Röhm Putsch

On June 30 1934, the top leaders of the Third Reich began a purge of their own ranks, killing numerous rivals and opponents in an attempt to consolidate their power. The main thrust was directed against Ernst Röhm and his Sturmabteilung (SA, Stormtroopers), but many others outside of Nazi organizations were also targeted. The Hitler administration claimed that this purge (“Night of the long knives”) preempted a planned putsch by Röhm and his SA, yet historians today generally disagree.