5 January 2025
The Indianapolis Times blanketed the front page of the July 3, 1934 edition with coverage of Hitler rise to power. Because there was so many stories on that one front page, I broke it down into several pages. You can read about the other stories of that day here and here.
At the very end of this story, it says, "the second phase of the Nazi movement, it was indicated, might be of less radical nature." There seemed to be this hope that Hitler would chill out and stop killing people, or that his "days are numbered." He ruled until 1945 and killed millions and millions of people.
Hitler will fly to Von Hindenburg's home to get president's consent to accept resignation of vice-chancellor.
DENY DEATH TOLL IS PAST FIFTY
Scattering of Brown Shirt Army Is One of Problems Facing Cheiftains; Citizenry Confusedd, Fearful.
By Frederick Oechnser, United Press Staff Correspondent
BERLIN, July 3 - The crisis in the Nazi party reached a climax tonight in a forceful drive to remove Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, confidant of President Paul von Hindenburg and spokesman for the conservative elements in the government.
Von Papen, it was learned, submitted his resignation for the second time in the last eventful week.
Hitler prepared to go to Neubeck, Hindenburg's retreat in East Prussia, to get the President's permission to accept the vice-chancellor's resignation.
The cabinet held a three-hour session today and decided on Von Papen's political fate. It will again tomorrow. In view of the necessity for his presence, it was assumed that Hitler would fly to Neubeck and back.
The cabinet appeared convinced that it held the whiphand in Germany and that the revolt was over.
This was expressed in a decree by Hitler announcing that further violations of the government's decree suppressing the revolt would be dealt with in the ordinary courts. The new decree said:
"Measures for suppression of the Roehm revolt were concluded on July 1. He who on his own initiative is guilty of any act of violence in the course of this action regardless of his intentions, will henceforth be handed over to normal justice for prosecution."
(Signed) ADOLF HITLER."
The terms "course of this action" refers to the violent measures adopted by the government to suppress the revolt.
With the estimated death toll of the revolt standing at probably fifty, several new executions were revealed today. The included Gustav von Kahr, Catholic leader in Munich, who was one of the leaders in suppressing Hitler's "beer hall putsch" there in 1923 - the first outbreak of the Nazi revolution. It was Kahr who gave the order to fire on the beer hall plotters.
Another to die was Edgar Jung, an assistant of Von Papen's, who wrote his Marburg speech attacking the radical Nazi elements, starting the present crisis. The third was Colonel Von Bredow, former right hand man of the late General Kurt von Schleicher, one of the revolt leaders who also was executed.
A communique issued after today's cabinet meeting announced the passage of the law legalizing the emergency measures undertaken for suppression of the "treacherous 22," on the grounds that the measures were essential for protection of the state.
The communique added:
"At today's session of the cabinet, Chancellor Hitler gave an extensive resume of the origin of the traitorous attacks and their suppression. He emphasized that lightning-like action was necessary to avert the danger of destruction of thousands of lives."
The aftermath of the bloody Nazi housecleaning continued. There still were occasional executions and sporadic incidents of dramatic nature as new suspects were seized.
At 6:30 a. m. today Dr. Ernst Falckner, United Press correspondent at Munich, was awakened by two Bavarian political police officers. They searched his apartment without explanation and forced him to accompany them. He later was released.
There was a stream of Nazi storm troop leaders, suspected of disloyalty or suspicious of victimization, toward the frontiers.
But more important to the immediate future of this nation of 65,000,000 politically conscious people loamed the goal to toward which Hitler and his aids would point their third reich. The following were some of the problems which the cabinet must decide:
The length to which the cleansing of the Nazi household should go - a reign of terror or an amnesty reorganization of the cabinet andd the storm troop organization.
The political futures for Von Papen, and Herman Goering, minister of aviation.
The future approach to the Jewish problem.
The policy to be adopted toward the Catholics and the non-Nazi Evangelical churchmen.
Action to deal with an economic and financial situation so serious that had it not been for the Nazi party crisis, the world's attention would have been drawn to it.
The Germans, ill informed, somewhat fearful, and completely confused, these were problems of the moment.
None knew when a relative or a friend might come under the attention of the political police or the SS, the crack black uniformed picked men of the storm troops, 100,000 in number.
The newspapers, under close repressive control, gave no picture of the sanguinary end of the first period of the third reich and the dawn of the second one.
Nazi propaganda busied itself with explaining the week-end revolt and minimizing it. The keynote of the explanation was shown clearly at a monster demonstration last night at Essen, in the heart of the industrial district.
Several hundred thousand persons, formed in six big squares, including storm troops on their one month enforced vacation, the SS men, Nazi political organizations and townspeople, met to swear allegiance to Hitler.
Each speaker tried to make it clear that there had been no mutiny of storm troops - that there had been a few "criminals" in the ranks who were removed.
It seemed likely that even if the cabinet did issue the promised list of "removals," the total would not be final.
Goering seemed emerging as a mysterious superpower. It was known that Hitler hesitated to proceed against those recreant comrades who participated the revolt.
Goering displayed no hesitation. He acted with stern and merciless determination to cleanse the Nazis. Yet he is of the moderate element politically, and the second phase of the Nazi movement, it was indicated, might be of less radical nature.
Communist Party to Hitler becoming president of Germany
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