[ad_1]
In addition to the rainbow flags and banners critical of the government, a surprising number of symbols from the scene on the right drew attention. The surprising thing is that many things are allowed in Switzerland that would be prohibited in Germany.
The Reich war flag at the demonstration in Berlin.
22,000 people in Berlin, a good 1,000 in Zurich: Over the weekend, opponents of the crown measures in Germany and Switzerland took to the streets again and expressed their dissatisfaction with the applicable restrictions. Very few wore masks. In return, a remarkable number of Reich war flags were flown. What is its historical background and where does it relate to the Nazi era? A small flag client:
1. The Reich war flag
The war flag of the Reich.
The Reichskriegsflagge was created on the occasion of the reestablishment of the German Empire in 1871 and was used, among other things, as a war flag for the German Navy and later for all German armed forces. The Nazis later replaced the eagle in the center of the flag with the swastika. Displaying the Reich war flag is generally allowed in Germany and Switzerland. Yet it has been a symbol of right-wing extremist circles at least since the interwar period. In 2013, then-Valais SVP National Councilor Oskar Freysinger caused a sensation as SRF cameras filmed a war flag hanging in his basement.
2. The imperial flag
The imperial flag.
The black, white and red imperial flag is experiencing a resurgence in the Coronademos in Germany. The color scheme dates from 1866. It was the national flag of the German Empire (1871 to 1918). From 1933 to 1935, the National Socialists used the flag as the official colors of the Third Reich. Only after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1935 was it replaced by the flag with the swastika. Herman Göring, then head of the Nazi Air Force and president of the Reichstag, declared in a speech on September 15, 1935 on the occasion of the replacement of the old black-white-red flag: “The old flag was rolled up in honor. It belongs to a former Germany of honor. “It is also considered a clear symbol of the extreme right. However, it is not prohibited in Germany or Switzerland.
3. The Nazi flag
The Nazi flag.
The swastika flag was the national flag from 1935 until the fall of the Third Reich in 1945. Before that, the Nazis used it as a party flag. In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote that the swastika represented “the victory of the Aryan people.” The use and distribution of any representation of the swastika is prohibited in Germany, unless it is done in a clear historical context (for example, in the context of a historical theatrical performance). In Switzerland, on the contrary, you can theoretically display the flag, provided you only want to express your own political convictions and not make propaganda. Demarcation is difficult. However, several political initiatives aimed at banning the swastika have failed in recent years.
4. The Nazi Imperial War Flag
The Nazi Imperial War Flag
The National Socialist variant of the Reich war flag, which placed a swastika in place of the German eagle, was apparently designed by Adolf Hitler himself and was first hoisted in 1935. Sometimes the swastika was also sewn on the back. of the flag to point to the right when viewed from both sides. The flag was used primarily on warships, on Wehrmacht buildings, and to cover the coffins of fallen soldiers. Like all objects with a swastika, it is prohibited in Germany, but not in Switzerland.
