Hitler Purges Rivals: Night of the Long Knives
Adolf Hitler ordered the purge of the SA (Sturmabteilung) leadership on June 30, 1934, in what became known as the Night of the Long Knives. SS squads arrested and executed SA chief Ernst Rohm and at least 85 other people over three days, though the actual death toll may have been several hundred. Rohm's SA, with three million members, had become a threat to the regular army and to Hitler's own power. The purge also targeted political enemies unrelated to the SA, including former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and Gregor Strasser, a rival within the Nazi Party. The army officer corps, relieved to see the SA neutralized, swore a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler on August 2. Vice President Franz von Papen, whose staff was arrested during the purge, was sent as ambassador to Vienna and never challenged Hitler again.
June 30, 1934
92 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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