Queer Stormtrooper

Ernst Rohm, a rough bulldog of a man whose face bore scars from The Great War, wanted to become the military leader of a new, socialist Germany. In 1921 he co-founded the Sturmabteilung (SA), one of the militias that would eventually merge into the Nazi party. The SA had a fearful reputation for chaotic violence, heightened by the knowledge that Rohm and many of the SA were gay. Rohm supported the socialist ideal - nationalizing industry, offering profit sharing, and programs for the working class. But the Nazi party was already aligning itself with powerful businesses (becoming fascist), and Rohm was executed in 1934 during a purge of perceived opponents within the SA.