The next move Himmler made was to get into the political scene. Before Hitler's appointment into the office of Reichs Chancellor in 1933 the SS was merely an extension from Hitler's personal bodyguard that it used to be, with no real power or influence. Essentially they were just a gang of thugs who caused a lot of trouble around the country, which were mainly attacks on the Jews. After Hitler's appointment as Chancellor the SS acted as back-up police and used the 'Emergency Power Decree' of February 1933 to take suspects into 'protective custody' which established them as a legitimate police force.
However, in order for the SS, to be the most influential and powerful police establishment in Nazi Germany, Himmler realised that the SA had to be dealt with. With this in mind, Himmler masterminded the 'Night of the Long Knives' which took place on the 30th of June 1934 during which over 400 people were murdered, including Röhm and the main leaders of the SA. After this the SS emerged as the chief police force of the Nazi Party. The very next day, Himmler's title of Reichsführer-SS became an actual rank and he was appointed to the position while the SS became an independent organization of the Nazi Party.
Himmler's title of Reichsführer-SS was very important in his power and influence, because as source 1 clearly states: 'It was above all because Himmler was directly responsible to the Führer in his capacity as Reich S.S. Leader [...] that he could easily escape from the simultaneous responsibility to the Reich Minister of the Interior, or even indeed reverse this relationship.'. Due to the fact that he didn't have to go to Frick (Chief of Staff of the S.A.) to get anything approved, which would have taken a long time to work it's way up the jungle to Hitler, Himmler could make decisions and put them into action at an almost instantaneous rate. The saying 'Access is power' is very appropriate in this context, because fundamentally Himmler's access to Hitler was essential. Lastly, when looking at the SS as a police force, Hitler's decree of 17 June 1936 'to unify the control of Police duties in the Reich' (Source 1), established Himmler as one of the most powerful people in the Third Reich.
With the creation of the division 'Waffen-SS' the SS became involved in Military matters, as the 'Waffen-SS' was a military division. The Death's Head Formations (SS-Totenkopfverbände) controlled and administered the concentration and extermination camps, playing a big role in the effort to create the racially pure 'Volksgemeinschaft'. Furthermore, with the weakening of the Army through the purging of major generals, Blomberg and Fritsch after the formers expressed their doubts about the direction of Hitler's foreign policy, and the fact as German troops gained control over more and more areas of Europe, the power of the SS was inevitably enhanced. The sheer magnitude of just the SS's military division is exemplified by the fact that by 1945 the Waffen-SS had increased its 3 divisions, in 1939, to 35, rivalling those of the army. With that in mind, since the SS was independent from the Nazi party, Himmler could have easily been the number one threat to the Nazi regime, just as the army had been in 1933.
The SS even established a vast economic empire; by the end of the war the SS had a massive commercial combine of over 150 firms, which manufactured textiles, armaments and household goods. Although the SS was infamously known for its brutal police force, with the creation of the Waffen-SS division and its vast economic empire it gradually became the key interest group in the Third Reich. Some historians have even gone as far as describing the SS as a 'State within a state'.
Nevertheless, however important all the other factors were in helping Himmler reach the status he had by 1939, his personality, character and charm took him a long way, as both sources 2 and 3 show. Himmler's hard work and determination inspired others to do the same, and above all it made people respect him; '[...] the painstaking hours of work that Himmler put in and demanded from his subordinates inspired respect. But Himmler also exerted charm; there are too many accounts of his seemingly, genuine concern for his people and their families to doubt this.' (Source 3). He was ruthless and cunning, but was able to make even the most atrocious things understandable and acceptable with his charm and intelligence as shown in source 2; a passage in which Himmler is talking about the recent 'cleansing' of the SA: 'To have to shoot one's own comrades, with whom one had stood side by side for eight or ten years in the struggle for an ideal, and who then failed, is the bitterest thing that can happen to a man.'
Himmler's success was brought about by many different factors. His personality was very important in winning people over and gaining respect and it was because of this that inspired people to work/work harder for him and in turn increase the size and influence of the SS. The fact that the SS was involved in virtually all the key areas in Nazi Germany; Policing and security, Military, Economic, and Industry demonstrates that the SS was a key player in, and vital to, the Third Reich. However, had it not been for Himmler's direct responsibility and access to Hitler, Himmler would have never been able to became so powerful and as fast as he had been.
