History glossary
SA stormtroopers
the Nazi Party's brown-shirted paramilitary force used for intimidation, street violence, and political pressure.
- Category
- Paramilitary organisation
- Region
- Germany
- Date range
- 1921–1945
What it means
The SA, or Sturmabteilung, was the Nazi Party's brown-shirted paramilitary organisation. Its members guarded Nazi meetings, fought opponents in the streets, intimidated voters and rivals, and helped create the atmosphere of violence that accompanied Hitler's rise to power.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Holocaust
From legal discrimination to genocide, the Holocaust traces twelve years of escalating persecution that killed six million Jews and millions of others across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Nazi Germany
From Weimar collapse to WWII, Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian rule, expansion, and genocide.
Weimar Republic
A fragile democracy marked by crisis and innovation, whose collapse paved the way for Nazi rule.
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
From the ashes of World War I to the Night of the Long Knives, this story traces the political rise of Adolf Hitler and the collapse of the Weimar Republic.
The Collapse of the Soviet Union
From Gorbachev’s reforms to the lowering of the Soviet flag over the Kremlin, this story traces the rapid unravelling of the USSR and the end of the Cold War.
