Ernst Röhm

Ernst Röhm (or Roehm) (November 28, 1887, Munich; July 1, 1934, Munich-Stadelheim prison, murdered) was a German military officer and commander and co-founder of the Nazi Sturmabteilung or "stormtroopers".

Early Nazi years

Röhm served as a career officer with the Bavarian Army during World War I. He held the rank of Oberleutnant with the Bavarian 10th Infantry Regiment and was severely wounded in the face in September of 1914 at Lorraine, France. He later was promoted to Hauptmann.

Related Topics:
Bavarian - World War I - Oberleutnant - 1914 - Lorraine - France - Hauptmann

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following the end of the war in 1918, he joined the Epp Freikorps, one of the many private militias that had formed in Munich as a reaction against the Weimar Republic. In 1920, he became a Nazi-party member and helped organize the Sturmabteilung (SA). In 1923, after the failed Beer Hall Putsch, Röhm spent 15 months in prison, during which time he became a close, personal friend of Adolf Hitler.

Related Topics:
1918 - Freikorps - Militia - Munich - Weimar Republic - 1920 - Nazi-party - Sturmabteilung - 1923 - Beer Hall Putsch - Adolf Hitler

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1924, after Röhm was released from prison, he worked with Hitler to rebuild the Nazi Party, but several intense differences developed between the two. Röhm resigned from the Nazi Party in 1925 and went to Bolivia to serve as a military advisor. The German government sponsored Röhm's position, and he was promoted to Oberst in the German Reichswehr.

Related Topics:
1924 - 1925 - Bolivia - Oberst - Reichswehr

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~