During the Night of the Long Knives, the newly formed Nazi regime liquidated numerous enemies. In addition to the SA leaders, expelled former members such as Strasser or rivals such as General von Schleicher, a journalist who Hitler himself believed to be his number one enemy was also killed. Fritz Michael Gerlich, this was his name, was the director and publisher of a Bavarian opinion newspaper, "Der Gerade Weg", which denounced the violent climate fomented by the Nazis and the shady dealings of its leaders. But Gerlich was a long-time adversary of Hitler, ever since he had done everything to boycott the Beer Hall Putsch, becoming one of the targets of SA punitive expeditions.