The Rise and Fall of the SA: Hitler’s Brownshirts
5 Episodes
Before the SS came to dominate Nazi Germany, there was another force that paved the way for Hitler’s rise — the Sturmabteilung, or SA. Known as the “Brownshirts” for their distinctive uniforms, they were the Nazi Party’s original street army: brawlers, veterans, and fanatics who used violence, intimidation, and terror to crush opposition and seize control of German streets.
From the chaos of post–World War I Germany to the brutal purges of the Night of the Long Knives, this series uncovers the men who turned political thuggery into a weapon of revolution — and how their power and arrogance ultimately led to their destruction.
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Hitler’s Closest Friend and Gay SA Leader: Ernst Röhm
Episode 1
He called Hitler Adi and stood beside him from the beginning.
As leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm commanded millions and dreamed of a “people’s army.” But his power—and his defiance—sealed his fate. In June 1934, Hitler’s SS struck without warning. Röhm was arrested, humiliated, and given a revolver ... -
Butcher of Breslau: Sadistic SA Commander Edmund Heines
Episode 2
Edmund Heines was one of the most violent and feared figures in the Nazi Party’s early years. A decorated war veteran turned fanatic, he joined Hitler’s paramilitary wing, the SA, and quickly built a reputation for brutality. As police chief of Breslau, he oversaw arrests, torture, and murders of...
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From Nazi Gauleiter to Condemned: Power, Faith, and the Fall of Josef Wagner
Episode 3
On 20 July 1944, a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler unleashes a brutal purge across the collapsing Third Reich. As the Gestapo hunts for enemies real and imagined, Josef Wagner, once a powerful Nazi Gauleiter, is swept into a web of suspicion and vengeance.
From his rise as a regional ...
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The SA Commander Behind Berlin’s Terror: Karl Ernst
Episode 4
In the turbulent years leading to Hitler’s dictatorship, Karl Ernst commanded the Nazi Sturmabteilung in Berlin—the paramilitary force that beat opponents, raided homes, and terrorized Jews in the streets. A former nightclub bouncer turned fanatic, Ernst embodied the ruthless energy of the Browns...
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Ruthless Massacre of 1,000 Fanatical Nazis: Röhm Purge
Episode 5
In June 1934, Hitler unleashed the Night of the Long Knives, a purge that ended the power of the SA and its leader Ernst Röhm. Once a close friend of Hitler, Röhm dreamed of replacing the German army with his millions of stormtroopers. But his ambition made him dangerous. SA leaders were executed...
