As the NSDAP began to gain power within the German political system, it was decided to create an independent police force to assist in the protection of its highest ranking and most controversial orators.  Known as the Sturmabteilung, this group was composed of many former military personnel under the command of Ernst Rohm, himself a highly decorated veteran and ally of party leader Adolf Hitler.  To Hitler’s dismay, the SA troops gave their primary loyalty to Rohm, whose political threat grew in pace with the expansion of the troops under his command.  In response, Hitler created the short-lived Stabswache protection squad, which was eventually replaced by the Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler, a hand-selected contingent of bodyguards whose only job was the protection of the future Führer.

In late 1923, Hitler lead a rebellion against the leader of the Bavarian government, Gustav Ritter von Kahr; the subsequent failure of this attempt at revolution landed him in jail for charges of treason.   After his release, Hitler found both his party and the SA in disarray, both having been left without coherent leadership and facing a national ban.  Rohm reorganized his troops under a new name, the Frontbann, and watched as it grew quickly in size and scope, developing also a reputation for brutality and recklessness.  Once again, Hitler found himself clashing with the political aims of his former friend, and relieved Rohm of his post in 1925.  Along with Herman Göring, Hitler then focused his attention on the creation of a dedicated attachment of personal bodyguards formed from the proven ranks of the former Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler. 

Known as the Schutzstaffel, this squadron was to be impeccably selective in its admissions, limited in size, and loyal to Hitler himself, not the party at large.  Almost immediately, tensions sprang up between the SA and the SS.  The former were resentful of the SS’s “elite” status and consideration, which lead to them flaunting their nominal control over the latter organization.  Declining morale and perceived impotence lead to a great early turnover in SS leadership, until its destiny was radically changed with the appointment of soft-spoken Heinrich Himmler as Reichsführer-SS in 1929.

Enthralled with ancient mythology and national history, Himmler dreamed up newer, more stringent guidelines for admission into the SS, high disciplinary and training standards, and more striking symbolic uniforms.  This created a draw to his organization that the poorly-reputed SA did not have, and it was the newfound resentments coupled with its already unruly character that lead the SA into a series of revolts.  These uprising were time and time again fought by SS members, whose loyalty to Hitler was impressively proven.

Having worked tirelessly on developing personnel intelligence files, the SS were put into action as the Führer’s police force once again when he assumed the Chancellery of Germany, and wished to secure his place of power.  Additionally, Hitler began replacing traditional Army guards with troops from his chosen SS, giving them more power and higher visibility than ever before.  This power was never more visible than on the Knight of the Long Knives, in which high-powered Nazi officials used SS escorts and arms to stage the final triumph over Rohm and his rebellious SA.  Though Himmler’s dreams of full SS fighting strengths had not yet been realized, his men were now indispensable and feared throughout the regime.