Beefsteak Nazi

Ernst Röhm and the ''Sturmabteilung''

Ernst Röhm, SA co-founder and later commander, developed an "expanding Röhm-cult" within the SA ranks, through which many members sought a revolutionary socialist regime, radicalizing the SA. Röhm and large segments of the Nazi Party supported the 25-point National Socialist Program for its perceived socialist, revolutionary, and anti-capitalist positions, expecting Hitler to fulfill his promises when power was finally attained. In the words of historians D. G. Williamson and Jean-Denis, since Röhm had "considerable sympathy with the more socialist aspects of the Nazi programme", "turncoat Communists and Socialists joined the Nazi Party for a number of years, where they were derisively known as 'Beefsteak Nazis'."

Röhm's radicalization came to the forefront in 1933–1934 when he sought to have his plebeian SA troopers engage in permanent or "second revolution" after Hitler had become Chancellor. With 2.5 million stormtroopers under his command by late 1933, Röhm envisaged a purging of the conservative faction, the "Reaktion" in Germany that would entail more nationalization of industry, "worker control of the means of production", and the "confiscation and redistribution of property and wealth of the upper classes". Such ideological and political infighting within the Nazi Party prompted Hitler to have his political rival Röhm and other Nazi socialist radicals executed on the Night of the Long Knives in the summer of 1934.

Some argued that since most SA members came from working-class families or were unemployed, they were amenable to Marxist-leaning socialism. Historian Thomas Friedrich argues that repeated efforts by the Communist Party of Germany to appeal to the working-class backgrounds of the SA were "doomed to failure" because most SA men were focused on the cult of Hitler and the destruction of the "Marxist enemy".

Extent

In some cities, the number of party-switching beefsteak Nazis was thought to be significant. Rudolf Diels, head of the Gestapo from 1933 to 1934, reported that "70 percent" of new SA recruits had been communists in the city of Berlin. According to German historian Sven Reichardt, the claim made by Diels, as well as others made at the time, was most likely exaggerated. Writing on the various estimates, historian Timothy S. Brown wrote:

References

Notes

Bibliography

References

1. Reichardt, Sven. (2002). "Faschistische Kampfbünde: Gewalt und Gemeinschaft im italienischen Squadrismus und in der deutschen SA". Böhlau.
2. (1966-06-19). "Angst-Brosche bis Zuwachs-Arier".
3. (April 1966). "Berufsschelten und Verwandtes". {{ill.