Nearly four decades after the collapse of the Nazi regime, interest in its origins and development is unabated. Biographies of Hitler and other Nazi leaders, as well as studies on various aspects of National Socialism, continue to appear in rapid succession. In recent years, some of the most important research has focused either on the rise and development of National Socialism in specific areas or on the social composition of the NSDAP and its various auxiliary organizations. As a result of the recent emphasis on social historical questions, some earlier analyses have been called into question, others substantiated. Yet even though it is now possible to discuss the social origins of Nazi voters and members of the NSDAP, SS, and SA on the basis of empirical evidence, further regional studies of the NSDAP and the SA are necessary to determine both differences and similarities in various parts of Germany. Indeed, given the strong particularist tendencies in Germany – tendencies that were evident throughout the Weimar Republic – this need should be too obvious to be stressed. To that continuing influence of regional considerations must be added the effect of different stages of industrialization on various parts of Germany. It is hoped that the present work, focusing on the history of the SA in Nürnberg, will partly fill the void that still exists.

From their establishment in 1920, the SA (more commonly known as Brownshirts or stormtroopers) played an essential role in the growth of the National Socialist movement and had a major part in bringing the NSDAP to power. Moreover, “it was the SA and not the party that shaped the style of the National Socialist struggle for power.”