Heinrich Himmler : A Life (138 page)

119
. Ibid. 22 September 1929.

120
. Ibid. 13 October 1929.

121
. Robert Lewis Koehl,
The Black Corps: The Structure and Power Struggles of the Nazi SS
(Madison, Wisc., 1983), 86.

122
. On the early years of the SS see Heinz Höhne,
Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf. Die Geschichte der SS
(Gütersloh, 1967), 23 ff., and Koehl,
Black Corps
, 18 ff.

123
. BAB, NS 19/1934, Guidelines for the Establishment of Protection Squads, sent out by the supreme command of the SS on 21 September 1925. On SS uniforms see also Andrew Mollo,
Uniforms of the SS
, vol. 1:
Allgemeine SS 1923–1945
(London, 1969).

124
. BAB, NS 19/1934, Guideline no. 1, 21 September 1925.

125
. Ibid. undated. Copy in the
Völkischer Beobachter
of 6 August 1926; Höhne,
Orden
, 28.

126
. Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 45 ff.

127
. BAB, NS 19/1934, Ernst Wagner to Hitler, 20 May 1926.

128
. Ibid. Circular no. 1, 14 April 1926.

129
. Koehl,
Black Corps
, 25 f.

130
. Ibid. 26; Höhne,
Orden,
29.

131
. Koehl,
Black Corps
, 26 f.

132
. BAB, NS 19/1934, 13 September 1927.

133
. Ibid. and order no. 2 of 4 November 1927 (in the same file).

134
. BAB, NS 19/1934, order of 20 January 1929. On the history of the SS in the years 1929–30 see in particular Koehl,
Black Corps
, 32 ff.

135
. The figure of 280 men often quoted in the literature from the official party history written by Gunter d’Alquen (
Die SS. Geschichte, Aufgabe und Organisation der Schutzstaffeln der NSDAP
(Berlin, 1939), 8) is unreliable. D’Alquen’s booklet is simply an expanded version of a Himmler speech from January 1937 and is not based on his own research. On Himmler’s figures see BAB, NS 19/4013, 5 May 1944 (260), NS 19/4011, 16 December 1943, speech at a conference of Naval commanders (290), NS 19/4014, speech of 21 June 1944 in Sonthofen to Wehrmacht generals (300). In Heinrich Hoffmann,
Das Braune Heer. 100 Bilddokumente: Leben, Kampf und Sieg der SA und SS
(Berlin, 1932), 45, there is a caption under a Himmler portrait which states: ‘He began his work with 300 or 400 men.’

136
.
SS-Leitheft
7/1b (1941/42), ‘Im Dienst des Führers . . . Vom Kampf der SS. Ein geschichtlicher Rückblick’, 10–14.

137
. BAB, NS 19/1934.

138
. A ‘fundamental order’ issued by the SA leadership on 12 April 1929 (‘Grusa VIII’) regulated in particular the formation of SS units and details of SS service (ibid.).

139
. BAB, NS 19/1934.

140
. Ibid. SS-Order Party Rally 1929, 26 July 1929.

141
.
Völkischer Beobachter
, 4–5 August 1929, Standarten dedication ceremony and Announcement no. 29 of the Supreme SA Leader;
Völkischer Beobachter
, 6 August 1929, ‘The swastika as the banner of freedom to come. The great march-past in the presence of the Führer.’

142
.
Tagebücher Goebbels
, 5 July 1929.

143
. Ibid. 1 August 1929.

144
. Ibid. 20 November 1930.

145
. Ibid. 22 November 1929.

146
. Ibid. 13 January und 20 March 1930.

147
. Ibid. 23 March 1930.

148
. Paul,
Aufstand
, 70; Kissenkoetter,
Straßer
, 55 f.

149
.
Tagebücher Goebbels
, 28 April 1930.

150
. Ibid. 2 May 1930.

151
. Ibid. 12 May 1930.

152
. Ibid. 24 May 1930.

153
. Himmler had third place on the list of candidates for the district of Upper Bavaria, which in fact ensured that he gained a seat in the Reichstag; had the party done badly in this district he would have got into parliament through
the Reich list, where he had a secure place at no. 15 (
Völkischer Beobachter
, 28 and 31 August 1930).

154
. Details are contained in the file BAB, NS 18/5014. On his handing over of the post see also Kissenkoetter,
Straßer
, 59.

155
. BAB, NS 19/1722, NSDAP Reichstag group to Himmler, 20 February 1931. ‘We wish to point out’, the reprimand stated, ‘that the way the group’s mail is being handled is by no means conducive to its efficient functioning.’

156
. BAB, NS 19/1721, Schwenningen local branch to Himmler, 21 September 1932; Himmler’s reply of 1 October 1932. The false statement is in Heinrich Himmler,
Der Reichstag 1930. Das sterbende System und der Nationalsozialismus
(Munich, 1931), 57.

1
. Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 103 f.; these events are documented in particular in StA München, Pol. Dir. München 6808, Report of the Landeskriminalamt Berlin of 16 September 1930; see also
Tagebücher Goebbels
, 30 August and 1 September 1930.

2
. StA München, Pol. Dir. München 6810, Police report on a meeting of 14 October 1930; Eberhart Schön,
Die Entstehung des Nationalsozialismus in Hessen
(Meisenheim a. Glan, 1972), 129 f.; see also Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 102 and 105.

3
. BAB, NS 19/2817, Himmler’s report from memory of the resignation of the supreme SA-Führer Pfeffer von Salomon in 1930, written on 4 June 1941.

4
. This is the version contained in the introduction to ‘Die Pflichten des SS-Mannes und SS-Führers’, BAB, NS 19/3973, as well as in the article ‘Entstehung und Geschichte der SS’, in
SS-Leitheft
, 2/9 (1936), 11–13.

5
. BAB, NS 19/1934, SS order no. 20, 1 December 1930.

6
. BAB, formerly Slg. Schuhmacher 403, SA order from Hitler dated 3 September 1930.

7
. On the conflict between Hitler and Röhm during the early history of the SA see Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 15 ff., 33 ff., and 45 ff.

8
. The memorandum, which appears to have been written by August Schneidhuber, one of the highest-ranking SA leaders, summarized the criticism of the party leadership that was widespread within the SA (StA München, Pol. Dir. München 6822, notes for a speech at an meeting of SA leaders, 30 November 1930). On the meeting with Hitler and Röhm’s appointment see Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 108 f.

9
. BAB, NS 19/1934.

10
. BAB, BDC, Research Ordner 238 I (also NARA, T 580 R 36), Röhm to Himmler, 28 March 1930: ‘I would like to thank you very warmly for your
letter of 29 January 1930, which more than any other I have received made me want to return soon to Germany.’

11
. Ibid. (also NARA, T 580R 36), Himmler to Röhm, 4 November 1929.

12
. Ibid. (also NARA, T 580 R 36), Röhm to Himmler, 28 March 1930. Röhm’s letters of 7 September 1929 und 27 August 1930 have also survived (ibid.).

13
. Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 147.

14
. BAB, NS 19/1934.

15
. Koehl,
Black Corps
, 41.

16
. BAB, NS 19/1934. The order dealt with various other details.

17
. Ibid. staff order no. 9 of 12 February 1931 and provisional instruction for the reinforcement, training and deployment etc. of the SS motorized units, 21 March 1931.

18
. BAB, NS 19/1934, 12 May 1931.

19
. StA München, Pol. Dir. München 6822, report of the General Inspector to the Chief of Staff, 17 December 1931.

20
. On the numerous conflicts between the SA and the SS see Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 149 ff.; Michael H. Kater, ‘Zum gegenseitigen Verhältnis von SA und SS in der Sozialgeschichte des Nationalsozialismus von 1925 bis 1939’,
Vierteljahrsschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte
, 62/3 (1975), 339–79.

21
. BAB, NS 19/1934, Oberführer Süd, Oberführer order no. 8, guidelines for the training of the SS in Abschnitt South, 1 April 1931.

22
. Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 110 f.; see also in particular
Tagebücher Goebbels
, 1–10 April 1931.

23
. BAB, NS 19/1934. The meeting took place on 13 and 14 June 1931.

24
. ‘Wir sind das Heer vom Hakenkreuz’, ‘O Deutschland hoch in Ehren’, ‘Noch ist die Freiheit nicht verloren’, ‘Wenn alle untreu werden’, ‘Heil mein Lieb, der Morgen graut’, ‘Brüder in Zechen und Gruben’, ‘Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden’, and ‘Drei Lilien’ were cited.

25
. BAB, NS 19/1934, Provisional Service Regulations for the Work of the SS, June 1931.

26
. Ibid. SS order C, no. 28, of 9 June 1931.

27
. Ibid. SS order A, no. 35 of 13 July 1931.

28
. Ibid. SS order A, no 1 of 24 January 1932.

29
. Ibid. SS order A, no. 30 of 8 June 1931.

30
. Shlomo Aronson,
Reinhard Heydrich und die Frühgeschichte von SA und SD
(Stuttgart, 1971), 34 ff.

31
. Ibid. 37 f.; Wildt,
Generation
, 241.

32
. Aronson,
Heydrich
, 54 ff., on the creation of the SD.

33
. Ibid. 60 f.

34
. Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 111.

35
. BAB, formerly Slg. Schumacher 415, figures on the strength of the SA and SS, 18 May 1931; BAB, NS 19/1934, Himmler to Supreme SA leader, 2 October 1931.

36
. Ibid. Report of the Landeskriminalpolizeiamt Berlin of 1 November 1931.

37
. Doc. PS-1992 (A), Lecture by Himmler on the nature and role of the SS to a Wehrmacht course on national politics, 15–23 January 1937, in
International Military Tribunal: Der Prozess gegen die Hauptkriegsverbrecher vor dem Internationalen Militärgerichtshof, 14. Oktober 1945 bis 1. Oktober 1946
, 42 vols. (Nuremberg, 1947–9), here vol. 29, 206 ff.

38
. BAB, NS 19/1934, SS order A, no. 65, of 31 December 1931.

39
. BAB, NS 19/4013, speech of 5 May 1944. The same line was taken in an article published by the head of the Race Office, Schultz, in the journal
Volk und Rasse
, 17 (1942), in January 1942 to mark the tenth anniversary of the Engagement and Marriage Order: ‘This order provoked a huge amount of malicious distortion and vicious sarcasm but the SS was unshakeable in standing its ground …’ (1 f.).

40
. This account of subcultural aspects of the SA derives above all from a large amount of literature that was published by the SA or those close to it immediately after the seizure of power. For details see Longerich,
Geschichte der SA
, 115.