...Meanwhile, President von Hindenburg, the Reichswehr leadership, and Hitler's conservative coalition partners, including Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, warned of an increasingly radical Nazi regime. If the "revolutionary elements" of the Nazi regime were not brought under control, the army leadership threatened to overthrow Hitler's government and impose martial law in the country. Despite the radical rhetoric, neither Röhm nor his top commanders ever planned to seize power in Germany. Hitler regarded Röhm as one of his few friends and delayed making a decision. Meanwhile, tensions rose in late spring 1934. The plot against Röhm took on a clearer shape. Hitler ordered Himmler and the SS to carry out a purge. On June 28, Hitler ordered Röhm to convene the highest SA leaders at the Bavarian spa town of Bad Wiessee. SS troops led by Dachau concentration camp commandant Theodor Eicke surprised the SA leaders on the morning of June 30. They were taken to Stadelheim prison in Munich. There, the SS shot most of the SA leaders. Hitler remained undecided about Röhm's fate until July 1. That day, on Hitler's orders, Eicke shot Röhm in his cell. All evidence suggests that Röhm was loyal to Hitler to the end, despite the Nazis' claims to the contrary. The SS murdered key SA leaders both in Munich and throughout the country, and also took the opportunity to eliminate several other political opponents, such as General Kurt von Schleicher, Hitler's predecessor as chancellor. Their targets were mainly right-wing nationalists, as well as former NSDAP supporters who they believed had betrayed the Nazis. Among those killed by the SS between June 30 and July 2 was Karl Ernst. On June 30, he planned to travel by ship from Bremerhaven to Madeira, where he intended to spend his honeymoon. On that day, when he wanted to board the ship with his fiancée and his friend Martin Kirschbaum, who had financed his trip, he was arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant that had arrived from Berlin. Previously, Ernst had been searched for in Berlin without success. After his arrest, he was brutally beaten and handed over to an SS commando led by Kurt Gildisch, one of Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguards, who together with his men brutally tortured and interrogated Ernst. Gildisch then traveled with Ernst by special plane to Berlin and, upon arrival at Tempelhof Airport, took him to the SS barracks in Berlin. Karl Ernst was 29 years old when he was shot dead on June 30, 1934, by a firing squad of members of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, Hitler's personal bodyguard unit responsible for protecting the person, offices, and residence of the Führer. The death certificate gave the time of death as 9:37 a.m. Several hours earlier, the radio had reported that the shooting had taken place. Because Ernst believed to the end that he had been the victim of an unfortunate mistake, he died with the Nazi cry on his lips. Although it has been repeatedly said that Ernst's wife had also been murdered, this is not true. She was released from protective custody on July 14, 1934, and subsequently took up residence in Berlin, where she died in 1982. At Hitler's request, the German parliament later declared the killings legal, based on the false accusation that Röhm and his commanders were planning to overthrow the government. In his July 13 speech to the Reichstag justifying his actions, Hitler charged that both Schleicher and Röhm were traitors in the pay of France. This purge demonstrated the willingness of the Nazi regime to go beyond the bounds of law and commit murder as part of state-sanctioned actions in order to conventionally preserve and secure the nation. On August 1, 1934, the day before President Hindenburg's death, Hitler's cabinet passed the "Law on the Highest State Office of the Reich," which provided that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of president - the head of state - would be abolished and its powers would be merged with the chancellor - the head of government - under the title of Führer. On August 2, 1934, two hours after Hindenburg's death, Hitler declared himself Führer of Germany and demanded absolute power. Disclaimer: All opinions and comments below are those of viewers and do not reflect the views of the World History Channel. We do not accept the promotion of violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on characteristics such as race, nationality, religion, gender, origin, sexual orientation. World History has the right to review comments and remove them if they are deemed inappropriate. ► Click the SUBSCRIBE button to see more interesting clips: / @worldhistoryvideospl #history #historiaświata #holokaust #ww2