76 years ago today, the SA in action...even Americans weren't safe.

From an affidavit by American Herman I. Roseman: "Yesterday, March 10th, 1933, in the afternoon about 4:30, I came out of KDW with my fiancee, Fraulein Else Schwarzlose, residing in Wilmersdorf (giving the address). A man in SA uniform stepped on my toe purposely, obviously offended me and said "Pardon." I said "Bitte," and walked ahead. He then followed me and kicked me saying, "Na und?" A policeman saw this and walked ahead, paying no attention to attacks made on me. Then I took my passport out of my pocket, showed it to the second policeman, and said that I was an American citizen, but he walked ahead, obviously not able to afford me protection, or at least being unwilling. The SA man continued to attack me, struck me in the face, wounded me over the eye, and continued to do me bodily harm. During this attack, all the time my walking along, we reached another policeman, and I applied to him, showing my passport and said, "I am an American and am entitled to protection." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "What can I do?" By this time the SA man had obviously inflicted enough attack upon me and walked away. Upon my appeal, the policeman brought my fiancee and me to the station house at 13 Bayreutherstrasse. My fiancee and I reported to the officer in charge. He heard the story and said that he was sorry, but that there was nothing to do. My face was bleeding. The policeman said that he had orders not to interfere in any affair in which an SA man took part. I then asked him what I could do to protect myself. He said that there was nothing to do but to wait until the situation was better. He added that the police were absolutely powerless, and were under the direction of the SA, and that there were SA Sturmabteilungen in the police itself. Thereupon I departed."