Anti-Flag Desecration Law (Germany)

Last updated

The Anti-Flag Desecration Law of 1932 banned flag desecration by "insulting or maliciously and with intent belittling" the German Reich, its states, their constitution, colors, or flags, or the Wehrmacht . The law was not a Nazi law; it was an amendment to the German criminal code, signed into law as an emergency decree in the Weimar Republic on 19 December 1932 [1] by President Paul von Hindenburg and the cabinet of Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher. A revised form of the law is still in effect today.

Contents

2:3 Flag of Weimar Germany (1919-33) Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg
2:3 FIAV 100000.svg FIAV historical.svg Flag of Weimar Germany (1919–33)

Initially, §134a StGB protected only the flag of the democratic Germany.

Later legislation, on 12 March 1933, and the Reichsflaggengesetz of 15 September 1935, extended the protection to the Nazi flag.

Paragraph introduced by von Hindenburg on 19 December 1932

§134a StGB: [2]

   § 134a. Wer öffentlich das Reich oder eines der Länder, ihre Verfassung,     ihre Farben oder Flaggen oder die deutsche Wehrmacht beschimpft     oder böswillig und mit Überlegung verächtlich macht,     wird mit Gefängnis bestraft.

Case studies of §134a application

21 December 1934: Defendant acquitted of desecrating SS flag

On 21 December 1934, a defendant accused of desecrating the SS flag was acquitted, because the insignia of a sub-organisation of the NSDAP were not considered protected under §134a StGB. [3]

26 July 1935: New York demonstrators acquitted of tearing down NSDAP flag

On 26 July 1935 in New York a group of demonstrators boarded the SS Bremen , tore the Nazi party flag from the jackstaff and threw it into the Hudson River. The German ambassador sharply protested, but the protest was rejected, with the judgement that only a party symbol was harmed and the national flag was not affected. On 15 September 1935, in response to this incident, the Reichsflaggengesetz (Reichs flag law) (RGBl. I S. 1145) came into effect (see below), declaring the Nazi flag to be the exclusive national flag of Germany and removing the status of the black-white-red tricolor flag of the German Empire as co-national flag.

Laws specifying which flag is the German national flag

Black-red-white flag reintroduced and Nazi flag introduced on 12 March 1933

3:5 National flag of Germany (1933-35), jointly with the swastika flag. Flag of German Reich (1933-1935).svg
3:5 FIAV 110110.svg FIAV historical.svg National flag of Germany (1933–35), jointly with the swastika flag.
3:5 National flag of Germany and marine jack of Germany (1935-45) Flag of German Reich (1935-1945).svg
3:5 FIAV 110110.svg FIAV historical.svg National flag of Germany and marine jack of Germany (1935–45)

After the Nazi Party seized power on 30 January 1933, the black-red-gold flag was swiftly scrapped; a ruling on 12 March established two legal national flags: the reintroduced black-white-red imperial tricolour and the flag of the Nazi Party. [4] [5]

Reichsflaggengesetz, 15 September 1935

The Reichsflaggengesetz [6] that declared the Hakenkreuzfahne as the only national flag was announced at the annual party rally in Nuremberg [7] on 15 September 1935.

Current (as of 1 January 1975) version of the Anti-Flag Desecration Law

3:5 Flag of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949-present)
Flag of the German Democratic Republic (1949-59) Flag of Germany.svg
3:5 FIAV 110110.svg FIAV normal.svg Flag of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949–present)
Flag of the German Democratic Republic (1949–59)

§90a StGB [8]

   § 90a. Verunglimpfung des Staates und seiner Symbole.    (1) Wer öffentlich, in einer Versammlung oder durch Verbreiten von Schriften        1. die Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder eines ihrer Länder oder ihre verfassungsmäßige Ordnung            beschimpft oder böswillig verächtlich macht         oder        2. die Farben, die Flagge, das Wappen oder die Hymne der Bundesrepublik Deutschland            oder eines ihrer Länder verunglimpft,        wird mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu drei Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft.    (2) [1] Ebenso wird bestraft, wer eine öffentlich gezeigte Flagge der Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder eines ihrer Länder         oder ein von einer Behörde öffentlich angebrachtes Hoheitszeichen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder eines ihrer Länder         entfernt, zerstört, beschädigt, unbrauchbar oder unkenntlich macht oder beschimpfenden Unfug daran verübt.         [2] Der Versuch ist strafbar.    (3) Die Strafe ist Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder Geldstrafe,         wenn der Täter sich durch die Tat absichtlich für Bestrebungen         gegen den Bestand der Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder gegen Verfassungsgrundsätze einsetzt.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Nazi Germany</span> Historical Flag

The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933, this flag was adopted as one of the nation's dual national flags, the other being the black-white-red triband of the German Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Klee</span>

Ernst Klee was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concerned with the Action T4 or involuntary euthanasia program. He is the author of "The Good Old Days": The Holocaust Through the Eyes of the Perpetrators and Bystanders first published in the English translation in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Liechtenstein</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Liechtenstein enjoy many, but not all, of the same rights as non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1989, with an equal age of consent since 2001. Same-sex couples have had access to registered partnerships since 2011, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been outlawed in some areas since 2016.

Hans-Friedrich Blunck was a German jurist and a writer. In the time of the Third Reich, he occupied various positions in Nazi cultural institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Schlegelberger</span>

Louis Rudolph Franz Schlegelberger was State Secretary in the German Reich Ministry of Justice (RMJ) who served as Justice Minister during the Third Reich. He was the highest-ranking defendant at the Judges' Trial in Nuremberg.

The National Socialist German Students' Union was founded in 1926 as a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating University-level education and academic life within the framework of the Nazi worldview. Organized strictly in accord with the Führerprinzip as well as the principle of Machtdistanz, the NSDStB housed its members in so-called Kameradschaftshäusern, and had its members decked out in classic brown shirts and its own distinctive Swastika emblems.

Walter Frank, also known by the pseudonym Werner Fiedler was a Nazi historian, notable for his leading role in anti-Semitic research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Seydewitz</span> German politician (1892–1987)

Max Seydewitz was a German politician. Between 1947 and 1952 he was the Minister-President of Saxony in the German Democratic Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theo Lingen</span> German actor

Theo Lingen, born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luise Rinser</span> German novelist and short story writer

Luise Rinser was a German writer, best known for her novels and short stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horst Möller</span> German contemporary historian (born 1943)

Horst Möller is a German contemporary historian. He is Professor of Modern History at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and, from 1992 to 2011, Director of the Institut für Zeitgeschichte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfgang Herrmann (librarian)</span> German librarian and Nazi

Wolfgang Herrmann was a German librarian and member of the Nazi Party, whose blacklist provided the template for the Nazi book burnings in May 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greta Kuckhoff</span> German Resistance member, president of the state bank of the German Democratic Republic (1902–1981)

Margaretha "Greta" Kuckhoff was a Resistance member in Nazi Germany, who belonged to the illegal Communist Party of Germany and the NKVD spy ring that was dubbed the Red Orchestra by the Abwehr. She was married to Adam Kuckhoff, who was executed by the Third Reich. After the war, she lived in the German Democratic Republic, where she was president of Deutsche Notenbank from 1950 to 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jürgen Roth</span>

Jürgen Roth was a German publicist and investigative journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmut Müller-Enbergs</span> German political scientist (born 1960)

Helmut Müller-Enbergs is a German political scientist who has written extensively on the Stasi and related aspects of the German Democratic Republic's history.

Gertrud Fussenegger was an Austrian writer and a prolific author, especially of historical novels. Many commentators felt that her reputation never entirely escaped from the shadow cast by her enthusiasm, as a young woman, for National Socialism.

Walther Schoenichen was a German biologist and a prominent proponent of nature conservation within Nazi Germany.

Herybert Menzel was a German poet and writer during the time of National Socialism as well as a member of the Bamberg poet circle.

References

  1. Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zur Erhaltung des inneren Friedens, 19. Dezember 1932, Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I 1867-1945 : Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, ALEX Historische Rechts- und Gesetzestexte Online, retrieved 17 August 2017
  2. §134a StGB, version between 21 December 1932 and 4 February 1946 : lexetius.com, retrieved 17 August 2017
  3. Gruchmann, Lothar (21 December 1934). "VII. Ausstattung der Rechtsprechung mit neuen Normen". Justiz im Dritten Reich 1933-1940: Anpassung und Unterwerfung in der Ära Gürtner. p. 848. Retrieved 17 August 2017. Acquittal of a defendant who desecrated the SS flag
  4. von Hindenburg, Paul (12 March 1933). "Erlaß des Reichspräsidenten über die vorläufige Regelung der Flaggenhissung" [Decree of the President for the provisional regulation of raising flags]. documentArchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  5. Fornax. "The German Swastika Flag 1933–1945". Historical flags of our ancestors. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  6. Government of the German Reich (15 September 1935). "Reichsflaggengesetz" [Reich Flag Act]. documentArchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  7. GERMANY: Little Man, Big Doings, TIME Magazine , 23 September 1935
  8. §90a StGB, (current) version of 1 January 1975 : lexetius.com, retrieved 17 August 2017