Hitler liquidated Röhm over a plan that would have produced military dictatorship

Evidence

The plot between Reichswehr Genera! Schleicher and Rohm, the chief of the SA, consisted of a plan to bring all paramilitary formations under the military authority of the Reichswehr, which at once would have added millions to the German army. This, of course, would inevitably have led to a military dictatorship. In June, 1934, Hitler liquidated Röhm and Schleicher. The initial negotiations were started with the full knowledge of Hitler who used Röhm’s connections with the Reichswehr to deceive German military circles about his real intentions. … The militaristic character of the SA, shaped by Röhm and constantly fought by Hitler, continued to determine its vocabulary even after the liquidation of the Röhm faction. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2564

Categorization

• XREF: The purge as a mechanism of consolidating sole leadership connects to how totalitarian movements police internal rivals — relevant background for understanding how movements suppress alternative power centers.