Night of the Long Knives: Hitler's Bloody Purge of Röhm and the Nazi SA

The Röhm Purge, also known as the Night of the Long Knives, was a decisive turning point in the consolidation of Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship in Nazi Germany. In June 1934, Hitler ordered the elimination of Ernst Röhm, leader of the SA (Sturmabteilung), along with much of its top leadership. What began as an internal power struggle within the Nazi Party ended in a wave of executions that reshaped the Third Reich and secured Hitler’s absolute control. Ernst Röhm had transformed the SA into a massive paramilitary force of nearly three million men, far outnumbering the Reichswehr, Germany’s official army. Röhm envisioned the SA replacing the traditional military with a revolutionary “people’s army.” However, this ambition alarmed Germany’s conservative elites and military leadership—support that Hitler desperately needed to solidify his rule. Under pressure from Reichswehr generals, President Paul von Hindenburg, and influential Nazi figures such as Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring, and Reinhard Heydrich, Hitler chose to act. Between June 30 and July 2, 1934, SS units carried out coordinated arrests and executions. Röhm was imprisoned and ultimately shot in his cell on Hitler’s direct order. Alongside SA leaders, the purge targeted political rivals including former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and Gregor Strasser. Though official figures listed around 90 victims, estimates suggest the death toll may have reached several hundred. The purge not only destroyed the political power of the SA but also elevated the SS as an independent and dominant force within Nazi Germany. Shortly afterward, Hitler merged the offices of president and chancellor following Hindenburg’s death, proclaiming himself Führer. The Night of the Long Knives demonstrated the regime’s willingness to use state-sanctioned murder to maintain power and marked a critical step toward totalitarian rule and the radicalization that would culminate in the Holocaust and the Second World War.This episode is part of the series The Rise and Fall of the SA: Hitler’s Brownshirts.Watch the full documentary and explore hundreds of historical films at:WorldHistory.tv