In Germany, after 1918, armed units were operated by political
Parties and political groups as a standard element of their
structure. This book provides an insight into the Sturmabteilung
der NSDAP. It is carefully researched and illustrated by
sketches and drawings. Essential reading for anyone wishing to
understand the political scene in Germany between the World
Wars, and the rise of the Nazi Party, Recommended.
NAME: Hitler's Storm troopers, The SA, The Nazis' Brown shirts, 1922-1945 FILE: R2392 AUTHOR: Jean-Denis Lepage PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword, frontline BINDING: hard back PAGES: 297 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Black Reichswehr, SA, SS, Sturmabteilung, Rohm, Hitler, Himmler, Night of the Long Knives, Crystal Night, Heidrich, NSDAP ISBN: 1-84832-425-1 IMAGE: B2392.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/ht5j25q LINKS: Current Discount Offers http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/sale DESCRIPTION: In Germany, after 1918, armed units were operated by political Parties and political groups as a standard element of their structure. This book provides an insight into the Sturmabteilung der NSDAP. It is carefully researched and illustrated by sketches and drawings. Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the political scene in Germany between the World Wars, and the rise of the Nazi Party, Recommended. After 1918, Germany was almost constantly on the verge of civil war. The Communists attempted a number of coups from the ending of hostilities, provoking a backlash from the political right. Unemployed soldiers flocked to the Black Reichswehr to fight armed communists. They were equipped as a field army and included artillery and other support weapons. They toured Germany searching communists to attack and were often invited by local government leaders to come and 'sort out' communists and other political groups in their local areas. Hitler joined the NSDAP and rapidly became its acknowledged leader. He was keen to build his own paramilitary power base and the result was the SA. They were modelled on the WWI storm/assault battalions with their own uniform, structure and rank titles. They did have access to infantry arms but were not intended to follow the Black Reichswehr as a fully armed military force capable of fighting set piece battles. The SA were primarily there to strike fear into anyone who did not support the growing Nazi Party. Ernst Rohm led the SA, but his differences of opinion with Hitler developed to the point where Hitler saw him as a threat and dealt accordingly. The bloody purge of the SA in June 1934, the Night of the Long Knives, resulted in Rohm and many other SA leaders being killed and the SA reduced significantly. Essentially, the conflicting ambitions of Rohm and Himmler were settled in Himmler's favour, the SS effectively replacing the rump of the SA. There have been a number of contending theories and beliefs about the role of the SA, its relationship to Hitler and the rise of the NAZI Party. The author has revealed the history of the SA and provided assertions, conclusions and insight. More than 100 illustrations support the text very effectively. Whether this book will completely settle all contending views of the SA remains to be seen, but it advances credible accounts. When the NSDAP was growing, and coming under Hitler's control, it was subject to important changes. Hitler had already formed a policy of gaining power through the ballot box after his initial and unsuccessful attempt at gaining power by putsch. Those leading the SA were still thinking of gaining power through revolution and that was a significant difference that could not easily be overcome. As Hitler and the SA diverged, Rohm increasingly saw himself as the future leader and the poisonous NAZI Party environment, with Hitler often encouraging internal conflict, was inevitably going to lead to one side winning by force. This book is the most effective account of the SA within the NAZI Party to have been published. This is a field were one can never say that a definitive book cannot be equalled or bettered in the future, but that seems unlikely.