Editing Night of the Long Knives (section)

==Heydrich and Himmler==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 152-50-10, Reinhard Heydrich.jpg|thumb|left|SS-''Brigadeführer'' [[Reinhard Heydrich]], head of the Bavarian police and [[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]], in Munich, 1934|alt=]]

In response to conservative pressure to constrain Röhm, Hitler left for [[Ogrodzieniec, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship|Neudeck]] to meet with Hindenburg. Blomberg, who had been meeting with the president, uncharacteristically reproached Hitler for not having moved against Röhm earlier. He then told Hitler that Hindenburg was close to declaring [[martial law]] and turning the government over to the ''Reichswehr'' if Hitler did not take immediate steps against Röhm and his brownshirts.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|pp=319–320}} Hitler had hesitated for months in moving against Röhm, in part due to Röhm's visibility as the leader of a national militia with millions of members. The threat of a declaration of martial law from Hindenburg, the only person in Germany with the authority to potentially depose the Nazi regime, put Hitler under pressure to act. He left Neudeck with the intention of both destroying Röhm and settling scores with old enemies. Both Himmler and Göring welcomed Hitler's decision, since both had much to gain by Röhm's downfall&nbsp;– the independence of the SS for Himmler and the removal of a rival for the future command of the army for Göring.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=31}}

In preparation for the purge, both Himmler and Heydrich assembled a dossier of manufactured evidence to suggest that Röhm had been paid {{Reichsmark|12 million|link=yes}} (EUR {{Format price|{{#expr:{{inflation|DE|12000000|1934|r=0}} / 1.95583}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}) by France to overthrow Hitler. Leading officers in the SS were shown falsified evidence on 24 June that Röhm planned to use the SA to launch a plot against the government ({{lang|de|Röhm-Putsch}}).{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=30}} Röhm's homosexuality was used against him. In addition, Röhm and other SA leaders were accused of debauchery and acts of drunkenness.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxng1DnH8JowJP_hI_ZH7ZpVFzF-bgH8EJ?si=KVRPUQevZ1QrtqWk |title=✂️ Accusations against Röhm |language=en |access-date=2025-04-18 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> At Hitler's direction, Göring, Himmler, Heydrich, and [[Victor Lutze]] drew up lists of people in and outside the SA to be killed. One of the men Göring recruited to assist him was [[Willi Lehmann]], a Gestapo official and [[NKVD]] spy. On 25 June, General [[Werner von Fritsch]] placed the ''Reichswehr'' on the highest level of alert.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=321}} On 27 June, Hitler moved to secure the army's cooperation.{{sfn|O'Neill|1967|pp=72–80}} Blomberg and General [[Walther von Reichenau]], the army's liaison to the party, gave it to him by expelling Röhm from the German Officers' League.{{sfn|Bullock|1958|p=165}} On 28 June Hitler went to [[Essen]] to attend the wedding celebration and reception of [[Josef Terboven]]; from there he called Röhm's adjutant at [[Bad Wiessee]] and ordered SA leaders to meet with him on 30 June at 11:00.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=31}} On 29 June, a signed article in ''[[Völkischer Beobachter]]'' by Blomberg appeared in which Blomberg stated with great fervour that the ''Reichswehr'' stood behind Hitler.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=322}}