The ''Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund'' (German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation) was the largest and the most active

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

federation in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

,Beurteilung des Reichskommissars für Überwachung der öffentlichen Ordnung in einem Schreiben an den Staatsgerichtshof zum Schutze der Republik, 20 November 1922, quoted from Lohalm 1970, pg. 11. and an organisation that formed a significant part of the ''völkisch'' movement during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

(1918–1933), whose democratic parliamentary system it unilaterally rejected. Its publishing arm issued books that greatly influenced the opinions of

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

leaders such as

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

. Padfield, Peter. ''Himmler: Reichsführer SS''. New York: Henry Holt, 1990. p. 107 After the organisation folded in around 1924, many of its members eventually joined the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Origin

The ''Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund'' was originally called the ''Deutscher Schutz- und Trutzbund'' when it was founded in February 1919 in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

for the purpose of "fighting"

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

during a meeting of the '' Alldeutscher Verband'' ("All-German League"). The director of ''Deutscher Schutz- und Trutzbund'' was Alfred Roth, and its secret chairman was Konstantin von Gebsattel, who was appointed on 1 October 1919 by Ernst von Hertzberg Lottin. Its advisory board included Ernst Anton Franz von Bodelschwingh,

Theodor Fritsch Theodor Fritsch (born Emil Theodor Fritsche; 28 October 1852 – 8 September 1933) was a German publisher and journalist. His antisemitic writings did much to influence popular German opinion against Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centur ...

, August Gebhard, Paul Lucius, Ferdinand Werner, Julius Friedrich Lehmann and Georg von Stössel. Its meeting place was originally in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

, in Alfred Roth's house, but was later moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, where it joined several such other organizations. It merged with the '' Reichshammerbund'' and about a month later with the ''Deutschvölkischer Bund'', the organization that had succeeded the ''Deutschvölkische Partei''.Werner Jochmann: ''Nationalsozialismus und Revolution : Ursprung und Geschichte der NSDAP in Hamburg 1922 - 1933. Dokumente.'' Europäische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg 1963, pg. 25.

Manifesto

The organisation's manifesto was ''Wenn ich der Kaiser wär'' ("If I Were the

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

"), which was written by All-German League President

Heinrich Claß Heinrich Claß (29 February 1868 – 16 April 1953) was a German right-wing politician, a Pan-Germanist, an anti-Semite and a "rabid racialist". He presided the Pan-German League from 1908 to 1939. Early life Claß was born in Alzey. His fath ...

in which he expressed identitarian and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

views. His slogan was "Germany for the Germans".Ulrich Sieg, Deutschlands Prophet.

Paul de Lagarde Paul Anton de Lagarde (2 November 1827 – 22 December 1891) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, sometimes regarded as one of the greatest orientalists of the 19th century. Lagarde's anti-Semitism, anti-Slavism, and aversion to tradit ...

und die Ursprünge des modernen Antisemitismus, München 2007, pg. 327. Julius Friedrich Lehmann, a

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

publisher, helped promote the organisation's ideas, and in October 1918, Claß called for a coup d'etat. The organisation agitated against the

, and by 1923, it had just under 180,000 members.

Symbols

The organisation used as its symbols a blue cornflower and a swastika. According to the British author Peter Padfield its motto was ''"Wir sind die Herren der Welt!"'' ("We are the masters of the world!"). However, not a single German source can be found that confirms the motto, which in fact is a verse from the song "''Der mächtigste König im Luftrevier''" ("The mightiest king in the skies"). According to the German historian Ulrich Sieg, the organization's motto was ''Deutschland den Deutschen'' ("Germany for the Germans"). Sieg highlights another motto: ''Deutschland den Deutschen'' ("Germany for the Germans"). See

Excerpt of constitution

Here is an excerpt from its constitution:

''The Bund fights for the moral rebirth of the German people.... It considers the pernicious and destructive influence of Jewry to be the main cause of the defeat and the removal of this influence to be necessary for the political and economic recovery of Germany, and for the salvation of German culture.Waite, p 206, quoting Alfred Roth, ''Aus der Kampfzeit'' ''

Notable members

* Herbert Albrecht * Karl Astel *

Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

* Werner Best * Arthur Böckenhauer * Ernst Boepple *

Philipp Bouhler Philipp Bouhler (11 September 1899 – 19 May 1945) was a German senior Nazi Party functionary who was both a (National Leader) and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP. He was also the SS official responsible for the euthana ...

* Walter Buch * Leonardo Conti * Heinrich Deubel * Artur Dinter * Oskar Dirlewanger *

Dietrich Eckart Dietrich Eckart (; 23 March 1868 – 26 December 1923) was a German '' völkisch'' poet, playwright, journalist, publicist, and political activist who was one of the founders of the German Workers' Party, the precursor of the Nazi Party. Eckart ...

* Friedrich Karl Florian *

* Wilhelm Grimm * Josef Grohé * Heinrich Haake * Ludolf Haase * Wilhelm Helfer * Otto Hellmuth * Hans Helwig *

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

, co-architect of the

holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

* Karl Kaufmann * Georg Joel * Josef Klant * Richard Kunze * J. F. Lehmann *

Viktor Lutze Viktor Lutze (28 December 1890 – 2 May 1943) was a German Nazi Party functionary and the commander of the ''Sturmabteilung'' ("SA") who succeeded Ernst Röhm as '' Stabschef'' and '' Reichsleiter''. After he died from injuries recei ...

* Walter Maass * Eugen Munder * Wilhelm Murr *

Martin Mutschmann Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947) was a German factory owner who was a financial supporter of the Nazi Party and became the ''Gauleiter'' (Party leader) and ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of the state of Saxony during ...

* Wilhelm Ohnesorge *

Otto Rasch Emil Otto Rasch (7 December 1891 – 1 November 1948) was a high-ranking German Nazi official and Holocaust perpetrator, who commanded '' Einsatzgruppe C'' in northern and central Ukraine until October 1941. After World War II, Rasch was indicte ...

* Friedrich Ringshausen * Alfred Roth * Bernhard Rust *

Fritz Sauckel Ernst Friedrich Christoph Sauckel (27 October 1894 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and convicted war criminal. As General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment ('' Arbeitseinsatz'') from March 1942 until the end of the Second Wor ...

* Franz Xaver Schwarz * Franz Schwede * Wolfram Sievers * Franz Walter Stahlecker * Julius Streicher * Ernst Werner Techow * Otto Telschow * Felix Wankel * Karl Weinrich * Ferdinand Werner

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Roth, Alfred. ''Aus der Kampfzeit des Deutschvölkischen Schutz-und-Trutzbundes. Hamburg, 1939 *Waite, Robert G L. ''Vanguard of Nazism''. 1969, W W Norton and Company

External links

Article from the Historical Dictionary of Bavaria website
* Martin Ulmer: “The Enemy is in the Country: The Jew.” Poster Stamps Printed by the Deutschvölkischen Schutz- und Trutz-Bundes (German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation), in: Key Documents of German-Jewish History, September 22, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Deutschvolkischer Schutz- Und TrutzbUnd Antisemitism in Germany Adolf Hitler's rise to power Ethnic supremacy German nationalist organizations Political organizations in the Weimar Republic 1919 establishments in Germany 1924 disestablishments in Germany Proto-Nazism