Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold
Reichsbanner logo
Also known as	Reichsbanner
Foundation	22 February 1924; 100 years ago (1924-02-22)
Dissolved	18 February 1933; 91 years ago (1933-02-18)
Country	Weimar Republic
Allegiance	Social Democratic Party of Germany German Centre Party German Democratic Party
Headquarters	Magdeburg (originally) Berlin
Newspaper	The Reichsbanner
Ideology	Anti-fascism Anti-communism Liberal democracy
Political position	Centre Factions: Left-wing to right-wing
Status	Banned in 1933 Re-established in 1953 as a purely political organisation
Opponents	Roter Frontkämpferbund Sturmabteilung Der Stahlhelm
Flag
Website	www.reichsbanner.de

Part of a series on
Anti-fascism
InterwarEthiopia Black Lions Central Europe Arbeiter-Schutzbund Republikanischer Schutzbund Socialist Action Germany Antifaschistische Aktion Black Band Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany Confessing Church Iron Front Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold Roter Frontkämpferbund Three Arrows Italy 1922 Italian general strike Aventine Secession Arditi del Popolo Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana Giustizia e Libertà Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals TIGR Volante Rossa Spain (Spanish Civil War)  Antifascist Worker and Peasant Militias Confederal militias International Brigades Abraham Lincoln Brigade British Battalion Dabrowski Battalion ILP Contingent Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion Palafox Battalion Thälmann Battalion
World War IIResistance during World War II Albania Albanian resistance National Liberation Movement Austria Austrian resistance Baltic states Estonian resistance Latvian resistance movement Lithuanian resistance Soviet partisans Belgium Belgian Resistance Belgian National Movement Front de l'Indépendance Secret Army Witte Brigade Bulgaria Bulgarian resistance movement Fatherland Front People's Liberation Insurgent Army Burma Anti-Fascist Organisation Czechia Resistance in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Jan Žižka partisan brigade Prague uprising Denmark Danish resistance movement France French Resistance Maquis Armée Juive Armée secrète Combat Franc-Tireur Francs-Tireurs et Partisans Libération-Nord Libération-sud Mouvements Unis de la Résistance National Council of the Resistance National Front Germany German resistance to Nazism Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany Pope Pius XII and the German Resistance National Committee for a Free Germany AKFD Rote Kapelle Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization Schwarze Kapelle 20 July plot Oster conspiracy White Rose Greece Cretan resistance Greek resistance ELAS Italy Italian resistance movement National Liberation Committee Japan Political dissidence in the Empire of Japan Japanese in the Chinese resistance to the Empire of Japan Japanese People's Emancipation League Jewish Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee Jewish partisans Jewish resistance during the Holocaust Jewish Labor Committee Luxembourg Luxembourg resistance Netherlands Dutch resistance Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten Norway Norwegian resistance movement Poland Polish resistance movement in World War II (Polish Underground State) Anti-Fascist Bloc Armia Krajowa Armia Ludowa Bataliony Chłopskie Gwardia Ludowa Kampfgruppe Auschwitz Narodowe Siły Zbrojne Olimp Polscy Socjaliści Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa Zydowski Zwiazek Walki Romania Romanian resistance movement during World War II Slovakia Slovak partisans Slovak National Uprising Spain Spanish Maquis Soviet Union Soviet partisans Moldovan resistance movement Yugoslavia Yugoslav resistance movement Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Serbia Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia Croatian Partisans Liberation Front of the Slovenian People Slovene Partisans Yugoslav Partisans
PostwarPost–World War II anti-fascism (denazification) Germany Antifa Arsch huh, Zäng ussenander Italy ANPI Bella ciao Liberation Day Netherlands Anti-fascist research group Kafka Portugal Armed Forces Movement Carnation Revolution Spain Spanish Maquis Sweden Antifascistisk Aktion Switzerland Aktion Kinder des Holocaust United Kingdom 43 Group 62 Group Anti-Fascist Action Anti-Nazi League Unite Against Fascism United States Antifa Anti-Racist Action Redneck Revolt Refuse Fascism
Music and culture "A las Barricadas" "¡Ay Carmela!" "Bella ciao" "First they came ..." "Fischia il vento" "Grândola, Vila Morena" "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" Rock Against Racism "Rock gegen Rechts" Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice "This machine kills fascists" "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" Red and anarchist black metal
Tactics and methods Black bloc Deplatforming Direct action Diversity of tactics Milkshaking Popular front Squadism United front
See also Anti-capitalism Anti-nationalism Anti-Germans (political current) Anti-Japaneseism Anti-racism Left-wing politics Anarchism Libertarian socialism
Politics portal
v t e

The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold (German: [ˈʁaɪçsˌbanɐ ˈʃvaʁts ˈʁoːt ˈɡɔlt], lit. 'Black-Red-Gold Banner of the Reich', simply Reichsbanner in short) was an organization in Germany during the Weimar Republic with the goal to defend German parliamentary democracy against internal subversion and extremism from the left and right and to compel the population to respect and honour the new Republic's flag and constitution. It was formed by members of the left-wing Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the centre-right to right-wing German Centre Party, and the centrist German Democratic Party in February 1924.

Organized militarily, the members wanted to ensure non-violent protection from the enemies of democracy. They refused to arm themselves, but were partly made up of veterans.

Its name is derived from the Flag of Germany adopted in 1919, the colours of which were associated with the Weimar Republic and liberal German nationalism, and, as it happens, the traditional party colours of its three founding parties: the Centre Party (black), the Social Democratic Party (red), and the Democratic Party (gold).

While the Reichsbanner was set up as a multiparty organization, it came to be strongly associated with the Social Democratic Party. The headquarters of the Reichsbanner was located in Magdeburg, but it had branches elsewhere.

As a pro-democracy paramilitary organization, Reichsbanner's main opponents were the Communist Party of Germany and their Rotfrontkämpferbund on the far-left, and the Nazi Party and their Sturmabteilung (SA) on the far-right. Alongside these two primary opponents, they also combatted various reactionary nationalist paramilitary organizations. Following the Nazi takeover, Reichsbanner members played a role in the anti-Nazi resistance.

The Reichsbanner was reestablished in 1953, as Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V. as an association for political education. The postwar club is no longer a paramilitary organization but organizes remembrance and educational activities such as seminars and panels. Congruent with its historical makeup, it is officially open for members of all democratic parties but is closely associated with the SPD. It has connections with the Memorial to the German Resistance, the armed forces, and the police.

History

Formation and early developments (1924-1930)

At the time of Reichsbanner's formation, armed groups like the nationalist Der Stahlhelm, the Nazi Sturmabteilung, and the Communist Roter Frontkämpferbund continued to radicalize and intensify the armed struggle in Germany. The Reichsbanner was initially formed in reaction to the Nazis' Beer Hall Putsch and Communist's Hamburg rebellion, both failed coups, which had taken place at the end of 1923. On 22 February 1924 members of the SPD, the German Centre Party, the German Democratic Party and trade unionists in Magdeburg established the Reichsbanner. While the composition of the Reichsbanner was diverse, Social Democrats comprised roughly 90 percent of the organization's members.

In the fall of 1927, the Reichsbanner expelled all members belonging to the Old Social Democratic Party, accusing the party of seeking alliances with the Fascists.

Reichsbanner was a veterans' organization, in which former soldiers of the First World War enlisted their military experience in the service of the Republic. Its main goal was the defense of the Weimar Republic against usurpations of democracy from the National Socialist, Monarchist, and Communist camps. Social Democratic politician Otto Hörsing described Reichsbanner as a 'non-partisan protection organization of the Republic and democracy in the fight against the Swastika and the Soviet star'. Members saw themselves as guardians of the continuation of Germany's democratic traditions such as the Revolutions of 1848 and their namesake constitutional national colors of black, red and gold.

End of Weimar democracy (1930-1933)

Following substantial Nazi electoral successes in 1930, the Reichsbanner in September sought to strengthen itself against intensified street violence by Sturmabteilung units with a restructuring of the operational organization. Active members were divided into master formations (Stafo) and the elite units into protection formations (Schufo). In spring 1931, 250,000 men belonged to the Schufos. The "Young Banners" were also formed.

On 16 December 1931, the Reichsbanner, the Workers' Gymnastic and Sporting Federation (ATSB), the General German Trade Union Federation (ADGB), and the Social Democratic Party formed the Iron Front. Within the Front, defensive operations were the responsibility of the Reichsbanner, which became increasingly important as violence from the Communist Rotfrontkämpferbund and Nazi Sturmabteilung.

The last federal general assembly of the Reichsbanner met on the 17th and 18 February 1933 in Berlin. In March, Reichsbanner and the Iron Front were banned throughout the Reich. Political components of the Reichsbanner, including the Centre Party, subsequently voted for the Nazi Enabling Act and played a role in bringing them to absolute power, with 73 voting in favor and one abstaining.

Following the banning of the Reichsbanner, some members joined Der Stahlhelm, which led to an incident where a mass registration in Braunschweig was raided by the Nazis, who called it the Stahlhelm Putsch.

Reichsbanner members in the Resistance (1933-1945)

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Following its ban, some of the organization's membership, in particular the elite Schufos, took part in the Social Democratic Resistance. Resistance circles of former Reichsbanner members formed around individuals like Theodor Haubach.

Reichsbanner in post-Nazi Germany

The Reichsbanner was re-formed in 1953 as an association for political and historical education.

After its reestablishment, the Reichsbanner continued its historical practice of publishing magazines. In its modern form, the publication informs members and the public of current social issues and often contains interviews with high-ranking German politicians.

Historical structure and organisation

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In the original Reichsbanner, two organizational structures existed in parallel: a registered political association and an organized fighting force.

The political organization was headed by the Federal Administration comprising a first and second chairman, three deputies, the federal treasurer, federal cashier, secretary, technical manager, federal youth leader, the sitting representatives and 15 assessors. The Federal Chairman was Otto Hörsing from the 3rd of June 1932. His deputy and later successor was Karl Höltermann. The executive committees of all organizational levels were elected from the membership of the all republican parties in the coalition.

Parallel to it, the operational organization was modeled as a military structure. The smallest unit was the group, with a group leader and eight men. Two to five groups formed a platoon (Zug), two to three platoons formed a company (Kameradschaft), two to five companies constituted a department (Abteilung), and two to five departments made up a district. At least two districts formed a circle. At the Gau and Federal levels, operational and political level structures overlapped so that the Federal Chairman was concurrently the Federal Commander, while each of the 32 Gau chairmen were all Gauführer. The command personnel of the military organisation were recognized by badges of rank. The Federal Commander, for example, wore on his lower sleeve the federal eagle (black on a red field, with golden circular border) and two black-red-golden stripes over all.

According to the organization's own records, membership in 1932 was gauged at three million.

See also

• Weimar paramilitary groups
• Iron Front
• Republikanischer Schutzbund
• Arbeiter-Schutzbund

References

1. "Das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold". LeMO. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
2. "Reichsbanner 1924 bis 1933". reichsbanner.de. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
3. Allinson, Mark (30 October 2014). Germany and Austria since 1814. Routledge. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4441-8652-9. Zentrum: Roman Catholic party which moved from the political centre to the right in the late 1920s.
4. ^ "Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold". SPD Geschichtswerkstatt (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
5. Ziemann, Benjamin. "Die Zukunft der Republik? Das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold 1924-1933" (PDF). library.fes.de. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
6. Schwarz-Rot-Gold 1924 - 1933, Reichsbanner. "Reichsbanner Geschichte: Thema :: Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold". www.reichsbanner-geschichte.de (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. On its regional organization, especially in the state of Saxony, see Carsten Voigt: Das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold in Sachsen 1924 bis 1933, in: Jahrbuch für Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, No.III/2009.
8. "Rede des Bundesvorsitzenden des Reichsbanners Schwarz-Rot-Gold Dr. jur. Volkmar Zühlsdorff". Berlin.de. 14 October 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
9. "Kampf gegen den Nationalsozialismus 1930 – 1933". reichsbanner.de. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
10. "Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, 1924-1933 – Historisches Lexikon Bayerns". www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
11. "Gefährdung der Weimarer Republik". reichsbanner.de. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
12. "Gründung des Reichsbanners Schwarz-Rot-Gold". reichsbanner.de. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
13. Lapp, Benjamin (April 1995). "A 'National' Socialism: The Old Socialist Party of Saxony, 1926-32". Journal of Contemporary History. 30 (2): 291–309. doi:10.1177/002200949503000205. JSTOR 261052. S2CID 159507767 – via JSTOR.
14. ^ "Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand - Ausstellung". www.gdw-berlin.de. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
15. Zitiert nach Franz Osterroth, Dieter Schuster: Chronik der deutschen Sozialdemokratie. 2. Vom Beginn der Weimarer Republik bis zum Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges; Berlin 1980; Elektronische Ausgabe: Bonn: FES-Library (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung), 2001
16. "In der Tradition der Revolution von 1848". reichsbanner.de. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
17. "Die Schutzformationen des Reichsbanners Schwarz-Rot-Gold". reichsbanner.de. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
18. "Die Eiserne Front". reichsbanner.de. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
19. William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Touchstone Edition, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990
20. Hermann Beck (2010). "The Fateful Alliance: German Conservatives and Nazis in 1933: The Machtergreifung in a New Light". p. 271. ISBN 978-1-84545-680-1.
21. "Bundesverband Reichbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V." Retrieved 23 April 2009.
22. e.V, Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, Bund aktiver Demokraten. "Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V. - Verbandszeitschrift". www.reichsbanner.de (in German). Retrieved 30 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
23. ZEIT (Archiv), D. I. E. (22 March 1968). "Neuauflage des Reichsbanners". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
24. Bulmahn, Edelgard. "Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V." (PDF). reichsbanner.de. Retrieved 4 July 2019.

Bibliography

• Günther Gerstenberg: Freiheit! Sozialdemokratischer Selbstschutz im München der zwanziger und frühen dreißiger Jahre., 2 volumes; Andechs 1997; ISBN 3-928359-03-7
• Helga Gotschlich: Zwischen Kampf und Kapitulation. Zur Geschichte des Reichsbanners Schwarz-Rot-Gold.; Dietz, Berlin (Est), 1987; ISBN 3-320-00785-8
• David Magnus Mintert: "Sturmtrupp der Deutschen Republik". Das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold im Wuppertal (= Verfolgung und Widerstand in Wuppertal, vol. 6; Grafenau 2002; ISBN 3-9808498-2-1
• Karl Rohe: Das Reichsbanner Schwarz Rot Gold. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und Struktur der politischen Kampfverbände zur Zeit der Weimarer Republik. Droste, Düsseldorf 1966.
• Pamela E. Swett: Neighbors and Enemies: The Culture of Radicalism in Berlin, 1929-1933. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2004; ISBN 0-521-83461-9
• Carsten Voigt: Kampfbünde der Arbeiterbewegung. Das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold und der Rote Frontkämpferbund in Sachsen 1924–1933 (= Geschichte und Politik in Sachsen, Bd. 26). Böhlau, Köln/Weimar/Wien 2009; ISBN 3-412-20449-8

External links

• Official website

• Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Paramilitary organisations of the Weimar Republic
• Anti-fascist organisations in Germany
• 1924 establishments in Germany
• 1933 disestablishments in Germany
• Left-wing militant groups in Germany
• Military wings of socialist parties
• Military units and formations established in 1924
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1933
• Anti-communist organizations in Germany