Encyclopedia
The
Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the
NSDAP – the
German Nazi party. It played a key role in
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the
1930s.
SA men were often known as
brownshirts from the color of their uniform and to distinguish them from the
SS who were known as
blackshirts. Brown coloured shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large batch of them were cheaply available after
World War I, having originally been ordered for German troops in
Africa.
The SA was also the first Nazi paramilitary group to develop pseudo-military titles for bestowal upon its members. The
SA ranks would be adopted by several other Nazi Party groups, chief among them the
SS.
History
The term
Sturmabteilung originally came from the specialized assault troops used by Germany in 1918 in
World War I utilising
Hutier infiltration tactics. Instead of a large mass assault, the Sturmabteilung were organized into small teams of a few soldiers each. First applied during the
Battle of Caporetto, the wider use in March 1918 allowed the Germans to push back British and French lines tens of kilometers.
In
Munich in the fall of 1920, Hitler himself created the
Ordnertruppen; a body of muscular Nazis, ex-soldiers, and beer hall brawlers in order to protect his speeches and Nazi Party gatherings from
Communist disruptions. It originally functioned as a group of bodyguards to enforce order at Nazi gatherings. It was shortly changed to
Sportabteilung, a cover name meaning "Sports section", and came to be known by the initials SA. In late 1921, the name was changed to the final version:
Sturmabteilung. Under their popular
leader Ernst Röhm, the SA grew in importance within the Nazi power structure, eventually claiming thousands of members. In 1922, the NSDAP created a youth section, the
Jugendbund, for young men between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Its successor, the
Hitler Youth, remained under SA command until May 1932.
From April of 1924 until late February of 1925 the SA was known as the Frontbann to avoid the temporary ban on the Nazi party. The SA carried out numerous acts of violence against
socialist groups throughout the
1920s, typically in minor street-fights called
Zusammenstöße . The SS eventually took over their original role.
Conflicts with other organizations
After Hitler took power in 1933, the SA became increasingly anxious for power and saw themselves as the replacement for the German army. This angered the regular army who already resented the Nazi party, and commonly regarded the SA as 'brown scum'. It also led to tension with other leaders within the party who saw Röhm's increasingly powerful SA as a threat to their own personal ambitions. The SA was also considered a dangerous and radical organization, especially since common SA practice was to swear loyalty to local SA commanders rather than Adolf Hitler or the Nazi Party as a whole. The original purpose for the creation of the SS was to restrict the power of the brownshirts and its leaders.
Senior Nazis including Himmler faked a dossier which suggested that Röhm had received payment from the French to carry out a coup against Hitler. At first Hitler refused to believe it, but he was painfully aware that the SA had the power to remove him if it so wished. Röhm was unpopular in the party because others saw his ambition as threatening their own, and because he was rumored to be a homosexual. Eventually the pressure mounted and Hitler ordered the execution of the leadership of the SA, which took place on June 30-July 1, 1934, on what is known as the
Night of the Long Knives. Victor Lutze became the new leader of the SA, and the organization was soon marginalized in the Nazi power structure.
Most of these conflicts were based on personal rivalries, but there were also key socioeconomic conflicts between the
Gestapo and SA. The Gestapo's members generally came from the
middle class, while the SA had its base among the
unemployed and working class. As a result, the SA was more radical than the Gestapo, arguing the Nazi revolution had not ended when Hitler achieved power. The SA also participated in several strikes and
anti-capitalist activities, occasionally in collaboration with the
Communists, to the alarm of many Nazi supporters. The
Night of the Long Knives was the final event which reduced the SA to insignificance and suppressed factionalism among the Nazi Party.
Leaders of the SA
The
leader of the SA was known as the
Oberster SA-Führer, translated as Supreme SA Leader. The following men held this position throughout the existence of the SA:
In 1930, to centralize the loyalty of the SA, Adolf Hitler assumed command of the entire organization and remained
Oberster SA-Führer for the remainder of the group's existence to 1945. The day to day running of the SA was conducted by the
Stabschef SA . After 1931, it was the Stabschef who was generally accepted as the Commander of the SA, acting in Hitler's name.
The following personnel held the position of Chief of Staff of the SA:
SA Organization
The SA was organized throughout
Germany into several large formations known as
Gruppen. Within each Gruppe, there existed subordinate
Brigaden and in turn existed regiment sized
Standarten. SA-Standarten operated out of every major German city and were split into even smaller units, known as
Sturmbanne and
Stürme.
The command nexus for the entire SA operated out of
Stuttgart and was known as the
Oberste SA-Führung. The SA supreme command had many sub-offices to handle supply, finance, and recruiting. Unlike the SS, however, the SA did not have a medical corps nor did it establish itself outside of Germany, in occupied territories, once
World War II began.
The SA also had several military training units, the largest of which was the
SA-Marine which served as an auxiliary to the
Kriegsmarine and performed
search and rescue operations as well as harbor defense.
Similar to the
Waffen-SS. the SA also had an armed military wing, known as
Feldherrnhalle. These formations expanded from regimental size in 1940 to a fully-fledged armored corps
Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle in 1945.
SA Maxims
- "Terror must be broken by terror"
- "All opposition must be stamped into the ground"
Modern usage
Today, the term "Brown Shirts" has been used to disparage the extreme rank and file of right wing and left wing organizations. It can also mean an individual of a political organization who is seen as very narrow-minded and excessively loyal.
The term "Digital Brownshirts," a controversial phrase coined by former Vice-President
Al Gore, is used by Gore to disparage the right-leaning
weblogs that criticize what they perceive as a liberal agenda in the mainstream media.
The term "Stormtrooper" saw a renaissance in the fictional
Star Wars universe, in which it was applied to the
Imperial Stormtroopers clad in white armor, serving under
Darth Vader and Emperor
Palpatine.
See also
References
- Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich by Samuel W. Mitcham .
- Political Violence and The Rise of Nazism : The Storm Troopers in Eastern Germany, 1925-1934 by Richard Bessel .
- The Brown Battalions: Hitler's SA in Words and Pictures translated and edited by Nicholas H. Hatch .
- The SA Generals and The Rise of Nazism by Bruce Campbell .
- Stormtroopers: A Social, Economic, and Ideological Analysis, 1929-35 by Conan Fischer .
- Collectors Guide to SA Insignia by James David Fuller .
- by Jill Halcomb .
- The Making of a Stormtrooper by Peter H. Merkl .
- The Development of the SA in Nürnberg, 1922-1934 by Eric G. Reiche .
External links
