Nazi Germany 1933-1939
Night of the Long Knives
By 1934, Hitler’s power in Germany was almost a certainty. However, he had yet to bring the army under civilian control. In order to enact his plans of erasing the boundaries instituted by the Versailles treaty, Hitler knew he needed to have control of the army. However, the army refused to be put under civilian control as long as the S.A., or the storm troopers as lead by Ernst Rohm, were in control of the streets. During the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler satisfied the demands of the army by sending the S.S., led by Himmler, on a mission to murder all members of the S.A. Their demands met, the army submitted to civilian control and Hitler was able to move forward in his plans to create Greater Germany.