Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold

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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

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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.^[1][2] It was formed by members of the left-wing Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the centre-right to right-wing^[3] German Centre Party, and the centrist German Democratic Party in February 1924.^[4][5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8][9]

The Reichsbanner was reestablished in 1953,^[4] as Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V. as an association for political education.^[10] 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.