The Night of the Long Knives, June 1934

What was the Night of the Long Knives?

The Night of the Long Knives was the deliberate and organised murder of Nazi and SA leaders that the Führer believed posed a threat to his position. The killings were carried out by the SS.

When was the Night of the Long Knives?

The Night of the Long Knives began on 30th June, 1934 and continued until 2nd July.

Why did the Night of the Long Knives happen?

There were 4 main reasons why the Night of the Long Knives occurred:

• ❖ Ernst Röhm had become too powerful with 3 million SA loyal to him. Röhm was a potential rival to Hitler's position.
• ❖ Röhm was very critical of Hitler's policies of working with rich businessmen and the army. He wanted the Nazi Party to focus on socialist policies to support the working classes, not on policies which would benefit the businessmen.
• ❖ Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich, the leaders of the SS, disliked Röhm and wanted to undermine him. They resented the influence Röhm had over the party, so they told Hitler that Röhm was plotting to seize power.
• ❖ The German Army saw the SA as a threat because they believed the SA wanted to take over the army, which was a much smaller force of only 100,000 soldiers.

Who was killed during the Night of the Long Knives?

At the end of the Night of the Long Knives about 400 people had been murdered. These included Ernst Röhm (leader of the SA), General von Schleicher (the ex-chancellor) and Gregor Strasser (a former leading member of the Nazi Party).

What were the results of the Night of the Long Knives?

There were 4 main results of the Night of the Long Knives:

• ❖ Approximately 400 people close to Hitler, who had been regarded as a threat, were now dead.
• ❖ The SS, led by Himmler, emerged more powerful and they, along with Gestapo, now formed the basis of the police state.
• ❖ The SA was never again a leading force.
• ❖ Hitler got away with having his opposition openly murdered. This established a pattern for the Nazi dictatorship.