In 1925 the SS had only 200 active members and in 1926, it ended the year with the same number.[6][7] There were 280 members in 1928 as the SS continued to struggle under the SA.[8] After Heinrich Himmler took over the SS in January 1929, he worked to separate the SS from the SA.[9] By December 1929, the number of SS members had grown to 1,000.[10] Himmler began to systematically develop and expand the SS with stricter requirements for members as well as a general purge of SS members who were identified as drunkards, criminals, or otherwise undesirable for service in the SS.