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Germany - Nazi Era Flags (Third Reich)

Dritte Reich

by Antonio Martins, 1997-12-02

On 31 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor with a cabinet in coalition with the German National Peoples Party (Deutschnationale Volkspartei (DNVP)), a reactionary, largely monarchist party. Not long after, a fire broke out and largely destroyed the Reichstag building. The nazis claimed this fire was part of a Communist coup attempt (this is dubious, but this is not the place to try to disentangle it). Taking advantage of this, the government quickly called an election which gave the Nazi-German National government a majority in the parliament. The government quickly banned the Communist party (which gave the Nazis a majority without the German Nationals) and in July abolished all parties other than the Nazis.
Norman Martin, 1997-12-15

Immediately after the March elections, new flags were created, including the Swastika Flag (Hakenkreuzfahne) which was used until 1945. However, its use and its incorporation into other flags and ensign were modified after the elections of late 1935.

See the following pages for details of the Nazi era flags:

Origin of the Swastika Flag

Exerpted from Mein Kampf:

'The organization of our monitor troop clarified a very important question. Up till then the movement had no party insignia and no party flag. The absence of such symbols not only had momentary disadvantages, but was intolerable for the future...party comrades lacked any outward sign of their common bond...' (Hitler then writes about how he attended a mass Marxist demonstration: 'a sea of red flags, red scarves, and red flowers...')
'I have, in our movement, always upheld the standpoint that it is a true good fortune for the German nation to have lost the old flag...from the bottom of our hearts we should thank Fate for having been gracious enough to preserve the most glorious war flag of all time from being used as a bedsheet for the most shameful prostitution. The present-day Reich, which sells itself and its citizens, must never be permitted to fly the black, white and red flag of honour and heroes...'
'The question of the new flag - that is, its appearance - occupied us intensely in those days. From all sides came suggestions...the new flag had to be equally a symbol of our own struggle, since on the other hand it was expected also to be highly effective as a poster...an effective insignia can in hundreds of thousands of cases give the first impetus towards interest in a movement. For this reason we had to reject all suggestions of identifying our movement through a white flag with the old state...white is not a stirring colour. It is suitable for chaste vrgins' clubs, but not for world-changing movements in a revolutionary epoch.' (other assessments of various colours also)
"I myself always came out for the retention of the old colours, not only because as a soldier they are to me the holiest thing I know...nevertheless, I was obliged to reject without exception the numerous designs which poured in...which for the most part had drawn the swastika into the old flag.'
'I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika.'
'And this remained final.'

I've cut out a lot, but this whole passage makes interesting reading. It is pages 492-497 of the Houghton Mifflin edition, translated by Ralph Mannheim, 1971. I haven't seen the passage in Mein Kampf, but William Shirer in 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' says the following:

'He (Hitler) says that numerous designs suggested to him by party members invariably included a swastika and that a "dentist from Sternberg" actually delivered a design for a flag that "was not bad at all and quite close to my own."'
David Cohen, 12 May 1998

According to John Toland's ADOLF HITLER, the flag submitted by the "dentist from Starnberg" was "a swastika against a black-white-red background". He also writes that "Hitler insisted upon a party flag that could compete with the flaming red Communist banner. ' We wanted something red enough to out-Herod Herod,' recalled Drexler, something to outdo the Reds but 'quite different.'"

Anton Drexler was one of the founders and the original leader of the German Workers Party, which became, after Hitler joined, the National Socialist German Workers Party, or NAZI Party for short.
Devereaux Cannon, 12 May 1998

In a recent publication which deals with the subject in depth the following is to be found: "...what inspired Hitler to use the swastika as a symbol for the NSDAP was its use by the 'Thule-Gesellschaft' [organization] since there were many connections between them and the DAP...from 1919 until the summer of 1921 Hitler used the special 'Nationalsozialistishe' library of Dr. Friedich Krohn, a very active member of the 'Thule-Gesellschaft,' ...Dr. Krohn was also the dentist from Sternberg who was named by Hitler in Mein Kamph as the designer of a flag very similar to one that Hitler designed in 1920...during the summer of 1920, the first party flag was shown at Lake Tegernsee...these home-made...'early' flags were not preserved, the 'Ortsgruppe Munchen' flag was generally regarded as the 'first' flag of the Party."
Most of these "early" relic NSDAP flags, including the flag of the 5th Munich SA Company of the 1923 Putsch, which became the famous "Blood Flag" in 1925, were eventually lost during the Allied bombings of WW2. Of the four original NSDAP Deutschland Erwache standards only one still exists today.
For those interested in obtaining a copy of the above cited detailed reference source on this subject, the book is entitled: "Deutschland Erwache - The History and Development of the Nazi Party and the "Germany Awake" Standards", by Ulric of England, a 512 page book with several hundred photos and illustrations by Bender Publications, P.O. Box 23456, San Jose CA 95153, phone (408) 225-5777 Fax (408) 225-4739, book ISBN 0-912138-69-6.
B.K.Weed

"One version of the origin of the Nazi flag is given by Francis King (Satan and Swastika: The Occult and the Nazi Party. Mayflower Books, 1976). On p. 117 it is stated that in early 1920 various designs for National Socialist flags were submitted to Hitler.
The one finally adopted ... was designed by Dr. Friedrich Krohn, a dentist from Sternberg, .... . Krohn's design, the swastika on a white disk against a red background, was intended to symbolize the ideology of the movement, - in red its social ideal, in white its nationalism, and in the swastika 'the struggle for the victory of Aryan man'. But Krohn's flag featured a right-handed swastika, traditional symbol of good fortune, spiritual evalution and the triumph of spirit over matter. Hitler insisted on it being replaced by the left-handed swastika, regarded by occultists as the equivalent of a reversed crucifix, an evocation of evil, spiritual devolution and black magic!
King is a well reputed author on the history of modern occult organizations. In this instance, however, he does not give sources. In The Occult Reich by J.H. Brennan, Signet, 1974, the same basic story regarding Krohn's participation is related (p. 86); Brennan also quotes from "Mein Kampf" where Hitler wrote:
A symbol it really is! In red we see the social ideal of the movement, in white the nationalist idea, in the swastika is the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man."
Peter Cawley, s.d.

"Although this claim occurs quite regularly, there is in fact very little evidence for it (which probably accounts for the lack of sources). In fact, the swastika, including the so-called left handed version, is an ancient sun-wheel symbol used by peoples across the world, ranging from the American Indians to the Tibetans. They would hardly be likely to use the left-handed swastika if it was associated with evil. Similarly, the left-handed swastika appeared on the pre-war national symbols of Latvia and Finland, before there was any association with Nazism. The Manx (Isle of Man) flag is also a variation on this theme. I suspect that the story about the left-handed swastika, like the allegation of Hitler's illegitimacy, was simply Allied wartime propaganda. It is a shame that this very powerful and ancient symbol was debased by the Nazis, so that afterwards most people view it with horror."
Stuart Notholt

Blutfahne

"The NSDAP Blood Flag of the Munich Bavaria 9 November 1923 "Putsch" was the company flag of the 5th SA (stormtroopers). The flag was confiscated by the Munich "Green" Police after they opened fire on the NSDAP (Nazi Party) revolutionary formation in front of the Bavarian Fallen Heros Hall (Feldherrenhalle). The Blood Flag (Blutfahne in German) was recovered from the Munich Police in 1925, remounted on a two part black pole with a special unique wreath flag top, the pole also contained a dedication plate listing the names of those killed in the Munich Putsch, whose blood by the way was also on the flag. The flag was borne by Traumbauer during the Putsch, and after 1925 at the party rallies by Grimminer. The flag was kept in the Munich NSDAP HQ called the "Brown House", which had a flag museum in the downstairs hallway, that is until the U.S. 8th Air Force destroyed the building as well as most of Munich during the war. Parts of the flag were recoved by an American soldier upon the liberation and occupation of Munich in 1945. Copyright (c) B.Weed Collections 1996, all rights reserved. "
Ben Weed, 17 November 1996

"The statement that the flag was destroyed by American bombing and that an American soldier picked up fragments is probably incorrect. (Most likely vain bragging and wishful thinking if an American truly has fragments of something.) There have been repeated rumours in recent years that the Russians have the intact flag. ... Jakob Grimminger was the flag bearer. He died in obscurity in 1969. The flag was last seen in public in 1944. "
T. F. Mills, 4 June 1999

The Blutfahne was though to have been made sacrosanct by the blood of the "martyrs" (i.e. the 16 nazis who died during the putch) and was used to "bless" new party banners during the Nürnberg-rallies by Hitler touching the new banner while holding the Blutfahne."
Marcus Wendel, 26 June 1999

"On all ceremonial parades and gatherings the Blutfahne was always borne by Jakob Grimminger. ... Jakob Grimminger...was born on 25 April 1892. He served in the German Army during the Great War with sufficient distinction to be awarded the Imperial Iron Cross, 2nd Class. After the war [he] joined the Nazi Party and was an early member of the SS. He participated in the Munich Putsch of 9 November 1923. Later he was appointed to be the official bearer of the 'Blutfahne', and attained the rand of SS-Standartenfuhrer; he was also appointed a Councillor for the City of Munich. He survived the Second World War and the period of post-war Allied occupation, after which, it is believed, he managed to obtain work as a street sweeper. Grimminger died in Munich in obscurity and poverty on 28 January 1969, at the age of seventy-seven."
Jon Radel, 1995-11-22, quoting [dav94]

Here's an article on the subject: The Blood-Banner and it's bearer: Jakob Grimminger
Marcus Wendel