its figurehead,
Gregor Strasser. Prominent anti-Nazis, such as former Chancellor
Kurt von Schleicher &
Gustav Ritter von Kahr, who were instrumental in the collapse & suppression of
Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, were also killed.
*Putsch: a plotted revolt or attempt to remove a government by force
