The Kovno Ghetto was a ghetto established by Nazi Germany to hold the Lithuanian Jews of Kaunas (Kovno) during the Holocaust . At its peak, the ghetto held 29,000 people, most of whom were later sent to concentration and extermination camps , or were shot at the Ninth Fort . About 500 Jews escaped from work details and directly from the ghetto, and joined Jewish and Soviet partisan forces in the distant forests of southeast Lithuania and Belarus.
126-503: The Nazis established a civilian administration under SA Brigadefuhrer Hans Cramer to replace military rule in place from the invasion of Lithuania on June 22, 1941. The Lithuanian Provisional Government was officially disbanded by the Nazis after only a few weeks, but not before approval for the establishment of a ghetto under the supervision of Lithuanian military commandant of Kaunas Jurgis Bobelis, extensive laws enacted against Jews and
252-793: A trade route since antiquity, part of the Vikings' Dvina–Dnieper navigation route to Byzantium. A sheltered natural harbor 15 km (9.3 mi) upriver from the mouth of the Daugava—the site of today's Riga—has been recorded, as Duna Urbs , as early as the 2nd century. It was settled by the Livs , a Finnic tribe. Riga began to develop as a centre of Viking trade during the early Middle Ages . Riga's inhabitants engaged mainly in fishing, animal husbandry , and trading, later developing crafts, including bone, wood, amber, and iron. The Livonian Chronicle of Henry testifies to Riga having long been
378-954: A battalion of stormtroopers. They were first used during the 8th Army 's siege of Riga , and again at the Battle of Caporetto . Wider use followed on the Western Front in the German spring offensive in March 1918, when Allied lines were successfully pushed back tens of kilometers. The DAP ( Deutsche Arbeiterpartei , German Workers' Party ) was formed in Munich in January 1919, and Adolf Hitler joined it in September of that year. His talents for speaking, publicity and propaganda were quickly recognized. By early 1920 he had gained authority in
504-576: A campaign of forced Christianization . Berthold died soon afterwards and his forces were defeated. The Church mobilized to avenge this defeat. Pope Innocent III issued a bull declaring a crusade against the Livonians . Bishop Albert was proclaimed Bishop of Livonia by his uncle Hartwig of Uthlede , Prince-Archbishop of Bremen and Hamburg in 1199. Albert landed in Riga in 1200 with 23 ships and 500 Westphalian crusaders. In 1201, he transferred
630-592: A century earlier, and many Latvians had been baptized. Meinhard settled among the Livs, building a castle and church at Uexküll (now known as Ikšķile ), upstream from Riga, and established his bishopric there. The Livs, however, continued to practice paganism and Meinhard died in Uexküll in 1196, having failed in his mission. In 1198, the Bishop Berthold arrived with a contingent of crusaders and commenced
756-563: A consequence of the Stennes revolt in Berlin, Hitler assumed supreme command of the SA as its new Oberster SA-Führer . He sent a personal request to Röhm, asking him to return to serve as the SA's chief of staff. Röhm accepted this offer and began his new assignment on January 5, 1931. He brought radical new ideas to the SA and appointed several close friends to its senior leadership. Previously,
882-574: A death march of Hungarian Jews from a work camp at Engerau (modern Petržalka , Slovakia ) to Bad Deutsch-Altenburg that saw 102 of the Jews being killed, being either shot or beaten to death. The SA ceased to exist in May 1945 when Nazi Germany collapsed. It was formally disbanded and outlawed by the Allied Control Council enacting Control Council Law No. 2 on October 10, 1945. In 1946,
1008-529: A few soldiers each. The first official German stormtrooper unit was authorized on March 2, 1915, on the Western Front. The German high command ordered the VIII Corps to form a detachment to test experimental weapons and develop tactics that could break the deadlock on the Western Front . On October 2, 1916, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff ordered all German armies in the west to form
1134-578: A fire caused by the Wehrmacht (renovated in 1954). Another example is the House of the Blackheads , completely destroyed, its ruins subsequently demolished; a facsimile was constructed in 1995. In 1989, the percentage of Latvians in Riga had fallen to 36.5%. In 2004, the arrival of low-cost airlines resulted in cheaper flights from other European cities such as London and Berlin, and consequently
1260-692: A large shipment of Lettow - shirts , originally intended for the German colonial troops in Germany's former East Africa colony , was purchased in 1921 by Gerhard Roßbach for use by his Freikorps paramilitary unit. They were later used for his Schill Youth organization in Salzburg, and in 1924 were adopted by the Schill Youth in Germany. The "Schill Sportversand" then became the main supplier for
1386-532: A member of the Hanseatic League . The Hansa was instrumental in giving Riga economic and political stability, thus providing the city with a strong foundation which endured the political conflagrations that were to come, down to modern times. As the influence of the Hanseatic League waned, Riga became the object of foreign military, political, religious and economic aspirations. Riga accepted
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#17327866541521512-535: A mêlée in which a small company of SA thrashed the opposition. The Nazis called this event the Saalschlacht ( transl. Meeting hall battle ), and it assumed legendary proportions in SA lore with the passage of time. Thereafter, the group was officially known as the Sturmabteilung . The leadership of the SA passed from Maurice to the young Hans Ulrich Klintzsch in this period. He had been
1638-600: A naval officer and a member of the Ehrhardt Brigade , which had taken part in the failed Kapp Putsch attempted coup. When he took over command of the SA, he was a member of the notorious Organisation Consul (OC). The Nazis under Hitler began to adopt the more professional management techniques of the military. In 1922, the Nazi Party created a youth section, the Jugendbund , for young men between
1764-492: A retirement home in West Germany. In 1943, Viktor Lutze was killed in an automobile accident, and Wilhelm Schepmann was appointed as leader. Schepmann did his best to run the SA for the remainder of the war, attempting to restore the group as a predominant force within the Nazi Party and to mend years of distrust and bad feelings between the SA and SS. On the night of 29–30 March 1945, Austrian SA members were involved in
1890-560: A single bunker which had escaped detection during the final liquidation; the Germans evacuated an additional 2,500 to concentration camps in Germany. Throughout the years of hardship and horror, the Jewish community in Kovno documented its story in secret archives, diaries, drawings and photographs. Many of these artifacts lay buried in the ground when the ghetto was destroyed. Discovered after
2016-461: A substantial increase in numbers of tourists. On 21 November 2013, the roof of a supermarket collapsed in Zolitūde , one of the neighbourhoods of the city, possibly as a result of the weight of materials used in the construction of a garden on the roof. Fifty-four people were killed. Latvian President Andris Bērziņš described the disaster as "a large-scale murder of many defenceless people". Riga
2142-551: A trading centre by the 12th century, referring to it as portus antiquus (ancient port), and describes dwellings and warehouses used to store mostly flax, and hides. German traders began visiting Riga, establishing a nearby outpost in 1158. Along with German traders the monk Meinhard of Segeberg arrived to convert the Livonian pagans to Christianity. Catholic and Orthodox Christianity had already arrived in Latvia more than
2268-604: A training school for the German people. The conduct of war, and therefore of mobilization as well, in the future is the task of the SA." Blomberg and von Reichenau began to conspire with Göring and Himmler against Röhm and the SA. Himmler asked Reinhard Heydrich to assemble a dossier on Röhm. Heydrich recognized that for the SS to gain full national power, the SA had to be broken. He manufactured evidence to suggest that Röhm had been paid 12 million marks by French agents to overthrow Hitler. Hitler liked Röhm and initially refused to believe
2394-476: Is humid continental (Köppen Dfb ). The coldest months are January and February, when the average temperature is −2.1 °C (28 °F ) but temperatures as low as −20 to −25 °C (−4 to −13 °F) can be observed almost every year on the coldest days. The proximity of the sea causes frequent autumn rains and fogs. Continuous snow cover may last eighty days. The summers in Riga are mild and rainy with an average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F), while
2520-658: Is a UNESCO World Heritage Site , noted for its Art Nouveau /Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit , the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 , the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship , and the IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in 2006 , 2021 , and 2023 . It
2646-585: Is a democratically elected institution and is the final decision-making authority in the city. The Council consists of 60 members or deputies who are elected every four years. The Presidium of the Riga City Council consists of the Chairman of the Riga City Council and the representatives delegated by the political parties or party blocks elected to the City Council. From February to October 2020,
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#17327866541522772-611: Is further divided into a Champions Competition and an Open Competition to allow choirs from all backgrounds to enter. Choral workshops and festivals are also witnessed in the host cities and are usually open to the public. The radio and TV tower of Riga is the tallest structure in Latvia and the Baltic States, and one of the tallest in the European Union, reaching 368.5 m (1,209 ft). Riga centre also has many great examples of Gothic revival architecture, such as
2898-680: Is home to the European Union 's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). In 2017, it was named as the European Region of Gastronomy . In 2019, Riga received over 1.4 million foreign visitors. The city is served by Riga International Airport , the largest and busiest airport in the Baltic States. Riga is a member of Eurocities , the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), and Union of Capitals of
3024-700: Is one of the largest in the Baltics. It handled a record 34 million tons of cargo in 2011 and has potential for future growth with new port developments on Krievu Sala. Tourism is also a large industry in Riga and after a slowdown during the global economic recessions of the late 2000s , grew 22% in 2011 alone. Riga was intended to become the global financial centre in the former Soviet Union. One bank , which provided high levels of secrecy for its customers, promoted itself as "We are closer than Switzerland!" (Russian: «Мы ближе, чем Швейцария!» ). On 28 July 1995, twenty Latvian banks with assistance of persons from
3150-652: The Saalschutzabteilung (meeting hall protection detachment) for the DAP, gathered around Emil Maurice after the February 1920 incident at the Hofbräuhaus. There was little organization or structure to this group. The group was also called the "Stewards Troop" ( Ordnertruppen ) around this time. More than a year later, on August 3, 1921, Hitler redefined the group as the "Gymnastic and Sports Division" of
3276-575: The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), and intimidating Romani , trade unionists , and especially Jews . The SA were colloquially called Brownshirts ( Braunhemden ) because of the colour of their uniform's shirts , similar to Benito Mussolini 's blackshirts . The official uniform of the SA was a brown shirt with a brown tie. The color came about because
3402-697: The Great Northern War , the Crossing of the Düna took place nearby, resulting in a victory for king Charles XII of Sweden . Between November 1709 and June 1710, however, the Russians under Tsar Peter the Great besieged and captured Riga , which was at the time struck by a plague . Along with the other Livonian towns and gentry, Riga capitulated to Russia , but largely retained their privileges. Riga
3528-671: The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg formally ruled that the SA was not a criminal organization . The leader of the SA was known as the Oberster SA-Führer , translated as Supreme SA-Leader. The following men held this position: In September 1930, to quell the Stennes Revolt and to try to ensure the personal loyalty of the SA to himself, Hitler assumed command of the entire organization and remained Oberster SA-Führer for
3654-511: The Kalpaka Boulevard Library , and a bevy of Art Nouveau architecture, as well as a medieval old town. Riga has one of the largest collections of Art Nouveau buildings in the world, with at least 800 buildings. This is due to the fact that at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, when Art Nouveau was at the height of its popularity, Riga experienced an unprecedented financial and demographic boom. In
3780-618: The Latgale , Vidzeme and Zemgale suburbs. Three entities were established on 1 September 1941, and the other three were established in October 1969. There are no official lower-level administrative units, but the Riga City Council Development Agency is working on a plan, which officially makes Riga consist of 58 neighbourhoods . The current names were confirmed on 28 December 1990. The climate of Riga
3906-745: The Livonian War , Riga for twenty years had the status of a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire before it came under the influence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Treaty of Drohiczyn , which ended the war for Riga in 1581. In 1621, during the Polish–Swedish War (1621–1625) , Riga and the outlying fortress of Daugavgrīva came under the rule of Gustavus Adolphus , King of Sweden , who intervened in
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4032-627: The Neo-Latvians was followed by the socialist New Current during the city's rapid industrialisation, culminating in the 1905 Revolution led by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party . The 20th century brought World War I and the impact of the Russian Revolution of 1917 to Riga. As a result of the battle of Jugla , the German army marched into Riga on 3 September 1917. On 3 March 1918,
4158-655: The Paris Stock Exchange organised the Riga Stock Exchange which was the first Latvian stock exchange in Riga. The Mežaparks Great Bandstand (Latvian: Mežaparka Lielā estrāde) is a open-air bandstand in Mežaparks park . The Bandstand is the place where the Latvian Song and Dance Festival , one of the largest amateur choral and dancing events in the world and part of UNESCO Masterpieces of
4284-637: The Reformation in 1522, ending the power of the archbishops. In 1524, iconoclasts targeted a statue of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral to make a statement against religious icons. It was accused of being a witch, and given a trial by water in the Daugava river. The statue floated, so it was denounced as a witch and burnt at Kubsberg. With the demise of the Livonian Order (1561) during
4410-674: The Riga City Council also voted to demolish the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders . On 20 May, a rally called "Getting Rid of Soviet Heritage" took place in Riga to call for removing Soviet monuments in Latvia, it was attended by approximately 5,000 people. The demolition began 22 August 2022 and on 25 August 2022, the obelisk was toppled. In 2022, after
4536-648: The Russian invasion of Ukraine , the street on which the Embassy of the Russian Federation is located was renamed "Independent Ukraine Street." Riga is one of the largest city in the three Baltic states : (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). Riga is home to approximately one tenth of the three Baltic countries' combined population. Riga's administrative divisions consist of six administrative entities: Central , Kurzeme and Northern districts and
4662-412: The Thirty Years' War not only for political and economic gain but also in favour of German Lutheran Protestantism . During the Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658) , Riga withstood a siege by Russian forces. Riga remained one of the largest cities under the Swedish crown until 1710, a period during which the city retained a great deal of autonomous self-government. In July 1701, during the opening phase of
4788-468: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, giving the Baltic countries to Germany. Because of the armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918, Germany had to renounce that treaty, as did Russia, leaving Latvia and the other Baltic States in a position to claim independence. Latvia, with Riga as its capital city, thus declared its independence on 18 November 1918. Between World War I and World War II (1918–1940), Riga and Latvia shifted their focus from Russia to
4914-404: The Vrana Palace . As the ambassador in Bratislava , Ludin arranged the deportation of 50,000 Slovak Jews to Auschwitz in 1942. On 23–24 August 1944, Killinger notably bungled the German response to King Michael I's Coup that saw King Michael I of Romania dismiss Antonescu, sign an armistice with the Allies, and declare war on Germany, thereby costing the Reich its largest source of oil. Of
5040-538: The Waffen-SS , known as Feldherrnhalle . This formation expanded from regimental size in 1940 to a fully-fledged armored corps ( Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle ) in 1945. As for units formed outside of Germany, after the success of the invasion of Poland in 1939, an SA unit, "Great Government" was formed. The units were renamed SA Wehrschützen-Bereitschaften in 1942. The title was abbreviated to SA Wehrbereitschaften , thereafter. In his 1936 Hitler: A Biography , German historian Konrad Heiden remarked that within
5166-410: The 1920s and into the 1930s, members of the SA were often involved in street fights, called Zusammenstöße (collisions), with members of the Communist Party (KPD). In 1929, the SA added a Motor Corps for better mobility and a faster mustering of units. It also acquired an independent source of funds: royalties from its own Sturm Cigarette Company . Previously, the SA had been financially dependent on
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5292-575: The 25-point National Socialist Program . However, historian Thomas Friedrich reports that the repeated efforts by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) to appeal to the working-class backgrounds of the SA were "doomed to failure", because most SA men were focused on the nationalistic cult of Hitler and destroying the "Marxist enemy", a term that was used to identify both the KPD and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The "beefsteak" name also referred to party-switching between Nazi and Communist party members, particularly involving those within
5418-399: The Baltic, and despite demographic changes, the Baltic Germans in Riga had maintained a dominant position. By 1867, Riga's population was 42.9% German. Riga employed German as its official language of administration until the installation of Russian in 1891 as the official language in the Baltic provinces , as part of the policy of Russification of the non-Russian-speaking territories of
5544-462: The Dom Cathedral, built St. James's Church , (now a cathedral) and founded a parochial school at the Church of St. George. In 1227, Albert conquered Oesel and the city of Riga concluded a treaty with the Principality of Smolensk giving Polotsk to Riga. Albert died in January 1229. He failed in his aspiration to be anointed archbishop but the German hegemony he established over the Livonia would last for seven centuries. In 1282, Riga became
5670-430: The European Union (UCEU). The precise origin of the name is unknown, however there are numerous and speculative theories for the origin of the name Riga : However, the most reliably documented explanation is the affirmation by German historian Dionysius Fabricius (1610) that Riga's name comes from its already established role in trade: "Riga obtained its name from the buildings or warehouses found in great number along
5796-415: The Germans would not kill Jews who were producing for the army. As an act of defiance an underground school was conducted in the Kovno Ghetto when such education was banned in 1942. A remarkable photo of one of the classes of that school features in the US Holocaust publication, "The Hidden History of the Kovno Ghetto". Identification of the teacher visible in that photo is given in a website that deals with
5922-420: The KGB located at 61 Brīvības iela , known as 'the corner house', is now a museum. Stalin's deportations also included thousands of Latvian Jews. The mass deportation totalled 131,500 across the Baltics. During the Nazi occupation, the Jewish community was forced into the Riga Ghetto and a Nazi concentration camp was constructed in Kaiserwald . On 25 October 1941, the Nazis relocated all Jews from Riga and
6048-400: The Minister of Defence, and General Walter von Reichenau , the chief of the Reichswehr 's Ministerial Department, became increasingly concerned about the growing power of the SA. Röhm had been given a seat on the National Defence Council and began to demand more say over military matters. On October 2, 1933, Röhm sent a letter to Reichenau that said: "I regard the Reichswehr now only as
6174-864: The Nazis increased attacks against Jews in the early 1930s and used the SA to carry these out. In November 1938, after the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan (a Polish Jew), the SA was used for "demonstrations" against the act. In violent riots, members of the SA shattered the glass storefronts of about 7,500 Jewish stores and businesses. The events were referred to as Kristallnacht ('Night of Broken Glass', more literally 'Crystal Night'). Jewish homes were ransacked throughout Germany. This pogrom damaged, and in many cases destroyed, about 200 synagogues (constituting nearly all Germany had), many Jewish cemeteries, more than 7,000 Jewish shops, and 29 department stores. Some Jews were beaten to death and more than 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps . Thereafter,
6300-404: The Ninth Fort. Later, the Germans continually reduced the ghetto's size, forcing Jews to relocate several times. Later that same month, on October 29, 1941, the Germans staged what became known as the " Great Action ". They selected around 10,000 Jews, including 5,000 children, assessed as "unfit" to work at the Ninth Fort. On October 29, 1941, Einsatzgruppen units shot most of these individuals at
6426-452: The Ninth Fort. The death toll on that one day was 9,200 Jews. There was a Jewish Police operating in the Kovno Ghetto with assigned tasks to ensure public order and fulfill German demands, while the policemen were privileged residents, compared to others suffering in the ghetto, and were beating prisoners. The ghetto in Kovno provided forced labor for the German military. Jews were employed primarily as forced laborers at various sites outside
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#17327866541526552-576: The Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity list, takes places every five years. Riga hosted the biannual 2014 World Choir Games from 9 to 19 July 2014 which coincided with the city being named European Capital of Culture for 2014. The event, organised by the choral foundation, Interkultur , takes place at various host cities every two years and was originally known as the "Choir Olympics". The event regularly sees over 15,000 choristers in over 300 choirs from over 60 nations compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in over 20 categories. The competition
6678-431: The Russian Empire, including Congress Poland , Finland and the Baltics, undertaken by Tsar Alexander III . More and more Latvians started moving to the city during the mid-19th century. The rise of a Latvian bourgeoisie made Riga a centre of the Latvian National Awakening with the founding of the Riga Latvian Association in 1868 and the organisation of the first national song festival in 1873. The nationalist movement of
6804-438: The SA ambassadors, Killinger and Jagow committed suicide in 1944 and 1945 respectively while Kasche and Ludin were executed for war crimes in 1947 in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia respectively. Beckerle spent 11 years in a Soviet POW camp, was released to West Germany in 1955, was charged with war crimes in 1966 for his role in the deportation of Macedonian Jews, which were dropped on grounds of ill health in 1968 and died in 1976 at
6930-417: The SA became overshadowed by the SS; by 1939 it had little remaining significance in the Nazi Party, though it was never formally disbanded and continued to exist until the war ended. In January 1939, the role of the SA was officially established as a training school for the armed forces, with the establishment of the SA Wehrmannschaften (SA Military Units). With the start of World War II in September 1939,
7056-457: The SA formations were subordinate to the Nazi Party leadership of each Gau . Röhm established new Gruppen that had no regional Nazi Party oversight. Each Gruppe extended over several regions and was commanded by a SA- Gruppenführer who answered only to Röhm or Hitler. Under Röhm as its popular leader and Stabschef (Staff Chief), the SA grew in importance within the Nazi power structure and expanded to have thousands of members. In
7182-573: The SA had the power to remove him as leader. Göring and Himmler played on this fear by constantly feeding Hitler with new information on Röhm's proposed coup. A masterstroke was to claim that Gregor Strasser , whom Hitler felt had betrayed him, was part of the planned conspiracy against him. With this news, Hitler ordered all the SA leaders to attend a meeting in the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee . On June 30, 1934, Hitler, accompanied by SS units, arrived at Bad Wiessee, where he personally placed Röhm and other high-ranking SA leaders under arrest. Over
7308-404: The SA in any way he saw fit. When in April 1925 Hitler and Ludendorff disapproved of the proposals under which Röhm was prepared to integrate the 30,000-strong Frontbann into the SA, Röhm resigned from all political movements and military brigades on May 1, 1925. He felt great contempt for the "legalistic" path the party leaders wanted to follow and sought seclusion from public life. Throughout
7434-425: The SA lost most of its remaining members to military service in the Wehrmacht (armed forces). In January 1941, long-standing rivalries between the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Office) and the SS exploded with the attempted coup d'état in Bucharest that saw SS back the coup by the Iron Guard under its leader Horia Sima against the Prime Minister, General Ion Antonescu , while the Auswärtiges Amt together with
7560-399: The SA ranks, there were "large numbers of former Communists and Social Democrats" and that "many of the storm troops were called 'beefsteaks' – brown outside and red within." The influx of non-Nazis into the Sturmabteilung membership was so prevalent that SA men would joke that "In our storm troop there are three Nazis, but we shall soon have spewed them out." The number of "beefsteaks"
7686-447: The SA ranks. Similar paramilitary organizations Informational notes Citations Bibliography Further reading Final solution Parties Riga Riga ( / ˈ r iː ɡ ə / REE -gə ) is the capital, the primate , and the largest city of Latvia . Home to 605,273 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area , which stretches beyond
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#17327866541527812-421: The SA was reorganized into a front organization known as the Frontbann to circumvent Bavaria 's ban on the Nazi Party and its organs. (This had been instituted after the abortive Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923). While Hitler was in prison, Ernst Röhm helped to create the Frontbann as a legal alternative to the then-outlawed SA. In April 1924, Röhm had also been given authority by Hitler to rebuild
7938-400: The SA's brown shirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other Nazi Party groups. Following Adolf Hitler 's rise to Nazi Party leadership in 1921, he formalized the party's militant supporters into the SA as a group that was to protect party gatherings. In 1923, owing to his growing distrust of the SA, Adolf Hitler ordered
8064-399: The SA, a force of by then over three million men, absorb the much smaller German Army into its ranks under his leadership. Since the officers had developed the Reichswehr as a professional force of 100,000, they believed that it would be destroyed if merged with millions of untrained SA thugs. Furthermore, the army commanders were greatly concerned about reports of a huge cache of weapons in
8190-435: The SA, the Schutzstaffel (SS) was placed under the control of Heinrich Himmler , in part to restrict the power of the SA and their leaders. The younger SS had evolved to be more than a bodyguard unit for Hitler and demonstrated that it was better suited to carry out Hitler's policies, including those of a criminal nature. Although some of the conflicts between the SS and SA were based on personal rivalries of leaders,
8316-489: The SS members and nearly one-third of the instant stormtroopers were with the Free Corps, vigilantes, or militant veterans' groups during their first 25 years of life. They also came in disproportionate numbers from left-wing youth groups such as the Socialist or Communist Youth or the Red Front (RFB)." Some have argued that since most SA members came from working-class families or were unemployed, they were more amenable to Marxist -leaning socialism, expecting Hitler to fulfill
8442-514: The SS. The role of the SA ambassadors was that of "quasi- Reich governors" as they aggressively supervised the internal affairs of the nations they were stationed in, making them very much unlike traditional ambassadors. The SA leaders ambassadors fulfilled Ribbentrop's hopes in that all had distant relations with the SS, but as a group they were notably inept as diplomats with Beckerle being so crude and vulgar in his manners that King Boris III almost refused to allow him to present his credentials at
8568-428: The Soviet forces invaded Latvia occupying bridges, post/telephone, telegraph, and broadcasting offices. Three days later, Latvian president Kārlis Ulmanis was forced to approve a pro-Soviet government which had taken office. On 14–15 July, rigged elections were held in Latvia and the other Baltic states, The ballots held the following instructions: "Only the list of the Latvian Working People's Bloc must be deposited in
8694-647: The Wehrmacht backed Antonescu. In the aftermath of the coup, the Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop made an effort to curb the power of the SS to conduct a foreign policy independent of the Auswärtiges Amt . Taking an advantage of the long-standing rivalries between the SS and the SA, in 1941, Ribbentrop appointed an assemblage of SA men to head the German embassies in Eastern Europe, with Manfred Freiherr von Killinger going to Romania, Siegfried Kasche to Croatia, Adolf-Heinz Beckerle to Bulgaria, Dietrich von Jagow to Hungary, and Hanns Ludin to Slovakia in order to ensure that there would be minimal co-operation with
8820-439: The ages of 14 and 18 years. Its successor, the Hitler Youth ( Hitlerjugend or HJ), remained under SA command until May 1932. Hermann Göring joined the Nazi Party in 1922 after hearing a speech by Hitler. He was given command of the SA as the Oberster SA-Führer in 1923. He was later appointed an SA- Obergruppenführer (general) and held this rank on the SA rolls until 1945. From April 1924 until late February 1925,
8946-420: The agitators "flew down the stairs with gashed heads". The next year on February 24, he announced the party's Twenty-Five Point program at a mass meeting of some 2,000 people at the Hofbräuhaus. Protesters tried to shout Hitler down, but his former army companions, armed with rubber truncheons , ejected the dissenters. The basis for the SA had been formed. A permanent group of party members, who would serve as
9072-472: The ballot box. The ballot must be deposited without any changes." The alleged voter activity index was 97.6%. Most notably, the complete election results were published in Moscow 12 hours before the election closed. Soviet electoral documents found later substantiated that the results were completely fabricated. The Soviet authorities, having regained control over Riga and Latvia imposed a regime of terror, opening
9198-1251: The banks of the Duna, which the Livs in their own language are accustomed to call Riae". The "j" in Latvian rīja hardened to a "g" in German. English geographer Richard Hakluyt (1589) corroborates this account, calling Riga as Rie , as pronounced in Old Latvian. This is further supported by the fact that Riga is called Riia in Estonian (a language closely related to Livonian ). [REDACTED] Terra Mariana ( condominium of Archbishops of Riga and Livonian Order ) 1201–1561 [REDACTED] Imperial Free City 1561–1582 [REDACTED] Poland–Lithuania 1582–1629 [REDACTED] Swedish Empire 1629–1721 [REDACTED] Russian Empire 1721–1917 [REDACTED] German Empire 1917–1918 [REDACTED] Republic of Latvia 1918–1940 [REDACTED] Latvian SSR 1940–1941 [REDACTED] Nazi Germany 1941–1944 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Latvian SSR 1944–1990 [REDACTED] Republic of Latvia 1990–present The river Daugava has been
9324-762: The camp, deporting most of the remaining Jews to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany or to the Stutthof camp , near Danzig , on the Baltic coast. Three weeks before the Soviet army arrived in Kaunas, the Germans razed the ghetto to the ground with grenades and dynamite. As many as 2,000 people burned to death or were shot while trying to escape the burning ghetto. The Red Army occupied Kaunas on August 1, 1944. Of Kaunas' few Jewish survivors, 500 had survived in forests or in
9450-511: The city limits, is estimated at 860,142 (as of 2023). The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea . Riga's territory covers 307.17 km (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201, and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre
9576-522: The cornerstone for the Riga Dom . Riga was not yet secure as an alliance of tribes failed to take Riga. In 1212, Albert led a campaign to compel Polotsk to grant German merchants free river passage. Polotsk conceded Kukenois ( Koknese ) and Jersika to Albert, also ending the Livs' tribute to Polotsk. Riga's merchant citizenry chafed and sought greater autonomy from the Church. In 1221, they acquired
9702-646: The countries of Western Europe. The United Kingdom and Germany replaced Russia as Latvia's major trade partners. The majority of the Baltic Germans were resettled in late 1939 , prior to the occupation of Estonia and Latvia by the Soviet Union in June 1940. During World War II , Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940 and then was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941–1944 . On 17 June 1940,
9828-653: The creation of a bodyguard unit , which was ultimately abolished after the failed Beer Hall Putsch later that year. Not long after Hitler's release from prison, he ordered the creation of another bodyguard unit in 1925 that ultimately became the Schutzstaffel (SS). During the Night of the Long Knives ( die Nacht der langen Messer ) in 1934, the SA's then-leader Ernst Röhm was arrested and executed. The SA continued to exist but lost almost all its influence and
9954-564: The defiant and rebellious culture encouraged before the seizure of power had to give way to using these forces for community organization. But the SA members resented tasks such as canvassing and fundraising, considering them Kleinarbeit ("little work"), which had typically been performed by women before the Nazi seizure of power. Rudolf Diels , the first Gestapo chief, estimated that in 1933 Berlin, 70 percent of new SA recruits were former Communists. In 1933, General Werner von Blomberg ,
10080-527: The dossier provided by Heydrich. Röhm had been one of his first supporters and, without his ability to obtain army funds in the early days of the movement, it is unlikely that the Nazis would have ever become established. The SA under Röhm's leadership had also played a vital role in destroying the opposition during the elections of 1932 and 1933. Hitler had his own reasons for wanting Röhm removed. Some of his powerful supporters had been complaining about Röhm for some time. The generals opposed Röhm's desire to have
10206-447: The early 1930s, the Nazis expanded from an extremist fringe group to the largest political party in Germany, and the SA expanded with it. By January 1932, the SA numbered approximately 400,000. Many of these stormtroopers believed in the strasserist promise of nazism . They expected the Nazi regime to take more radical economic action, such as breaking up the vast landed estates of the aristocracy, once they obtained national power. By
10332-661: The entire SA was the Oberste SA-Führung , located in Stuttgart . The SA supreme command had many sub-offices to handle supply, finance and recruiting. The SA also had several military training units. The largest was the SA-Marine , which served as an auxiliary to the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and performed search and rescue operations as well as harbor defense. The SA also had an "army" wing, similar to
10458-445: The ghetto had two parts, called the "small" and "large" ghetto, separated by Paneriai Street and connected by a small wooden bridge over the street. Each ghetto was enclosed by barbed wire and closely guarded from August 15, 1941. Both were overcrowded, with each person allocated less than ten square feet of living space. The Germans and Lithuanians destroyed the small ghetto on October 4, 1941, and killed almost all of its inhabitants at
10584-399: The ghetto streets and music was blared over loudspeakers to mute the terrified screams of families. Reports of similar actions at other towns had reached the ghetto prior to the round-up, and some parents managed to smuggle their children to non-Jewish foster homes outside the ghetto. However, the vast majority of ghetto children were murdered. Very few Jewish children survived by the time Kovno
10710-540: The ghetto underground. Moreover, a number of the ghetto's Jewish police participated in resistance activities. The Germans executed 34 members of the Jewish police for refusing to reveal specially constructed hiding places used by Jews in the ghetto. 54°54′57″N 23°53′18″E / 54.91583°N 23.88833°E / 54.91583; 23.88833 Sturmabteilung The Sturmabteilung ( German: [ˈʃtʊʁmʔapˌtaɪlʊŋ] ; SA ; lit. ' Storm Division ' or 'Storm Troopers')
10836-593: The ghetto, and established contact with Soviet partisans in the forests around Kovno. In 1943, the General Jewish Fighting Organization (Yidishe Algemeyne Kamfs Organizatsye) was established, uniting the major resistance groups in the ghetto. Under this organization's direction, some 300 ghetto fighters escaped from the Kovno ghetto to join Jewish partisan groups . About 70 died in action. The Jewish council in Kovno actively supported
10962-465: The ghetto, especially in the construction of a military airbase in Aleksotas . The Jewish council ( Aeltestenrat ; "Council of Elders"), headed by Dr. Elkhanan Elkes , and his deputy, Leib Garfunkel , also created workshops inside the ghetto for those women, children, and elderly who could not participate in the labor brigades. Eventually, these workshops employed almost 6,500 people. The council hoped
11088-419: The hands of SA members. Industrialists, who had provided the funds for the Nazi victory, were unhappy with Röhm's socialistic views on the economy and his claims that the real revolution had still to take place. President Hindenburg informed Hitler in June 1934 that if a move to curb the SA was not forthcoming, he would dissolve the government and declare martial law . Hitler was also concerned that Röhm and
11214-512: The headquarters of the KGB , massive deportations started. Hundreds of men were arrested, including leaders of the former Latvian government. The most notorious deportation, the June deportation took place on 13 and 14 June 1941, estimated at 15,600 men, women, and children, and including 20% of Latvia's last legal government. Similar deportations were repeated after the end of World War II. The building of
11340-499: The hidden school. On March 27–28, 1944, some 1,600 children aged 12 or less, alongside many of their parents who attempted to intervene, and elderly people aged 55 or more, approximately 2,500 in total, were rounded up and murdered in the Kinder Aktion ("children action"). Forty Jewish ghetto policemen who refused under torture to disclose hiding locations were also murdered by Bruno Kittel . During this time, police cars roamed
11466-426: The large multi-storied housing blocks were built to house immigrant workers. By the end of World War II, Riga's historical centre was heavily damaged from constant bombing. After the war, huge efforts were made to reconstruct and renovate most of the famous buildings that had been part of the skyline of the city before the war. Such buildings were, amongst others, St. Peter's Church which lost its wooden tower after
11592-420: The mass of members had key socio-economic differences and related conflicts. SS members generally came from the middle class , while the SA had its base among the unemployed and working class . Politically speaking, the SA was more radical than the SS, with its leaders arguing the Nazi revolution had not ended when Hitler achieved power, but rather needed to implement Strasserism in Germany. Hitler believed that
11718-413: The next 48 hours, 200 other senior SA officers were arrested on the way to Wiessee. Many were shot and killed as soon as they were captured, but Hitler decided to pardon Röhm because of his past services to the movement. On July 1, after much pressure from Göring and Himmler, Hitler agreed that Röhm should die. Hitler insisted that Röhm should first be allowed to commit suicide. When Röhm refused to do so, he
11844-593: The offices of the Mayor and Vice Mayors were suspended and the council itself had been dissolved and replaced by an interim administration of representatives from three governmental ministries until snap elections were held in 2020. With 605,270 inhabitants in 2024 as according to the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, Riga was one of the largest cities in the Baltic states , though its population has decreased from just over 900,000 in 1991 and
11970-685: The old town. Riga has a rich basketball history. In 1937, as the defending champions, in hosted the second edition of the EuroBasket tournament. In the 1950s, Rīgas ASK became the best club in the Soviet Union and also in Europe, winning the first three editions of the European Cup for Men's Champions Clubs from 1958 to 1960. In 1960, ASK was not the only team from Riga to take the European crown. TTT Riga clinched their first title in
12096-473: The other political parties. By September 1921 the name Sturmabteilung (SA) was being used informally for the group. Hitler was the official head of the Nazi Party by this time. The Nazi Party held a large public meeting in the Munich Hofbräuhaus on November 4, 1921, which attracted many Communists and other enemies of the Nazis. After Hitler had spoken for some time, the meeting erupted into
12222-437: The party ( Turn- und Sportabteilung ), perhaps to avoid trouble with the government. It was by now well recognized as an appropriate, even necessary, function or organ of the party. The future SA developed by organizing and formalizing the groups of ex-soldiers and beer-hall brawlers who were to protect gatherings of the Nazi Party from disruptions from Social Democrats (SPD) and Communists (KPD), and to disrupt meetings of
12348-478: The party leadership, as it charged no membership fees; the SA recruited particularly among the many unemployed in the economic crisis. The SA used violence against shops and shopkeepers stocking competing cigarette brands; it also punished any SA member caught with non-Sturm cigarettes. Sturm marketing was also used to make military service more appealing. Cigarettes were sold with collectible sets of images of historical German army uniforms. In September 1930, as
12474-822: The party to grow through propaganda, convinced the leadership committee to invest in an advertisement in the Münchener Beobachter (later renamed the Völkischer Beobachter ) for a mass meeting in the Hofbräuhaus , to be held in Munich on October 16, 1919. Some 70 people attended, and a second such meeting was advertised for November 13 in the Eberl-Bräu beer hall, also in Munich. About 130 people attended; there were hecklers, but Hitler's military friends promptly ejected them by force, and
12600-498: The party, which changed its name to the NSDAP ( Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or National Socialist German Workers' Party) in February 1920. The party's executive committee added "Socialist" to the name over Hitler's objections, to help the party appeal to left-wing workers. The precursor to the Sturmabteilung had acted informally and on an ad hoc basis for some time before this. Hitler, with an eye to helping
12726-566: The percentage of Russians fell from 47.3% to 35.7% in the same time period. In 2022 citizens of Latvia made up 79.0%, non-citizens 15.3% and citizens of other countries 5.6% of the population of Riga. Riga is one of the key economic and financial centres of the Baltic states . Roughly half of all the jobs in Latvia are in Riga and the city generates more than 50% of Latvia's GDP as well as around half of Latvia's exports. The biggest exporters are in wood products, IT, food and beverage manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and metallurgy. Riga Port
12852-678: The period from 1857 its population grew from 282,000 (256,200 in Riga itself and another 26,200 inhabitants beyond the city limits in the patrimonial district and military town of Ust-Dvinsk ) to 472,100 in 1913. The middle class of Riga used their acquired wealth to build imposing apartment blocks outside the former city walls . Local architects, mostly graduates of Riga Technical University , adopted current European movements and in particular Art Nouveau. Between 1910 and 1913, between 300 and 500 new buildings were built each year in Riga, many of them in Art Nouveau style and most of them outside
12978-475: The population of Vilnius has just outnumbered that of Riga. Notable causes include emigration and low birth rates . According to the 2022 data, ethnic Latvians made up 47.4% of the population of Riga. Russians formed 35.7%, Belarusians 3.6%, Ukrainians 3.5%, Poles 1.7%, other ethnicities consisted 8.2%. By comparison, 63.0% of Latvia's total population was ethnically Latvian, 24.2% Russian, 3.1% Belarusian, 2.2% Ukrainian, 1.9% Polish, 1.1% are Lithuanian and
13104-490: The provision of auxiliary police to assist the Nazis in the genocide. Between July and August 15, 1941, the Germans concentrated Jews who survived the initial pogroms , some 29,000 people, in a ghetto established in Vilijampolė (Slabodka). It was an area of small primitive houses and no running water which had been cleared of its mainly Jewish population in pogroms by Lithuanian activists beginning on June 24. Initially,
13230-599: The remainder of the group's existence until 1945. The day-to-day running of the SA was conducted by the Stabschef-SA (SA Chief of Staff), a position Hitler designated for Ernst Röhm. After Hitler's assumption of the supreme command of the SA, it was the Stabschef-SA who was generally accepted as the Commander of the SA, acting in Hitler's name. The following personnel held the position of Stabschef-SA : The SA
13356-481: The replacement for the "antiquated" Reichswehr . Röhm's ideal was to absorb the army (then limited by law to no more than 100,000 men) into the SA, which would be a new "people's army". This deeply offended and alarmed the professional army leaders and threatened Hitler's goal of co-opting the Reichswehr . The SA's increasing power and ambitions also posed a threat to other Nazi leaders. Originally an adjunct to
13482-402: The rest of other origins. Upon the restoration of Latvia's independence in 1991 , Soviet-era immigrants (and any of their offspring born before 1991) were not automatically granted Latvian citizenship because they had migrated to the territory of Latvia during the years of Soviet occupation . The proportion of ethnic Latvians in Riga increased from 36.5% in 1989 to 47.4% in 2022. In contrast,
13608-657: The right to independently self-administer Riga and adopted a city constitution. That same year Albert was compelled to recognise Danish rule over lands they had conquered in Estonia and Livonia. Albert had sought the aid of King Valdemar of Denmark to protect Riga and Livonian lands against Liv insurrection when reinforcements could not reach Riga. The Danes landed in Livonia, built a fortress at Reval ( Tallinn ) and set about conquering Estonian and Livonian lands. The Germans attempted, but failed, to assassinate Valdemar. Albert
13734-656: The seat of the Livonian bishopric from Uexküll to Riga, extorting agreement to do this from the elders of Riga by force. The year 1201 also marked the first arrival of German merchants in Novgorod, via the Dvina. To defend territory and trade, Albert established the Order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202, which was open to nobles and merchants. The Christianisation of the Livs continued. In 1207, Albert started to fortify
13860-606: The temperature on the hottest days can exceed 30 °C (86 °F). The head of the city government in Riga is the mayor, or officially the Chairman of the Riga City Council. The mayor is elected by the city council. He or she is assisted by one or more Vice Mayors (deputy mayors). The current mayor is Vilnis Ķirsis , who was elected on 17 August 2023 from New Unity , with support from "Coalition for Cooperation", consisting of New Unity , National Alliance/Latvian Regional Alliance (NA/LRA) , Code for Riga, Honor to server Riga and For Latvia's Development factions. The city council
13986-459: The time Hitler assumed power in January 1933, SA membership had increased to approximately 2,000,000—twenty times as large as the number of troops and officers in the Reichswehr (German Army). After Hitler and the Nazis obtained national power, the SA leadership also became increasingly eager for power. By the end of 1933, the SA numbered more than 3 million men, and many believed they were
14112-633: The town. King Philip invested Albert with Livonia as a fief and principality of the Holy Roman Empire . To promote a permanent military presence, territorial ownership was divided between the Church and the Order , with the Church taking Riga and two-thirds of all lands conquered and granting the Order a third. Until then, it had been customary for crusaders to serve for a year and then return home. Albert had ensured Riga's commercial future by obtaining papal bulls which decreed that all German merchants had to carry on their Baltic trade through Riga. In 1211, Riga minted its first coinage, and Albert laid
14238-515: The vicinity to the ghetto. Most of Latvia's Jews (about 24,000) were killed on 30 November and 8 December 1941 in the Rumbula massacre . By the end of the war, the remaining Baltic Germans were expelled to Germany . The Soviet Red Army reconquered Riga on 13 October 1944. In the following years the massive influx of labourers, administrators, military personnel, and their dependents from Russia and other Soviet republics started. Microdistricts of
14364-447: The war, these few written remnants of a once thriving community provide evidence of the Jewish community's defiance, oppression, resistance, and death. George Kadish (Hirsh Kadushin), for example, secretly photographed the trials of daily life within the ghetto with a hidden camera through the buttonhole of his overcoat. The Kovno ghetto had several Jewish resistance groups. The resistance acquired arms, developed secret training areas in
14490-501: Was able to reach an accommodation with them a year later, however, and in 1222 Valdemar returned all Livonian lands and possessions to Albert's control. Albert's difficulties with Riga's citizenry continued; with papal intervention, a settlement was reached in 1225 whereby they no longer had to pay tax to the Bishop of Riga, and Riga's citizens acquired the right to elect their magistrates and town councillors. In 1226, Albert consecrated
14616-455: Was drastically curtailed. The Nazis dispersed more than 3,500 Jews to subcamps where strict discipline governed all aspects of daily life. On October 26, 1943, the SS deported more than 2,700 people from the main camp. The SS sent those deemed fit to work to Vaivara concentration camp in Estonia , and deported children and elderly people to Auschwitz . On July 8, 1944, the Germans evacuated
14742-669: Was effectively superseded by the SS, which took part in the purge. The SA remained in existence until after Nazi Germany's final capitulation to the Allies in 1945, after which it was disbanded and outlawed by the Allied Control Council . The term Sturmabteilung predates the founding of the Nazi Party in 1919. Originally it was applied to the specialized assault troops of Imperial Germany in World War I who used infiltration tactics based on being organized into small squads of
14868-457: Was estimated to be large in some cities, especially in northern Germany, where the influence of Gregor Strasser and Strasserism was significant. The head of the Gestapo from 1933 to 1934, Rudolf Diels , reported that "70 percent" of the new SA recruits in the city of Berlin had been communists. This is evidenced further by historians, "As for the prior youth group memberships, nearly half of
14994-464: Was liberated by the Soviet forces on August 1, 1944. From 1942 births were not permitted in the ghetto and pregnant women faced death. However a number of babies of ages from about 9 months to 15 months were smuggled out of the Kovno Ghetto to willing Lithuanian foster mothers. The orchestra operated in the ghetto between November 1, 1942, and September 15, 1943. Its leader and musical conductor
15120-399: Was made public to add "shock value", although Hitler and other Nazi leaders had known for years about the sexuality of Röhm and other named SA leaders. After the Night of the Long Knives , the SA continued to operate, under the leadership of Stabschef Viktor Lutze , but the group was significantly downsized. Within a year's time, the SA membership was reduced by more than 40%. However,
15246-566: Was made the capital of the Governorate of Riga (later, Livonia) . Sweden's northern dominance had ended, and Russia's emergence as the strongest Northern power was formalised through the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. At the beginning of the 20th century Riga was the largest timber export port in the Russian Empire and ranked the 3rd according to the external trade volume. During these many centuries of war and changes of power in
15372-563: Was organized into several large regional Gruppen ("Groups"). The group leader answered only to the Stabschef-SA or Hitler. Each Gruppe was made up of subordinate Brigaden ("Brigades"). Subordinate to the Brigaden were the smaller regiment -sized Standarten . SA-Standarten operated in every major German city and were split into even smaller units, known as Sturmbanne and Stürme . The command nexus for
15498-463: Was shot by two SS officers, Theodor Eicke and Michael Lippert . Though the names of 85 victims are known, estimates place the total number killed at between 150 and 200 men, the rest of whom remain unidentified. Some Germans were shocked by the executions, but many others perceived Hitler to have restored "order" to the country. Goebbels' propaganda highlighted the "Röhm-Putsch" in the days that followed. The homosexuality of Röhm and other SA leaders
15624-518: Was the European Capital of Culture in 2014. During Latvia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015, the 4th Eastern Partnership Summit took place in Riga. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Saeima voted to suspend the functioning of a section of an agreement between Latvia and Russia regarding the preservation of memorial structures on 12 May, in the next day
15750-528: Was the famous pre-war Lithuanian musician Michael Hofmekler . Percy Haid , a Riga born Jew, was the house composer. The orchestra performed about 83 concerts, most of them were held in the building of the former Slobodka Yeshiva . In the autumn of 1943, the SS assumed control of the ghetto and converted it into the Kauen concentration camp . Wilhelm Göcke served as the camp's commandant. The Jewish council's role
15876-625: Was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party . It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Roter Frontkämpferbund of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and
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