Bodyguard - Athena

Ernst röhm—A founder of the Sturmabteilung and
SA chief of staff (1931-34). An ex-commander in the
Bavarian infantry, Röhm is widely regarded as the man
most responsible for launching Hitler’s political career.
He publicly allied himself with Hitler in the 1923 Beer
Hall Putsch; afterward, he was exiled to Bolivia. In
1930, Hitler recalled Röhm to head the SA. But Röhm eventually became
a political rival of both Himmler and Göring, leading to his arrest in the
Night of the Long Knives in 1934 and his subsequent execution.
Julius Schreck—Hitler’s private chauffeur and
early member of the SA, the first commander of the
Stosstrupp (Assault Squad) Adolf Hitler (1923), and
the chief organizer of the SS as a Nazi headquarters
guard. In 1925, Schreck formed SS units in cities all over
Germany to protect Nazi Party meetings. His passing
resemblance to Hitler also allowed him to work as the Führer’s double.
He continued to serve as Hitler’s personal driver until poor health forced
him to resign. Schreck died in 1936 of meningitis.
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tHE anatomy of anarCHy
a thumbnail guide to Hitler’s security units
as Hitler’s Bodyguard explains, the Führer actively encouraged
rivalries and competition among his security services
and throughout his government. He thought that such an
environment made him safer. In fact, it created what former SS
officer and convicted war criminal Otto Ohlendorf famously called
“pluralistic anarchy,” a welter of groups vying for favor from the one man
unquestionably in charge. The list below sketches the role and evolution
of Hitler’s various security units.
Begleitkommando—Formed in 1932, the eight-man “escort command”
served as Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit, handpicked by Hitler himself.
gestapo—Short for Geheime Staatspolizei, or “secret state police,” the
Gestapo began as a rival to Heinrich Himmler’s SS. In 1933, Hermann
Göring formed it from Bavarian police units in order to collect political
intelligence in southern Germany. The following year, Himmler brought
the Gestapo under the wing of the SS. Eventually, it came under control of
the RSHA.
Leibstandarte SS adolf Hitler—Formed in 1933, the Leibstandarte
originally comprised a 120-man headquarters guard under the command
of Sepp Dietrich. It grew in strength and importance, however, and
evolved into Hitler’s personal army. Its members swore allegiance not to
Germany, but to Hitler, and the Führer employed them for executions,
enforcement, and even heavily armed combat. Leibstandarte personnel
rounded up Röhm and his followers during the Night of the Long Knives.
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