Stoßtrupp-Hitler

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In the earliest days of the Nazi Party, the leadership realized that a bodyguard unit composed of zealous and reliable men was needed. Ernst Röhm formed a guard formation from the 19.Granatwerfer-Kompanie; from this formation the Sturmabteilung (SA) soon evolved. In early 1923, Adolf Hitler ordered a separate small bodyguard unit to be formed. It was dedicated to his service rather than "a suspect mass" of the party, such as the SA.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=14, 16}} Originally, the unit was composed of only eight men, commanded by Julius Schreck and Joseph Berchtold.{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=16}} It was designated the Stabswache (staff guard).{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=14}} The Stabswache were issued unique badges, but at this point the Stabswache was still under overall SA control. Schreck resurrected the use of the Totenkopf as the unit's insignia, a symbol various elite forces had used throughout the Prussian kingdom and the later German Empire.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=16}}

In May 1923, the unit was renamed Stoßtrupp-Hitler and at the time numbered no more than 20 members, all of whom were considered Hitler loyalists.{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=16}}{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 16}} According to the Historical Lexicon of Bavaria, the unit later had around 100 members, many recruited from the disbanding Freikorps.[https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Sto%C3%9Ftrupp_Hitler,_1923 Stoßtrupp Hitler, 1923], Paul Hoser.

On 9 November 1923, the Stoßtrupp-Hitler, along with the SA and several other Nazi paramilitary units, took part in the abortive Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. In the aftermath, Hitler was imprisoned and his party, and all associated formations, including the Stoßtrupp-Hitler, were disbanded.{{sfn|Wegner|1990|p=62}} Members of the unit were tried for their part in the Beer Hall Putsch, with 38 members being sentenced to imprisonment at Landsberg Prison.

In 1925, after the Nazi Party and SA were re-established, Hitler ordered Schreck to organise a new bodyguard unit, the Schutzkommando (Protection Command).{{sfn|Weale|2010|p=26}} It was tasked with providing personal protection for Hitler at party functions and events. That same year, the Schutzkommando was expanded to a national organisation and renamed successively the Sturmstaffel (Storm Squadron), and finally the Schutzstaffel (Protection Squad; SS).{{sfn|Weale|2010|pp=26–29}} Officially, the SS marked its foundation on 9 November 1925, the second anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.{{sfn|Koehl|2004|p=34}}

• Rudolf Hess{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Julius Schreck{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Joseph Berchtold{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Emil Maurice{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Erhard Heiden{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Ulrich Graf{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Bruno Gesche{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Christian Weber{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Karl Fiehler{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Walter Buch{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Hermann Fobke{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=10, 11}}
• Karl LaforceHelge Dvorak: Biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Burschenschaft. Vol I Politiker, Teilband 3: I–L. Winter, Heidelberg 1999, {{ISBN|3-8253-0865-0}}, p. 218.
• Wilhelm LaforceAndreas Schulz / Dieter Zinke: Die Generale der Waffen-SS und der Polizei. Vol. 3. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 2008, {{ISBN|3-7648-2375-5}}, p. 354.
• Josef GerumElke Fröhlich: Die Herausforderung des Einzelnen. Geschichten über Widerstand und Verfolgung. In: Martin Broszat, Elke Fröhlich (Hrsg.): Bayern in der NS-Zeit. 6. Oldenbourg, Munich, Vienna 1983, {{ISBN|3-486-42411-4}}, pp. 76–114.
• Hans KallenbachHeinz Höhne: Mordsache Röhm. Hitlers Durchbruch zur totalen Macht, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1984.
• Philipp KitzingerReinhard Weber: Das Schicksal der jüdischen Rechtsanwälte in Bayern nach 1933, pp. 128–129, Oldenbourg Wissenschaft Verlag, 2006.
• Alois RosenwinkHeinz Höhne: Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf, 1967, p. 83.

• Schutzstaffel
• Führerbegleitkommando
• Adolf Hitler's bodyguard

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book

| last = Flaherty

| first = T. H.

| editor-link = Time-Life

| title = The Third Reich: The SS

| publisher = Time-Life Books, Inc

| year = 2004

| orig-year = 1988

| isbn = 1-84447-073-3

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Koehl

| first = Robert

| title = The SS: A History 1919–45

| publisher = Tempus

| location = Stroud

|year = 2004

|isbn = 978-0-7524-2559-7

}}

• {{cite book

| last = McNab

| first = Chris

| title = The SS: 1923–1945

| publisher = Amber Books Ltd

| year = 2009

| isbn = 978-1-906626-49-5

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Mitchell

| first = Otis

| title = Hitler's Stormtroopers and the Attack on the German Republic, 1919-1933

| publisher = McFarland Publishing

| year = 2008

| isbn = 978-0786477296

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Weale

| first = Adrian

| authorlink = Adrian Weale

| title = The SS: A New History

| year = 2010

| publisher = Little, Brown

| location = London

| isbn = 978-1408703045

}}

• {{cite book | last = Wegner | first = Bernd | authorlink = Bernd Wegner | title = The Waffen-SS: Organization, Ideology and Function | publisher = Blackwell | year = 1990 | isbn = 0-631-14073-5 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stosstrupp-Hitler}}

Category:1923 establishments in Germany

Category:Adolf Hitler

Category:Adolf Hitler's rise to power

Category:Nazi Party paramilitary organizations

Category:Military units and formations established in 1923

Category:Beer Hall Putsch