Two weeks before the "bloody purge", Hitler visited Rome for his first meeting with Mussolini

June 30, 1934. Some called it a "bloody purge," others called it a "night of the longsword." In Germany and Prussia, Adolf Hitler took swift and ruthless action to quell what he called an impending, stormtrooper-led rebellion.

On the morning of the 30th, Hitler flew from Bonn to Munich to deal with the leader of the stormtroopers, Captain Ernst-Romm. Romm and one of his top aides were reportedly caught in the bedroom of his country house. He did not resist. He was offered the option to commit suicide, but he refused, and he was executed in a Munich prison.

Karl Ernst, the leader of the Berlin Stormtroopers, was found in a house not far from Bremen. He may have been shot while trying to escape or executed after being flown to Berlin.

The Gestapo, under Prussian governor Hermann Göring, said they wanted to arrest former prime minister Kurt van Schleicher at his home not far from Potsdam. The police said they were both shot dead after the couple resisted arrest. Other officers of the Stormtroopers have also been executed.

Hitler said the rebels were threatening to take action against him and were backed by an unnamed third force, most likely Russia. Despite the threats, Hitler was once again consolidating his power.