Why were the SA rounded up?

I have heard that they planned a revolution with or without Hitler as their head. IS there any truth in the story or was it merely that the SA were an embarrasment.

I think the SA were "rounded up" because Hilter felt they were getting beyond his control. Furthermore there was a strong rilvary and hostility between Rohm (head of the SA) and Himmler (leader of the SS). As you say, there was also the fact that people within the SA were urging for a 'second revolution', which would have reduced Hilter authority. Plus, the military leaders were worried that the SA was becoming to large and taking away power from the military. The SA had been a organ of the National Socialists (Nazi's). The SS, on the otherhand, were loyal only to Hilter. So I guess the main reason behind the Night of the Long Knives was to consolidate Hilters power, and, by eliminating his rivals in the SA, virtually wipe out any possibility of opposition whilst promoting the SS - his loyal private army.

Probably the main reason was to get the military on side. Up until the Night of the Long Knives, they had been wary of Hitler and Rohm, especially the latter who wanted to turn the SA into a second German army. By reducing the strength of the SA, Hitler was able to consolidate support in the army and prevent a possible military coup.

Werent Scleicher and Von Kahr killed as wwell on night of the long knives?

I don't know, but, Rohm, head of the SA, was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis. I have a question: Did the SA exist after the Long Knives? I think they did... but not on a large scale like the SS.

If I'm correct, he did it (like many have said) because Rohm was growing as an oppisition to Hitler and threatened military dominance. It was also a good guise for Hitler to use in taking out more of his personal enemies.

Well they had no leadership. There were SA members but nothing to unify them. I had heard that they started to filter the SA into the SS but the two organisations hated each other. The WT which became the Waffen SS was forme after the noight of the long knives though.

What would have happened if the SA managed to kill Hitler, split the SS apart by killing Himmler, and and Rohm became leader of Nazi Germany?

Anarchy. The SA went out of control when Hitler got to power. The ran havoc beating people up and for a week an SA unti tortured people at a Town Hall or something like that.

Jews, or random people off the street?

It was workers I think so just random lower class people out of the street then. They did it for the hell of it.

I think its because they hate Communism and workers symbolize it.

Yea but the funny think is is that the SA were close to Communism at times and in my personal opinion were the socialist in Nationalist socialist and many SA members were workers.

An interesting thing is that a Berlin group of SA split from the Nazi party and reformed under the slogan workers farmers soldiers which resembled a 1917 Bolsehvik one.

Ok, they were a violent gang that attacked innocent people for no reason and they were Communist. No wonder why Hitler had to get rid of them. They were too violent.

It was used for a general purging - many non-SA political enemies were murdered including von Schleicher.


Yes they did exist. I don't know much about them, but some of them carried out massacres of jews on the eastern front during the war.

It came under the command of Victor Lutze who didnt do much to strenghten it from what I hear. I think it was used to form militias and many younger members of the SA were filtered into the army. Ignore what I said here:





Gregor Strasser and Von Kahr as well.

It seems Hindenburg supported the purge as well.

Apparently one of the reasons Rohm had to go was due to Hitlers annoyance at his suspected homosexual activities.

It was much of the SA leadership that was homosexual since Rohm promoted them.

It was more that Goering and Himmler conspired it all together. They also told Hitler that the SA had attempted a coup.

This went hand in hand with what Lutze had told Hitler he had overheard Rohm say 9 something along the lines of getting rid of Hitler) at an SA/army reconciliation dinner in Jan 34.

that was just a front Hitler used to justify it to the rest of the Nazis. Hitler knew all about Rohm's sexual orientation long before he had him killed. It didn't bother him before. I think the main reason Hitler killed Rohm was in an attempt to get the conservative army on side. Rohm had clear ambitions of making the SA the official German army, and it was the army that was pressuring Hitler to do something about it. I don't think Hitler actually wanted this purge to happen because until then the SA was the backbone of the nazi party.

Was it that or claims by Himmler and Goering that Rohm had attemtped a coup?