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The '''Night of the Long Knives''' (also known as "Operation Hummingbird") was a [[Nazi]] purge of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s political rivals which took place between June 30 and July 2, 1934.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: A Biography'' (2008).</ref>

The '''Night of the Long Knives''' (also known as "Operation Hummingbird") was a [[Nazi]] purge of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s political rivals which took place between June 30 and July 2, 1934.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: A Biography'' (2008).</ref>

During the early 1930s [[Ernst Röhm]], leader of the [[Brownshirts]] (Sturmabteilung, or SA) with its 2.9 million members, was a much larger and more powerful part of the Nazi Party than Himmler's [[SS]] ("blackshirts"). That suddenly changed in June 1934 as a result of a power struggle between the SA, which had a more radical vision than Hitler would tolerate, and a coalition of [[Heinrich Himmler]], [[Hermann Göring]], the army and big business. The army feared the SA would absorb it into its ranks; which is what Röhm wanted to do. Himmler and [[Reinhard Heydrich]] prepared the list of Röhm's SA associates who were executed or imprisoned in this purge which became known as the Night of the Long Knives.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: A Biography'' (2008).</ref> Hitler had Röhm killed as well, for fear that he would be a rival in the near future.<ref>Lively, Scott & Abrams, Kevin. ''The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party'', 4th Edition.</ref> Himmler and his SS gained enormously from the killings; the SS was now its own branch and Himmler reported only to Hitler.<ref>Weale, Adrian. ''The SS: A New History'' (2010).</ref>

During the early 1930s [[Ernst Röhm]], leader of the [[Brownshirts]] (Sturmabteilung, or SA) with its 2.9 million members, was a much larger and more powerful part of the [[Nazi Party]] than [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s [[SS]] ("blackshirts"). That suddenly changed in June 1934 as a result of a power struggle between the SA, which had a more radical vision than Hitler would tolerate, and a coalition of Himmler, [[Hermann Göring]], the army and big business. The army feared the SA would absorb it into its ranks; which is what Röhm wanted to do. Himmler and [[Reinhard Heydrich]] prepared the list of Röhm's SA associates who were executed or imprisoned in this purge which became known as the Night of the Long Knives.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: A Biography'' (2008).</ref> Hitler had Röhm killed as well, for fear that he would be a rival in the near future.<ref>Lively, Scott & Abrams, Kevin. ''The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party'', 4th Edition.</ref> Himmler and his SS gained enormously from the killings; the SS was now its own branch and Himmler reported only to Hitler.<ref>Weale, Adrian. ''The SS: A New History'' (2010).</ref>

Those eliminated in the purge had a more [[socialism|socialistic]] view on the economy and some were [[homosexual]]s.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: A Biography'' (2008).</ref> The term is now often used to describe any ruthless purging of enemies, with or without bloodshed, as in the peremptory sacking of seven cabinet ministers by British Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] in July 1962.

Those eliminated in the purge had a more [[socialism|socialistic]] view on the economy and some were [[homosexual]]s.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler: A Biography'' (2008).</ref> The term is now often used to describe any ruthless purging of enemies, with or without bloodshed, as in the peremptory sacking of seven cabinet ministers by British Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] in July 1962.