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Assess the short-term significance of the Night of the Long Knives

On 30th June 1934, a major shift in Hitlers development of power was


provoked by one single event known as the Night of the Long Knives,
when Hitler ordered a purge on the Sturmabteilung (SA) leadership. Within
just over a month of this incident, Hitler became absolute dictator of
Germany under the title of Fuehrer and any last remnants of the Weimar
democracy were destroyed. Thus the short-term significance of this event,
which shall be evaluated as the impact immediately after the even up
until five years later, was immense. For example, it demonstrated the
armys new status as a substantially more powerful force completely loyal
to Hitlers command. A number of primary sources, including Hitlers
speech two weeks after the purge, introduce another result of the event:
the removal of opposition, which eliminated competition and discouraged
future dissenters. However, perhaps the most significant outcome of the
Night of the Long Knives was the acceptance of Hitlers contempt and
ultimate destruction of the rule of law in favour of his own personal
political supremacy.
The significance of the Night of the Long Knives can be seen in the
transformation of the army into Hitlers own personal weapon, allowing
him to fulfil his political aspirations more easily. On August 2nd 1934, the
Reichswehr signed an oath of allegiance, swearing unconditional loyalty
exclusively to Hitler, who was now elevated to the status of Supreme
Commancder of the Armed Forces 1. The source demonstrated that,
through the destruction of the armys rival (the SA), Hitler acquired a
monopoly of the army, whose soldiers voluntarily pledged this holy oath2,
as if it were a sacred duty for an omnipotent figure. Indeed, since the oath
was pledged to Hitler personally, not to the constitution or state, it
marked the symbolic moment where the army chained itself to the
Fuehrer3. Hitler could thus count on the total obedience of the army
illustrated in the photograph of soldiers using the traditional schwurhand
gesture4 in order to achieve his expansionist goals, for example the
remilitarisation of the Rhineland in March 1936, the annexation of Austria
two year later, and eventually the invasion of Poland in 1939. Due to the
official wording of the oath and the photographs accurate portrayal of the
German army of the time, this source is useful in highlighting the
significance of the Night of the Long Knives in binding the army to Hitlers
will. David Lows cartoon5, although having a very different purpose,
similarly shows the ascendancy of the army at the expense of the SA after
Roehm Purge. The source depicts Hitler with a gun glaring at SA men
who are salut[ing] with both hands now6 while the army is ominously
lurking in the background. The cartoon suggests that the SA had been
subjugated and eliminated as a threat, while the armys complete support
had been guaranteed. This foreshadows the powers and scale of the army
that would increase dramatically in the short-term, exemplified by Hitlers
reintroduction of conscription in March 1935, which increased the size of
the army to 550,000. Therefore, the Night of the Long Knives was
significant as it transformed Germany into the threatening military power

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

organisations and extending to all the special areas of popular


life19. In this way, not only did Hitler display total disdain and
disregard for the law, but he also affirmed that he himself was
becoming the law, as a consequence of his ability to get away
with the lawlessness of the Roehm purge. Therefore, much of the
significance of the Night of the Long Knives lies in revealing the
effective redundancy of government, with the dictates of one man
replacing it.
In conclusion, the Night of the Long Knives had huge short-term
significance, mainly due to the way in which Hitler could establish
despotism when he killed the rule of law alongside the victims of the
Roehm purge. The elimination of opposition was also crucial, but it was an
ongoing process that can most distinctly be traced back to the Emergency
Decree of February 1933, suggesting that this factor was not necessarily
the most significant result of the Night of the Long Knives. The armys new
complete loyalty to Hitler alone had a great impact on the furtherance of
Hitlers expansionist goals, however these were more long-term than
short-term; in addition, as time progressed it became clear that the SS
gained supremacy over the army, especially after the Blomberg-Fritch
crisis of 1937-8, which resulted in the drastic reduction in the armys
ability to shape political developments. However, looking beyond each of
the sources limitations in accuracy and reliability, they all reveal in some
way that Hitler was able to triumph as sole ruler of Germany, which would
not have been possible without the crushing of almost all the influence
and authority of the law. The Night of the Long Knives allowed Hitler to
achieve this and thus establish the Third Reich with him at its head,
leaving all Germany and all the Germansin his bloodstained hands 20.

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