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As an example of the nature of these articles, the article appearing in the Franken Edition of "Der SA-Mann" for 30 October 1937, at page 3, is typical. It is entitled: "9 November 1923 in Nurnberg," and reads in part as follows:

"We stayed overnight in the Coliseum. Then in the morning we found out what had happened in Munich. 'Now a revolution will also be made in Nurnberg,' we said. All of a sudden the Police came from the Maxtor Guard and told us that we should go home, that the Putsch in Munich failed. We did -not believe that and we did not go home. Then came the State Police with fixed bayonets and drove us out of the hall. One of us then shouted 'Let's go to the Cafe Habsburg!' By the time we arrived, however, the Police again had everything surrounded. Some shouted then: 'The Jewish place will be stormed *** Out with the Jews!' Then the Police started to beat us up. Then we divided into small groups and roamed through town and wherever we caught a Red or a Jew we knew, a fist fight ensued.

"Then in the evening we marched, although the Police had forbidden it, to a meeting in Furth. During the promenade again the police attempted to stop us. It was all the same to us. Already in the next moment we attacked the police in our anger so that they were forced to flee. We marched on to the Geissmann Hall There again they tried to stop us. But the Landsturm, which was also there, attacked the protection forces like persons possessed, and drove them from the streets. After the meeting we dissolved and went to the edge of town. From there we marched in close column back to Nurnberg. In the Wall Street near the Plaerrer the Police came again. We simply shoved them aside. They did not trust themselves to attack, for what would a blood bath have meant? We decided beforehand not to take anything from anyone. Also in Furth they had already noticed that we were up to no good. A large mass of people accompanied us on the march. We marched with unrolled flags and sang so that the streets resounded: Comrade reach me your hand; we want to stand together, even though they have false impressions, the spirit must not die, Swastika on the steel helmet, black--white--red armband, we are known as Storm Troop (SA) Hitler!"

Through such means the SA was chiefly responsible for destroying all political elements hostile to the Nazis, including liberalism and capitalism. This is shown by an article which appeared on 6

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January 1934, at page 1 of "Der SA-Mann," entitled "The SA Man in the New State!"

"The New Germany would not have been without the SA man and the new Germany would not exist if the SA man would now, with the feeling of having fulfilled his duty, quietly and unselfishly and modestly step aside or if the new State would send him home much like the Moors who had done his obligations.

*******

"What has been accomplished up until now, the taking over of the power in the State and the ejection of those elements which are responsible for the pernicious developments of the post war years as bearers of Marxist liberalism, and capitalism are only the preliminaries, the spring-board for the real aims of National Socialism.

"Being conscious of the fact that the real National Socialist construction work would be building in an empty space without the usurpation of power by Adolf Hitler, the movement and the A man as the aggressive bearer of its will primarily have directed all their efforts thereupon, to achieve the platform of continued striving and to obtain the fundamental for the realization of our desires in the State by force ***

"*** Out of this comes the further missions of the SA for the completion of the German revolution. First: To be the guaranty of the power of the National Socialist State against all attacks from without as well as within: Second: to be the high institute of education of the people for the living National Socialism. Third: to build a bridge over which the present day German youth can march free and unhampered as first generation into the formed Third Reich."

(3) Consolidation of Nazi Control of Germany. The Third function of the SA was to carry out various programs designed to consolidate Nazi control of the German State, including particularly the dissolution of the trade unions and the Jewish persecutions. In the words of an SA officer, it was the function of SA to be the "tool for strengthening the structure of the new " and "to clean up" all that was "worth cleaning up." It generally employed, says the SA man, "where communism and elements hostile to the State still insolently dared to rebel." (2168-PS)

SA groups were employed to destroy political opposition by force and brutality where necessary. As an example, an affidavit of William F. Sollman reads as follows:

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"*** From 1919 until 1933 I was a Social Democrat and a member of the German Reichstag. Prior to 11 March 1933, I was the editor-in-chief of a chain of daily newspapers, with my office in Cologne, Germany, which led the fight against the Nazi Party.

"On 9 March 1933, members of the SS and SA came to my home in Cologne and destroyed the furniture and my personal records. At that time I was taken to the Brown House in Cologne where I was tortured, being beaten and kicked for several hours. I was then taken to the regular government prison in Cologne where I was treated by two medical doctors *** and released the next day. On 11 March 1933, I left Germany." (3221-PS)

Prior to the organization of the Gestapo on a national scale local SA meeting places were designated as arrest points, and SA members took into custody Communists and other persons who were actually OR supposedly hostile to the Nazi Party. This activity is described in an affidavit of Raymond H. Geist, former U. S. Consul in Berlin:

"*** At the beginning of the Hitler regime, the only organization which had meeting places throughout the country was the SA (Storm Troopers). Until the Gestapo could be organized on a national scale the thousands of local SA meeting places became 'arrest points.' There were at least fifty of these in Berlin. Communists, Jews, and other known enemies of the Nazis party were taken to these points, and, if they were enemies of sufficient importance, they were immediately transferred to the Gestapo headquarters." (1759-PS)

In addition, SA members served as guards at concentration camps during this consolidation period and participated in mistreatment of the persons there imprisoned. A report to Hitler by the public prosecutor of Dresden concerning the Knollprosse of one Vogel, who was accused of mistreatment of the persons imprisoned in a concentration camp, reads as follows (787-PS):

"The prosecuting authority in Dresden has indicted Oberregierungsrat Erich Vogel in Dresden (case designation 16 STA 4 1o7/34) on account of bodily injury while in office. The following subject matter is the basis of the process:

"Vogel belongs to the Gestapo office of the province of Saxony since its foundation and is chief of Main section II, which formerly bore the title ZUB (Zentralstelle fuer Um-

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sturzbekaempfung) (Central office for combatting overthrow). In the process of combatting efforts inimical to the State Vogel carried out several so called borderland actions in the year 1933 in which a large number of politically unreliable persons and persons who had become political prisoners in the border territories were taken into protective custody (Schutzhaft) and brought to the Hohnstein protective custody camp. In the camp serious mistreatment of the prisoners has been going on at least since summer of 1933. The prisoners were not only, as in protective custody camp Bredow near Stettin, beaten into a state of unconsciousness for no reason with whips and other tools but were also tortured in other ways, as for instance with a drip-apparatus especially constructed for the purpose, under which the prisoners had to stand so long that they came away with serious purulent wounds of the scalp. The guilty SA-leaders and SA-men were sentenced to punishment of six years to nine months of imprisonment by the main criminal court of the provincial court in Dresden of 15 May 1935 (16 STA. 3431.34). Vogel, whose duties frequently brought him to the camp, took part in this mistreatment, insofar as it happened in the reception room of the camp during completion of the reception formalities, and in the supply room, during issuing of the blankets. In this respect it should be pointed out that Vogel was generally known to the personnel of the camp exactly because of his function as head of the ZUB -- and his conduct became at least partly a standard for the above- named conduct of the SA-leaders and men."

"In his presence, for instance, the SA-men Mutze dealt such blows to one man, without provocation, that he turned around on himself. As already stated, Vogel not only took no steps against this treatment of the prisoners, but he even made jokes about it and stated that it amused him the way things were popping here.

"In the supply room Vogel himself took a hand in the beating amid the general severe mistreatment. The SA men there employed whips and other articles and beat the prisoners in such a manner that serious injuries were produced; the prisoners partly became unconscious and had to lie in the dispensary a long time. Vogel was often present in the supply room during the mistreatment. At least in the fol-

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lowing cases he personally laid violent hands upon prisoners."

*******

"*** the prisoner was laid across the counter in the usual manner, held fast by the head and arms, and then beaten for a considerable time by the SA men with whips and other articles. Along with this Vogel himself took part in the beating for a time, and after this mistreatment slapped him again, so that the prisoner appeared green and blue in the face. The prisoner is the tinsmith Hans Kuehitz, who bore the nickname Johnny. Upon his departure Vogel gave the head of the supply room, Truppenfuehrer Meier from 6 to 8 reichsmarks with the stated reason that the SA men 'had sweated so.' The money was then distributed by Meier to those SA-comrades who had taken part in the mistreatment." (787-PS)

Similarly, the SA participated in the seizure and dissolution of the German trade unions in 1933, a measure taken by the Nazis under the direction of Robert Ley. An official Nazi Party circular containing an order promulgated by Robert Ley concerning the program for the seizure of the union properties read as follows:

"SA, as well as SS, are to be employed for the occupation of trade union properties and for the taking into protective custody all personalities who come into the question.". (392-PS)

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