The illusion of power: from the advent of the Third Reich to the Röhm putsch.

The National Socialist movement in Franconia entered the Nazi era bitterly divided. For the previous three months the activities of the NSDAP and the SA had centered not on the movement's external foes but on the rebellion in its midst. Under the leadership of Wilhelm Stegmann, almost the entire SA had waged a persistent and at times violent battle the immediate goal of which was to oust Julius Streicher. Behind this conflict of personalities loomed the more serious issue of the goals and methods of the NSDAP, and with the establishment of the Freikorps Franken in mid-January Stegmann had placed himself outside the Nazi movement while claiming to fight for the true aims of National Socialism – and for Adolf Hitler. Whatever chances there may have been for a successful uprising, Hitler's appointment as chancellor dealt a fatal blow to the revolt. Hitler's methods now stood vindicated, and from Hitler's victory the SA, like the National Socialist movement as a whole, sought to gain. From the beginning of February 1933 until June 30, 1934, the SA stood seemingly at the zenith of its power. Every SA man now felt himself entitled to a place among the new elite. A position in some branch of government or, better still, in the new army the SA expected Hitler to create was the reward the SA regarded as its due. Encouraged by Hitler and other Nazi leaders, the stormtroopers now had their chance to settle accounts with their erstwhile opponents. For five months after the Reichstag election of March 1933 the SA stood seemingly above the law and vented its desire for revenge on a defenseless opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]