Differences among the armed groups SA vs SS vs Gestapo Differences among the armed groups To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

SA The SA (Stormtroopers) were Hitler's own private army that he set up in 1921. They were mostly young men who dressed in brown uniforms and were sometimes known as the Brownshirts. Supposedly the SA was formed to protect speakers at Nazi meetings from intimidation by left wing opponents like the Communists. In practise however, the SA often started the violence themselves by breaking up the meetings of the Social Democratic Party which often ended in drunken brawls. To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

SS The SS had been private body guards for Hitler and other Nazi leaders. SS stands for Schutz-Staffel or 'protection squad'. It had only 500 men but Heinrich Himmler was responsible for building it into an elite force of 50 0000 men. In 1934 they helped Hitler crush the SA and the role of the SS also changed. They become the main means of terrorising or intimidating Germans into obedience. The SS had almost unlimited power to arrest people without trial, search houses or confiscate property. They also ran the concentration camps. To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

What’s the difference? The SS was the primary bodyguard of Adolf Hitler. In 1936 under the command of Heinrich Himmler, it expanded and was responsible for the operations of the Concentration Camps and eliminating "enemies of the state" (Communists, Jews etc.) The SA also referred to as "Brownshirts", were Hitler's paramilitaries and were of key importance in Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s. With Ernst Röhm in command they often made attacks and raids on other political parties, particularly the Communists and during elections they would surround the building to intimidate the voters to vote for the Nazis. They murdered political opponents and terrorized voters. To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives, in June 1934, saw the wiping out of the SA's leadership and others who had angered Hitler in the recent past in Nazi Germany. After this date, the SS lead by Heinrich Himmler was to become far more powerful in Nazi Germany. The Night of the Long Knives not only removed the SA leaders but also got Hitler the army's oath that he so needed. By the summer of 1934, the SA's numbers had swollen to 2 million men. They were under the control of Ernst Röhm, a loyal follower of Hitler since the early days of the Nazi Party. The SA had given the Nazi's an iron fist with which to disrupt other political parties meetings before January 1933. The SA was also used to enforce law after Hitler became Chancellor in January 1933. There is no evidence that Röhm was ever planning anything against Hitler. However, Röhm had made enemies within the Nazi Party - Himmler, Goering and Goebbels were angered by the power he had gained and convinced Hitler that this was a threat to his position. By June 1934, the regular army also saw the SA as a threat to their authority. The SA outnumbered the army by 1934 and Röhm had openly spoken about taking over the regular army by absorbing it into the SA. Such talk alarmed the army's leaders.  By the summer of 1934, Hitler had decided that Röhm was a 'threat' and he made a pact with the army. If Röhm and the other SA leaders were removed, the rank and file SA men would come under the control of the army but the army would have to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler. The army agreed and Röhm's fate was sealed. On the night of June 29th - June 30th 1934, units of the SS arrested the leaders of the SA and other political opponents. Seventy seven men were executed on charges of treason. The SA was placed under the command of the army. Hitler received an oath of allegiance from all those who served in the army. Röhm was shot. Others were bludgeoned to death. Hitler told the Reichstag he and he alone was the judge in Germany and that the SS carried out his orders. From that time on the SS became a feared force in Nazi Germany lead by Heinrich Himmler. The efficiency with which the SS had carried out its orders greatly impressed Hitler and Himmler was to acquire huge power within Nazi Germany. To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

The Gestapo The Gestapo was the state secret police. They could tap telephones, open mail and collect information from a huge network of informers (spies). Informers reported on local people who were considered to be ‘anti-Nazi’. The Gestapo arrested people without trial, tortured them and put them into concentration camps. To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

Evaluation technique Which group was the most significant in helping the Nazis? Which group was the least significant in helping the Nazis? Remember to explain your answer… To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

Examination technique How was the SA important? (4) How was the SS important? (4) How was the Gestapo important? (4) How important was the SA amongst other factors in helping the Nazis come to power? (12) To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany

Herr Adolf Hitler, the German Chancellor, has saved his country Herr Adolf Hitler, the German Chancellor, has saved his country. Swiftly and with exorable severity, he has delivered Germany from men who had become a danger to the unity of the German people and to the order of the state. With lightening rapidity he has caused them to be removed from high office, to be arrested, and put to death. The names of the men who have been shot by his orders are already known. Hitler's love of Germany has triumphed over private friendships and fidelity to comrades who had stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the fight for Germany's future. Daily Mail, July 2nd 1934. Source work What do these sources suggest about the Night of the Long Knives? (4) What different view is presented by these sources? (6) Why do you think that the sources give different views? (8) Use the sources and your own knowledge to answer these questions… Just before Wiessee, Hitler suddenly breaks his silence: "Kempka", he says, "drive carefully when we come to the Hotel Hanselbauer. You must drive up without making any noise. If you see a SA guard in front of the hotel, don't wait for them to report to me; drive on and stop at the hotel entrance." Then after a moment of deathly silence: "Röhm wants to carry out a coup." An icy shiver ran down my back. I could have believed anything, but not a coup by coup by Röhm. Kempka, Hitler's chauffeur To explain (B) and evaluate (A) the role of paramilitaries in helping the Nazis control Germany