Sturmabteilung

The Sturmabteilung is presented through Hugh Legat’s encounters with its members and symbols in Munich: first as part of the street conflict surrounding Adolf Hitler’s rise, and later as a presence that makes a private conversation feel unsafe. The episodes show both intimidation and an unsettlingly ordinary face, without offering a broader account of the organization’s structure or aims.

Public Presence in Munich

Legat’s memories place the Sturmabteilung amid the political disorder he and Paul von Hartmann encountered during a visit to Munich. They arrived as Hitler addressed a large rally outside the city, while marches and counter-marches filled the streets. Posters promoting Hitler were put up by the Sturmabteilung during the day and torn down by opponents overnight; a gathering in a park ended with mounted police charging the crowd. The organization is thus associated with a city where political conflict had entered public space and ordinary travel could not insulate visitors from it.

Legat’s Earlier Encounter

During the same visit, Legat and Hartmann went to stand outside Hitler’s apartment at the urging of Leyna, who shouted abuse when Hitler appeared. Members of the Sturmabteilung chased them away, and Legat later recalled that they had been fortunate not to be beaten. The incident stayed with him: when he recounted it to Cecil Syers, he briefly closed his eyes. His account places the danger in a specific encounter rather than in an abstract description of the group, and explains why the memory remained uncomfortable years later.

A Presence at the Bar

In a later Munich scene, a man in a Sturmabteilung uniform sits at the next table, reading Der Stürmer. Its front page bears an antisemitic caricature. Legat worries that the noise in the bar may not be enough to keep their conversation from being overheard, and asks Paul von Hartmann whether it is safe. Hartmann proposes that they move outside, continue speaking German, and present themselves as old friends catching up; he remarks that a convincing lie is best built largely from truth.

When the uniformed man finishes his drink and rises to leave, Hartmann asks whether he may take the newspaper. The man hands it over affably and departs. The exchange does not remove the danger Legat has sensed, but it complicates the scene: the uniform marks the political threat, while the individual encounter is courteous. The Sturmabteilung’s presence makes caution necessary even when no confrontation follows.