CHAPTER FIVE From the Rohm Putsch to Domestic Dominance
The year 1934 marked yet another major transition for Himmler and the SS. Not unlike the SS's beginning in 1925 and Himmler's takeover of the organization in 1929, the power struggle of 1934 was a pivotal point in Himmler's growing power base. The extent of Himmler's intelligence network and police control continued to expand over the next five years. Were these areas the most critical to establishing the SS as the definitive domestic force in Nazi Germany? How important was Himmler's connection to Hitler in the growth of the SS? To assess Himmler and the SS during the period between 1934 and 1936, all of these areas should be considered. Himmler, using the SS as his primary support …show more content…
The vast majority of the population supported Hitler's actions and admired him for his reaction to SA disloyalty and Rohm's apparent immorality. Evidently, the German populace failed to see the possible repercussions of the purge. It was clear that Hitler would resort to any means necessary to reach his goals. Murder was simply another resource at his disposal. If Hitler was willing to go to these lengths to remove undesirable elements of a fringe organization, what would be his inevitable response to what he referred to as the world's "common enemy?"5 Hitler believed that the Jews were a major cause of Germany's problems. In retrospect, it is all too clear that Hitler would eventually respond to the "Jewish Question." The Rohm Putsch was a strong example to the German people of the brutality of the Third Reich. Unfortunately, Germany failed to heed the warning presented in June of …show more content…
The SS now represented a "private army" within the Nazi political structure loyal to Hitler and relatively unopposed by any other organization. The SD proved to be one of the most important expansive elements within the SS. Himmler gradually became more dependent on his right hand man--Reinhard Heydrich. Surveillance and intelligence were of utmost importance to Hitler and Himmler. Heydrich and his SD became their centralized domestic, clandestine organization.
By 1935, Hitler began to divert most of his attentions to external matters. Foreign policy and the return of German pride were intertwined as far as Hitler was concerned. Himmler began to take advantage of Hitler's belief in the "stab in the back" theory regarding Germany's defeat in the First World War. He argued that a strong police force was essential to Germany's domestic front and was the only way to ensure that 1918 would not be repeated. Himmler hoped he would be the one to amass and oversee such an
The year 1934 marked yet another major transition for Himmler and the SS. Not unlike the SS's beginning in 1925 and Himmler's takeover of the organization in 1929, the power struggle of 1934 was a pivotal point in Himmler's growing power base. The extent of Himmler's intelligence network and police control continued to expand over the next five years. Were these areas the most critical to establishing the SS as the definitive domestic force in Nazi Germany? How important was Himmler's connection to Hitler in the growth of the SS? To assess Himmler and the SS during the period between 1934 and 1936, all of these areas should be considered. Himmler, using the SS as his primary support …show more content…
The vast majority of the population supported Hitler's actions and admired him for his reaction to SA disloyalty and Rohm's apparent immorality. Evidently, the German populace failed to see the possible repercussions of the purge. It was clear that Hitler would resort to any means necessary to reach his goals. Murder was simply another resource at his disposal. If Hitler was willing to go to these lengths to remove undesirable elements of a fringe organization, what would be his inevitable response to what he referred to as the world's "common enemy?"5 Hitler believed that the Jews were a major cause of Germany's problems. In retrospect, it is all too clear that Hitler would eventually respond to the "Jewish Question." The Rohm Putsch was a strong example to the German people of the brutality of the Third Reich. Unfortunately, Germany failed to heed the warning presented in June of …show more content…
The SS now represented a "private army" within the Nazi political structure loyal to Hitler and relatively unopposed by any other organization. The SD proved to be one of the most important expansive elements within the SS. Himmler gradually became more dependent on his right hand man--Reinhard Heydrich. Surveillance and intelligence were of utmost importance to Hitler and Himmler. Heydrich and his SD became their centralized domestic, clandestine organization.
By 1935, Hitler began to divert most of his attentions to external matters. Foreign policy and the return of German pride were intertwined as far as Hitler was concerned. Himmler began to take advantage of Hitler's belief in the "stab in the back" theory regarding Germany's defeat in the First World War. He argued that a strong police force was essential to Germany's domestic front and was the only way to ensure that 1918 would not be repeated. Himmler hoped he would be the one to amass and oversee such an