On 27 March 1933 a SA raid with the intention of disarmament on Stahlhelm members in Braunschweig, who under the command of Werner Schrader had forged an alliance with scattered Republican Reichsbanner forces. The violent incident initiated by Nazi Minister Dietrich Klagges and later called Stahlhelm Putsch was characteristic of the pressure applied by the Nazis on the Stahlhelm in this period, mistrusting the organization due to its fundamentally monarchist character. In April Seldte applied for membership in the NSDAP and also joined the SA, from August 1933 in the rank of an Obergruppenführer.