Ernst Röhm was a German military officer who played a controversial role in the early rise of the Nazi Party. As co-founder and head of the SA, he helped establish the paramilitary wing that supported Hitler's ascent to power. Ultimately purged during the “Night of the Long Knives,” his story serves as a complex and cautionary tale of ambition, loyalty, and internal conflict within authoritarian regimes—important for understanding the dynamics of political power and betrayal.