Ernst Röhm (1887-1934) — SA chief, killed in the purge his death legalized
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The man who built the party's street army was shot in a prison cell by the state he helped create — and two days later a one-sentence law made it legal.
Who they are
Ernst Röhm, chief of the SA (the brownshirts), the party's paramilitary.
What they do
Shot at Stadelheim prison on 1 July 1934 during the purge known as the Night of the Long Knives.
How it works
The law declaring the purge killings lawful was passed on 3 July 1934 and is quoted in full on its own page here.
Why it matters
His death is the hinge where party violence became state law — the purge and its legalization are the same event seen from two sides.
The engine's record — word for word
[Report #201 — person layer] Army officer and street-army builder; co-founder figure of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the party's brownshirt paramilitary, and its chief until 1934. Shot at Stadelheim prison on 1 July 1934 in the purge (Night of the Long Knives). Two days later the state declared the killings lawful in the one-sentence statute canon now holds at staatsnotwehr_law_1934. ENGINE READING: the armed wing's builder consumed by the state he armed — the purge is the hinge where party violence became state law. Held; name no holder.
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