GROSS:. Rohm ended up being assassinated – pardon my German (laughter).

BEACHY: No, generally not very.

GROSS: Pardon my pronunciation. As he had been assassinated, Heinrich Himmler took over enforcement regarding the anti-gay legislation. And things got actually bad then.

BEACHY: Right, and Himmler and Rohm had for ages been sworn enemies. Himmler ended up being mind of this other Nazi militia – smaller company, the SS – more ideological, more elite and also at minimum during the early many years of the motion, maybe not almost as powerful – also formed much later on. However with the eradication of Rohm, Himmler then surely could assume more energy inside the regime as well as in the motion. And then he has also been then single-handedly in charge of pressing to really have the legislation revised and made more draconian. And then he actually spear-headed the campaign then to eliminate homosexuality from essentially Nazi [...]