Munich, Germany • October 5, 1921 On this date in 1921 the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartie, NSDAP or Nazi Party) headed by Adolf Hitler formally established the Sturmabteilung (lit. “Storm Detachment”). The organization is better known by its initials SA and colloquially as “brownshirts” (Braunhemden) for the color of their shirt…
Berlin, Germany • June 29, 1934 Late on this date in 1934 German Chancellor Adolf Hitler unleashed an extraordinary murder spree known as the “Night of the Long Knives” (“Nacht der Langen Messer”). President Paul von Hindenburg’s doctors had leaked news that the 86‑year-old German military hero had only months to live. Hitler feared that…
Berlin, Germany • April 14, 1945 Austria’s capital Vienna fell to the Red Army on April 13, 1945, and the Soviet News Agency announced it to the world on this date in 1945, the same day Adolf Hitler, in his Fuehrerbunker under the rubble of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, learned of it. The Austrian front…
Berlin, Germany • April 11, 1934 On this date in 1934 German Chancellor Adolf Hitler secretly met with German War Minister Gen. Werner von Blomberg, the unofficial representative of the officer corps of the Reichswehr (German armed forces), and reached an agreement that sealed the fate of the post-World War I Weimar Republic. Behind titular President…
Berlin, Germany · June 29, 1934 Late on this date in 1934 German Chancellor Adolf Hitler unleashed an extraordinary murder spree known as the “Night of the Long Knives” (“Nacht der Langen Messer”). President Paul von Hindenburg’s doctors had leaked the news that the 86-year-old German military hero had only months to live. Hitler feared…
Berlin, Germany · June 29, 1934 Late on this date in 1934 German Chancellor Adolf Hitler unleashed an extraordinary murder spree known as the Night of the Long Knives (Nacht der Langen Messer). President Paul von Hindenburg’s doctors had leaked the news that the 86-year-old German war hero had only months to live. Hitler feared…