Empire in Progress

Chapter 40: Night of the Long Knives

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Instead, Blomberg, now a stern Prussian general, stiffly told Hitler that he had been told by the old field marshal that unless the current tense situation in Germany passed quickly, the president would declare martial law and put the country under control. Control was given to the Army. When Hitler was allowed to meet Hindenburg accompanied by Blomberg, the old president confirmed the ultimatum delivered by Blomberg in just a few minutes.

For Hitler, this was an extremely negative turn of events. Not only were his plans for presidential succession threatened, but if the Army took over the country, both he and the Nazi government would be doomed.

As he flew back to Berlin that day, he thought to himself that there was only one way to survive. He must fulfill his promise to the Army, suppress the SA, and stop the continuation of the revolution demanded by the SA captains. Obviously, with the support of President Hindenburg, the Army was unwilling to accept any concession lower than this.

Although Hitler was under so much pressure, he was still hesitant about what measures to take for the SA.

Hitler was not in a hurry, but Göring and Himmler were very anxious. These two men had already drawn up bills for the thorns in their eyes, in order to tell Hitler that they were serious about the conspiracy against him and took quick and ruthless action. Time for necessity.

Lin Wei then sent a report about Röhm's intention to launch a military coup, and the Army also put pressure on Hitler to take violent action against the SA. Army Commander-in-Chief von Fritsch ordered the army to be on alert, canceled all vacations, and the army was not allowed to leave the camp. On June 28, Röhm was expelled from the German Officers' Union, which was a clear warning that the SA chief of staff was going to be unlucky.

After the Army expressed its stance, Lin Wei already knew clearly that no one in Germany could save the Stormtroopers. A staff meeting was immediately held in the SS. By this time, all members of the SS knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as the stormtroopers were killed, the SS could play a greater role without looking further. Act with the face of a stormtrooper.

The result of this meeting was exactly what Lin Wei wanted. Now the SS, the "lamb" who once sought refuge under the wings of the Stormtroopers, has begun to show its sharp fangs.

In the early morning of June 30, at dawn, Hitler, accompanied by Goebbels and his entourage, took a long train from Munich to Vichy. The SS was responsible for Hitler's safety. When they arrived at the Hanselbauer Hotel where the SA was staying, Röhm and his men were still sleeping soundly.

Under Lin Wei's order, the SS members rushed into the Hanselbauer Hotel and roughly arrested everyone, including Captain Heins, who was fooling around with his male pet at the time. When they saw this image Hitler made no secret of his disgust at the stormtrooper captain who appeared in front of him.

The SS soldier was a little confused about what the Führer meant, so he looked at Lin Wei. Lin Wei made a gesture with his hand to pull the trigger. The fate of Captain Heins was sealed, and a bullet ended his life. s life.

Later, Hitler walked into Röhm's room alone, scolded him, and ordered him to be taken to Munich and imprisoned in Stadelheim Prison. The stormtrooper leader served a sentence here after participating in Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.

These two friends played a greater role than any other in the founding of the Third Reich and in the horror and depravity of the Third Reich.

Hitler ordered his men to leave a pistol on his old comrade's desk, a final gesture he apparently considered sufficiently friendly. But Roehm refused to use the pistol. He said, "If you want to kill me, let Adolf do it himself."

Lin Wei was really troubled by Roma's stubborn attitude. Lin Wei tried his best to hope that Roma would commit suicide. Roma's stubborn attitude made Lin Wei very anxious. He had proposed and pointed out more than once how Lin Wei, a bourgeois class, could make the country The Socialist Party has deteriorated….

Finally, after Lin Wei met with Hitler, he received instructions to take some necessary measures against Röhm. Lin Wei arranged for two SS soldiers to go in and target Röhm.

While Linwei was dealing with Röhm in Vichy, Goering and Himmler were also very busy in Berlin. A total of about 150 SA captains were rounded up, lined up in front of a wall at the Lichterfeld Military Academy, and shot by a firing squad composed of Himmler's SS Security Bureau and Goering's Special Police.

It wasn't just stormtroopers who were killed during this bloody summer weekend.

On the morning of June 30, at the door of General von Schleicher's villa on the outskirts of Berlin, a small group of SS personnel in plain clothes rang the doorbell, but no one came out to open the door. Just when they were very confused, the door opened. It opened, but what appeared in front of them was people wearing the same uniforms as they usually did... SS soldiers, who were shot dead before they could react.

"Okay, close the team, you guys get rid of the bodies." A man came out of the room, Lin Wei's adjutant Heinz said to several team members.

"Haha, Adjutant Heinz, if it weren't for you, I might have to see God this time," General von Schleicher also came out of the room and said.

"General, you are joking, but Röhm's stormtroopers are too rampant. It seems right for the captain to ask us to protect some people," Heinz said respectfully.

"It seems that the stormtroopers still want to fight to the death. Well, if you don't say this, just ask me to say hello to Lampard." General von Schleicher said with a smile.

"Okay, general, goodbye," Heinz said and led the SS out of the villa.

Schleicher's friend General Kurt von Bledov was also attacked by a disguised team from Himmler's Security Bureau. Fortunately, Lin Wei's staff in Berlin had received orders to focus on protecting these generals.

Gregor Strasser was arrested at his Berlin apartment at noon on Saturday and killed a few hours later on Göring's personal orders in the secret police prison on Prinz Albertstrasse. Strasser, the former No. 2 figure in the National Socialist Party, would never have imagined that he would be eliminated by someone he had single-handedly promoted (himmler had been his secretary).

Papen was luckier. He narrowly escaped death. However, his office was raided by the SS, and his secretary Baos was shot dead at his desk. His secret collaborator Edgar Jung had been arrested by the secret police a few days earlier and killed in prison. One collaborator, Catholic Action leader Erich Lauchner, was killed in the Ministry of Transport office, and the rest of Papen's staff were thrown into concentration camps.

The rest of Papen's staff were put into concentration camps. Papen himself was also placed under house arrest in the villa, with the telephone lines cut off and under heavy security guard prohibited from having any contact with the outside world. It was a humiliation upon insult, but the German Vice Chancellor had the audacity to endure it.

Because in less than a month, he once again condescended to accept the new position of German Minister in Vienna from the Nazis who killed his friend.

By the afternoon of Sunday, July 1, almost everyone had been killed. Hitler had flown back to Berlin from Munich the night before and held a tea party in the Chancellery Garden.

On Monday, President Hindenburg expressed his gratitude to Hitler for his "resolute action and personal heroic performance in timely extinguishing the treason case and saving the German people from catastrophe." He also congratulated Göring on his "powerful and successful actions" in suppressing the "treason case".

General von Blomberg congratulated the prime minister on behalf of the cabinet and "legitimized" the killing, saying it was a necessary measure "to defend the country." Blomberg also issued an order to the entire army, stating that the Army General Headquarters was satisfied with the trend of the current situation and pledged to establish harmonious relations with the National Socialist Party.