Reichardt. Sven, ‘Violence and Community: A Micro-Study on Nazi Storm Troopers’
Reichardt’s micro-study focuses on the SA-Sturm 33 of the Berlin-Charlottenburg district and how comradeship was formed within the organisation. He begins his chapter by discussing the violent political actions this SA-Sturm group conducted within the early 1930’s. He describes the events and how they escalated form street fighting to murders and the publicity that these actions gained for the Sturm. They became known as a Moderstorm – ‘storm of murderers’ by the press and were praised by Gobbles as they had developed into what he had envisioned. The publicity they received in the early 1930’s considerably helped to grow the SA-Sturm’s membership along with the Nazi’s desire to utilise violence to further their political agenda.
The chapter then goes on to discuss what allowed the SA members to bond and create a form of unity. The comradery was created through their mutual hatred towards the Jewish communities, Communists and Social Democrats. This bond was only further enhanced through the Sturmlokal were SA members would meet on a daily basis to form friendships. This structure allowed for the SA-Sturm to become the pillar of force that extended beyond political loyalties and encompassed their members entire life.
Reichardt later discuss the leadership of the SA-Sturm. He draws parallels with two important Sturmführer’s Friedrich Eugen Hahn and his successor Hans-Eberhard Maikowski. He describes both these men to have paramilitary and violent backgrounds before their inclusion within the SA, and notes that both these men quickly ascended the ranks due to past experiences. Due to their experience and readiness to engage themselves in violence for the movement they gained and enjoyed the success and loyalty of their sturm.
Reichardt later details the configuration and the social aspects of the SA and notes that many members were from backgrounds that lacked family, and those who were often unemployed. Reichardt also states that the Great Depression helped push those who were unemployed towards paramilitary organisations. The SA offered comradeship and a better future to those who desired it. The violence the SA-Sturm conducted is largely linked to excessive alcohol consumption, as many SA members were witnessed arriving at the Sturmlokal intoxicated. They carried these attacks so they could gain recognition for their sturm and their Sturmführer.
Therefore, Reichardt has produced a captivating argument that bonds both political violence to the comradery of the SA-Sturm. He has showed that the SA were able to glorify violence through the ties of friendship and the desire to impress their Sturmführer, which allowed the Nazi’s to use the SA’s solidarity to further fuel their political agenda.
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Chris Millington ‘Street fighting men: Political Violence in Inter-War France’ by Jennifer Anderson
In this article, Millington discusses violence in inter-war France and France, appearing less violent than its other European counterparts, such as Italy and Germany. Millington discusses violence in French politics and to provides an insight into the beliefs and values of the actors leading to the creation of legitimate and illegitimate behaviours during confrontations.
Millington argues that political violence in inter-war France mostly consisted of a ‘bitter struggle’ between the left and the right, often described by historians as ‘the French Civil war’. Millington does this by looking at the parliamentary leagues on both sides and how they conducted their campaigns. One example Millington looks at is the escalation of political violence between 1924-26 under the left-wing Cartel Des Gauches which saw extreme right-wing parliamentary formations already existing elsewhere in Europe emerging in France.
Millington successfully explains key events that characterised French political violence, such as the Nationalist Riot on the 6th of February 1934 when thousands of leaguers and ex-combatants protested against the perceived corrupt government increasing political tensions. The guards deployed by the state specialised in non-violent crowd control methods; however, they carried weapons which they often used on left-wing demonstrators. On the night of the 6th of February, 13 were killed, and hundreds were injured.
Millington also looks at public encounters between political opponents that often lead to violence after groups attempting to assert their authority in the street. Millington analyses attempts to control propaganda and ownership of public spaces while incorporating the use of political symbols such as uniform and insignia. One example used by Millington is political symbols like insignia rings doubling as knuckledusters.
Millington details French street fighters arming themselves mostly with weapons for hand to hand combat such as knuckledusters and knives. Millington discusses the idea of cultural factors influencing the choice of weapon in his analysis of street confrontations and its connection to the notion of ‘manliness’. When used in self-defence, violence was determined to be legitimate under what he goes on to describe as the ‘masculine code of conduct’. With this association, Millington goes on to discuss how the connection left little room for female participation. Millington acknowledges female attendance of parades and ceremonies and their active role in violence, however, he also acknowledges that women were often used to prove the brutality and cowardice of those on the opposing political agenda.
Millington concludes that violence in inter-war France sees frequent encounters between the left and right; although it did not always end in violence, it did see large amounts of street violence to control public influence and propaganda. Millington illustrates the political divide between the left and right and its relations to the development of violence. Millington ends by stating that while violence in France differed from its European counterparts, the Republic’s enemies were also unsuccessful at undermining law and order, unlike the other states in Europe.