born Nov. 28, 1887, Munich, Ger.
died July 1, 1934, Munich-Stadelheim
German leader of the SA .
He rose to the rank of major in World War I. Soon thereafter, he helped found the Nazi Party . A supporter of Adolf Hitler , he offered Hitler the use of his private strong-arm force (later the SA). After brief imprisonment for his part in the Beer Hall Putsch (1923), Röhm went to Bolivia as a military instructor (192530), but he was recalled by Hitler to reorganize and command the SA. Röhm's ambition that the SA supplant or absorb the regular army came to be opposed by Hitler and his advisers. On the pretext that he and the SA were preparing to overthrow Hitler, Röhm was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives .
Röhm, 1933.
Heinrich Hoffmann, Munich