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Intelligent and politically astute, Wessel was also extremely violent. Upon returning to Germany, he organized an attack on the local headquarters of the Communist Party in FriedrichshainFriedrichshain is a part of Berlin's borough Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. Its located in the eastern mid of Berlin and is surrounded by the old districts Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Lichtenberg. The district is called after the Volkspark Friedrichs, Berlin, during which four workers sustained serious injuries. This prompted Heinz Neumann, editor of the Communist Red Flag daily to call on party members to "Beat the fascists wherever you find them," exacerbating the already tense political situation.

On January 14January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 351 days remaining (352 in leap years). Celebrated as New Year's Day by those still following the Julian calendar. Events 1301 Andrew III dies, ending the Arpad dynasty in Hungary, 1930, Wessel got into a heated argument with his landlady, the widow of a Communist Party member. Although the exact details of the argument are still debated, what is known is that: 1) she claimed Wessel refused to pay his rent--alternately, she may have tried to raise it and Wessel refused to pay the difference; 2) she claimed he threatened to beat her; 3) Wessel refused to pay rent for his girlfriend, a prostitute (according to some accounts, a former prostitute reformed by Wessel); since the landlady was herself subletting to Wessel, she feared she would lose the rights to her apartment because a prostitute was living there. Rather than approach the police, the landlady went to a local tavern frequented by Communists for help.

The Communists saw this as an ideal opportunity to avenge themselves on Wessel for the earlier attack. Two men, Ali Höhler, a tough with underworld connections, and Erwin Rückert, an active party member, went to Wessel's apartment. When he opened the door for them, Höhler shot him in the head. He died several weeks later from his injuries.

The shooting was immediately exploited by both the Nazis and the Communists to further their political aims. The Communists portrayed Wessel as a pimp, while the Nazis claimed he had actually saved his girlfriend from a life of prostitution by introducing her to the Nazi Party and its values. Goebbels organized a public funeral for the new "martyr" to the Nazi cause, and 30,000 people lined the streets of Berlin to see the procession. Goebbels delivered the eulogy in the presence of Hermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Goring (also spelled Hermann Goering in English) ( January 12, 1893 — October 15, 1946) was a prominent and early member of the Nazi party, founder of the Gestapo, and one of the main architects of Nazi Germany. He is often quoted from the and Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia . During the Nazi era, his life was glorified in memorials, books, and films.

Some months before he died, Wessel had written the verses to what would become the " Horst Wessel LiedThe Horst Wessel Lied was the anthem of the Nazi Party of Germany, chosen to glorify Horst Wessel as a Nazi martyr. It is illegal and banned in Germany. The melody was used as the theme music to the popular computer game Wolfenstein 3D in the early 1990s." but it first gained popular currency when a choir of Stormtroopers performed it at his funeral. It was later recorded, and in 19311931 is the common year starting on Thursday. see link for calendar) Events January January 4 Female aviator Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa January 6 Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. January 22 Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the it became the official anthem of the Nazi Party, played alongside Deutschland über Alles at all official occasions. The song celebrates the SAThe Sturmabteilung SA German for "Assault Unit" and is usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers functioned as a paramilitary organisation of the NSDAP the German Nazi party. It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s. (whom Hitler would soon purge in the Night of the Long Knives).