hitler was the 55th member of a folk party founded in 1921 called the national socialist party, the nazi party for short. the president of the weimar republic was the elderly war hero general paul von hindenburg. hitler wanted to be appointed chancellor, which was the second most powerful position to president, and only the president could grant that. von hindenburg had resisted the nazis all along and disparagingly called hitler the bohemian corporal. now, however, he felt he had to give in, hoping that being second-in-command would mollify hitler and he would stop there. the night of the long knives was a series of events that took place on june 30, 1934, when adolf hitler ordered the murder of many of his political opponents and members of the sa paramilitary organization. the victims included:    ernst rhm: the sa chief of staff    kurt von schleicher: hitler's predecessor as reich chancellor and the last chancellor of the weimar republic    gregor strasser: a former nazi leader who tried to reach an electoral agreement with von schleicher in 1932
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