The Nazis in Power: The Night of the Long Knives (Episode 1)
Audio Brief
Show transcript
This episode covers the Night of the Long Knives, the 1934 purge that consolidated Adolf Hitler's power through brutal internal conflict.
There are four key takeaways from this discussion. First, the purge was primarily driven by a ruthless internal power struggle among the Nazi leadership. Second, the complicity of traditional German elites, especially the army, was a critical factor enabling Hitler’s power consolidation. Third, the event marked the Nazi regime's abandonment of all pretense of legality. Fourth, the purge created a "pact of blood" among the surviving Nazi leaders, binding them through shared criminality.
The purge was primarily driven by a ruthless internal power struggle among the Nazi leadership. Ernst Röhm's revolutionary SA clashed with figures like Göring, Himmler, and Heydrich, who conspired to eliminate their rival. They fabricated a coup plot to convince Hitler to act against Röhm.
The complicity of traditional German elites, particularly the German Army, was critical. Röhm's ambition to replace the traditional Reichswehr with his massive SA created an irreconcilable conflict. This pushed the army and other conservative elites to support Hitler's move against the SA.
The event marked the point where the Nazi regime abandoned all pretense of legality. Hitler openly claimed the right to murder political opponents, declaring himself the "supreme judge" of the nation. This action solidified his authority to operate entirely above the law.
Finally, the purge created a "pact of blood" among the surviving Nazi leaders. This shared criminality bound them together, effectively eliminating any significant internal opposition for the remainder of the regime.
The Night of the Long Knives ultimately cemented Hitler's absolute authority and established a regime fundamentally ruled by terror.
Episode Overview
- The episode details the Night of the Long Knives, the 1934 purge that consolidated Adolf Hitler's power, framing it as the first great internal drama of the Nazi regime.
- It explores the central conflict between Ernst Röhm's revolutionary SA (stormtroopers) and the conservative German establishment, including the army and business interests.
- Key Nazi figures like Göring, Himmler, and Heydrich are shown conspiring against their rival Röhm, fabricating a coup plot to convince Hitler to eliminate him.
- The purge is depicted as a brutal and chaotic event that expanded beyond the SA to eliminate a wide range of political and personal enemies, cementing the regime's rule through terror.
- The aftermath saw Hitler declare himself the "supreme judge" of Germany, the army swear a personal oath of loyalty to him, and the final establishment of his absolute authority.
Key Concepts
- Internal Nazi Power Struggle: The purge was the culmination of a vicious rivalry between Ernst Röhm and his SA on one side, and a conspiracy led by Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and Reinhard Heydrich on the other, all competing for power and Hitler's favor.
- Conflict with the Conservative Elites: Röhm's ambition to have his massive SA replace the traditional German Army (Reichswehr) created an irreconcilable conflict, pushing the army and other conservative elites to support Hitler's move against him.
- Consolidation of the Police State: The event was enabled by Himmler and Göring's successful takeover of Germany's police forces, creating the Gestapo as a centralized instrument of terror that could be unleashed on internal enemies.
- Fabrication and Propaganda: The justification for the purge was a completely fabricated coup plot (the "Röhm Putsch"), which Hitler and his allies used to legitimize the mass murder of political opponents.
- Establishment of Absolute Authority: By eliminating all internal rivals and receiving the backing of the army, Hitler established himself as the undisputed Führer, claiming the authority to act above the law as the "supreme judge of the German people."
Quotes
- At 0:12 - "'Röhm, you are under arrest!'" - Tom Holland, reading from a historical account of Adolf Hitler bursting into Ernst Röhm's bedroom to personally arrest him.
- At 3:09 - "He sees the SA as the true army of the National Socialist revolution... and the German army, the Reichswehr, he sees them as fusty, old-fashioned, aristocratic..." - Dominic Sandbrook explains Ernst Röhm's core ambition for the SA, which placed him in direct conflict with Germany's military establishment.
- At 19:46 - "They start drawing up lists of people that they're going to kill... And the lists get longer and longer and longer because it becomes an opportunity to settle old scores." - Tom Holland explains how the planned purge of the SA leadership expanded into a broader settling of scores against a wide range of political and personal enemies.
- At 24:06 - "The army gives Hitler an ultimatum... they say, 'If you don't act, we will. We will declare martial law and we will take Röhm out ourselves.'" - Dominic Sandbrook details the final pressure point from the German army that forced Hitler's hand and sealed the fate of the SA leadership.
- At 42:26 - "In this hour, I was responsible for the fate of the German nation, and I was the supreme judge of the German people." - Sandbrook quotes Hitler's speech to the Reichstag, where he claims absolute authority and legal immunity for the murders.
Takeaways
- The Night of the Long Knives was primarily driven by a ruthless internal power struggle among the Nazi leadership, not just by Hitler's singular will.
- The complicity of traditional elites, especially the German Army, was a critical factor that enabled the purge and Hitler's subsequent consolidation of absolute power.
- The event marked the point where the Nazi regime abandoned all pretense of legality, with Hitler openly claiming the right to murder political opponents as the "supreme judge" of the nation.
- The purge created a "pact of blood" among the surviving Nazi leaders, binding them together through shared criminality and eliminating any significant internal opposition for the remainder of the regime.
