the+night+of+the+long+knives

Karin Hoonjan

The Night of the Long Knives

"//In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people. I gave the order to shoot the ringleaders in this treason, and I further gave the order to cauterise down to the raw flesh the ulcers of this poisoning of the wells in our domestic life. Let the nation know that its existence—which depends on its internal order and security// //cannot be threatened with impunity by anyone! And let it be known for all time to come that if anyone raises his hand to strike the State, then certain death is his lot."//
 * June 30- July 2, 1934
 * AKA the //Rohm-Putsch// in Germany
 * Occurred in Munich
 * Hitler led a voilent attack on his own people
 * Attacked the top political leaders of the SA
 * Hitler felt threatened by Ernst Rohm (leader of the SA/ Brownshirts)
 * Rohm founded the SA in the early 1930s and over 2.5 million members joined
 * Hitler saw the way the SA was being led as a threat to his new power
 * Hitler and Himmler (led the SS/ Blackshirts) decided this was the only way- to purge the S A
 * Joseph Goebbels was the architect and put the plan in motion (was also Hitlers right hand man)
 * Hundreds killed and arrested (both SA and SS)
 * Rohm was arrested and later killed on the last day of the purge
 * The purge was a great triumph for Hitler and a turning point for Germany's gov't
 * Hitlers speech regarding the night of the long knives:

The architects of the purge: Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, and Hess. Ernst Rohm (During the Purge)

Sources: [] Ms. Matins notes