[Mustang1]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Some of the Prussian gentry were pissed because here was an upstart Austrian corporal who would dare to lecture them on how to wage war. Hitler also wasn't very subtle when it came to showing his disdain for the officer class, some of whom lost friends and comrades when he purged the wehrmacht of Jewish officers and those he considered dinosaurs.

$1:

a majority of the population actually didn't subscribe to many of his tenets

Most thought his more extreme views were mainly rhetoric and propoganda, never envisioning that he would actually carry out the madness. Jews have always been popular scapegoats in Europe. The locals grumbled, things got dicey(some looting, burning and a few killings) for awhile, the Jews moved or went into hiding but things settled, the Jews returned and things were quiet for a few generations.

Hitler and Co., had other ideas. They purged the radical(Rohm being a socialist) elements from the party, to make it more appealing to the middle and upper classes. Much like the Liberal Party of BC(No... I'm not suggesting Good old Gordie is a Nazi), the National Socialists were that in name only, rather than practice.

Actually, Hitler's played on Germany's longing for unity and recovery (especially in the 1933 campaign). He hid his nihilism, his brutal anti-semtism and his grandiose plans for expansion into Eastern Europe as he stressed the failures of the November parties and the imminent danger of a Communist putsch - this was designed (in addition to pledging fuzzy economic plans and a protection of Christianity) to entice conservative upper/middle class Germans. (all Williams)

After the establishment of the Third Reich, Gleichschaltung largely eliminated the pluralistic Republic and really didn't need to placate anyone as the police state was emerging. Eliminating Rohm was one of political expediency - the SA was an embarrassing legacy that needed to be dealt with before they (they had a potential of more than a 2 million men) continued with a more radical revolution. This really had little to do with appealing to a upper/middle class insomuch as it was inevitable struggle for power. (all Williams - great work)

[ShepherdsDog]

A professor of mine once referred to Rohm as the idealistic socialist and Hitler as the realistic nationalist. If National Socialism was expected to survive in the real world then something had to be sacrificed.

[Public_Domain]

[Public_Domain]

[Public_Domain]

[kenmore]

I wouldn't go that far as to compare him to Hitler,, Napoleon maybe.. not Hitler,, even Hitler had some personality

[EyeBrock]

Hey, Napoleon was a very interesting guy.
Self made man in a French Army that was run by the rich, his Corsican roots made life even harder as the snobby French looked at him as some kind of redneck.
He climbed the ranks because he was an excellent soldier and leader. Boney was a leader of note.

[Tman1]

Yeah, Stalin was Georgian.

[EyeBrock]

He was a nasty chap though.....beaten too much as a kid methinks.