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that it once was. Bearing in mind Lows liberal upbringing and fierce
opposition to Hitler, it is unsurprising that Low portrays Hitler as a mad,
power-seeking murderer. The exaggerated nature of the cartoon is
perhaps due to Lows intentions to use his notoriously derisive and radical
satirising to strongly influence public opinion to criticise and even fear
Hitlers policies. This may not be irrational, because Hinton and Hite
confirm Lows worst fears: once Hitler had sufficient power over the army,
the last potential instrument of conservative power, the consolidation of
the [Nazi] regime was now concluded.7 Therefore the Night of the Long
Knives was significant in that it triggered Hitlers absolute command over
the army, which would have very dangerous short-term repercussions and
as foreshadowed in Lows representation of Goering as the God of War8
put Hitler in a sufficiently powerful position to provoke war.
Another significant outcome of the Night of the Long Knives was the
eradication of the socialist strand of the Nazism and thus of a major
source of opposition. In a speech Hitler gave to the Reichstag, he
aggressively condemned the SA men as mutineers and ulcers of this
poisoning of Germany.9 By portraying the murders as true justice, Hitler
was able to eliminate at least 85 leading SA functionaries and other
troublesome opponents of the regime, who Burleigh maintains were a
source of constant arbitrary interference in the legal system10. This
allowed Hitler to consolidate his dictatorship, which was undermined by
socialism, and normalise reactions with traditional organs of the state, the
economy and the military. The speech must be approached critically, due
to the deliberately stirring and melodramatic language, which aimed to
justify the liquidation of the SA leadership, mobilise support amongst the
population who were listening to the radio broadcast, as well as
discourage future political dissent. This is confirmed in the speechs
assertion that whoever raises his hand to strike the state, then certain
death is his lot11, drawing attention to a further significance of the
removal of opposition after the massacre: a wave of repression that
turned Germany fully into a regime founded on terror, monitored by the
SS [Schutzstaffel] after the SAs power was destroyed. This sinister
element of the Night of the Long Knives is seen in Heartfields
photomontage of 19 July 1934, which depicts a Stormtrooper lying dead
whilst still raising his arm in the Heil Hitler salute12. The source shows that
Hitler was willing to use brutal means to eliminate opposition in order to
further his dictatorial aspirations. The removal of opposition escalated
after the purge, so much so that organised opposition had been crushed
by 1936, and around 150,000 Communists and Social Democrats had
been sent to concentration camps by 1939. There is an incongruity
between Heartfields photomontage and Hitlers speech, as the latter
maintains the purges justness. Heartfield, a Communist who was forced
to flee from the SS in 1933, used his art as a vehicle with which to attack
the Nazis, which explains why the word Hitler is dripping with blood13.
Furthermore, the political stance of the newspaper in which it was
published, Arbeither-Illustrierte-Zeitung, was anti-fascist, therefore the
content would be inclined to support left-wing groups such as the SA and
appease the largely socialist readership. In this way, the source may not
be wholly representative of opinion in Germany Hitlers action did
receive the sympathy of the conservative right and an undeniable
proportion of the population however, on the whole, it accurately reflects
the fact that the Roehm purge was not greeted with widespread relief and
support; hence it supports the argument that the purge also acted as a
means in which to incite fear into the German population. The Night of the
Long Knives removal of opposition not only eliminated competition, but
also gave rise to the German peoples fear into submission, which was
hugely significant in Hitlers consolidation of absolute power.
Additionally, the aftermath of the Night of the Long Knives revealed
Hitlers contempt for the law and ability to gain the acquiescence of the
state in the legalisation of the murders, which is significant as he now had
the power to destroy the rule of law. The law passed by Reichstag on 3
July 1934 giving the purge the approval of law is printed in the Nazi
newspaper Voelkischer Beobachter, published two days after. 14 The law
described the purge as a justifiable act of self-defence of the State15,
which exposes how even an official piece of legislative documentation
could not be relied upon after the Night of the Long Knives, due to the
laws clearly distorted and biased claims that the murders were just,
rather than being an absolute value in itself, the law became something
that Hitler could manipulate to serve his autocratic desires, placing him
firmly on his way to establishing Fuehrer rule. On 2 August 1934, Hitlers
power became theoretically unlimited when the posts of President and
Chancellor were combined in the Law concerning the Head of State of the
Germany Reich. This was a significant turning point in the development of
Hitlers dictatorship, as this title made him the Leader who was above
party, almost above politics16, in theory wielding absolute power,
unparalleled to that of any previous traditional head of state. Despite the
rest of the extract retaining a formal and factual tone, it is clearly a piece
of propaganda, with the sole purpose of praising Hitler and instilling Nazi
ideology into the Germany people: The Fuehrer had shown greatness as a
statesman and soldier17. Goebbels, who only authorised material that
Hitler would approve, controlled the newspaper, indicating that the source
is an accurate representation of how Hitler aimed to use the Night of the
Long Knives to further his dictatorship, albeit an inaccurate representation
of majority opinion.
A similar message is portrayed in Hitlers speech at the
Reichstag, in which he states he became Supreme Justiciar of the
German People, responsible for [their] fate18. In this statement,
Hitler uses hyperbolic expressions and a menacing tone to assert
himself as the sole source of power and authority within the
state, and this open confession of the complete illegality of his
action did not run into any judicial criticism. As confirmed by
contemporary Nazi theorist Huber, Hitlers power as Fuehrer was
comprehensive and total, uniting all the instruments of political