(; "My honor is alledloyalty") was the official

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of the (SS) from 1931 to 1945.

Origin

In a National Socialist context, the phrase ''Meine Ehre heißt Treue'' refers to a declaration by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

following the Stennes Revolt, an incident between the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'' (SA) and the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' (SS) in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In August 1930, elements of the SA under Walter Stennes stormed and ransacked the offices of the Berlin '' Gau'' of the

National Socialist German Workers' 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 ...

, which prompted

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, the ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' of Berlin, to flee with his staff. A handful of SS men led by

Kurt Daluege Kurt Max Franz Daluege (15 September 1897 – 24 October 1946) was a German ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' and ''Generaloberst'' of the police, the highest ranking police officer, who served as chief of ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police) of N ...

were beaten trying to unsuccessfully repel the SA. After the incident, Hitler wrote a letter of congratulations to Daluege and his men, stating "''... SS-Mann, deine Ehre heißt Treue!''" ("Man of the SS, your honor is loyalty"). Soon afterward, ''

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...

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 ...

, adopted the modified version of this phrase as the official motto of the organisation.

Usage

''Meine Ehre heißt Treue'' was frequently inscribed on SS objects, including honorary daggers and belt buckles of the ''

Allgemeine SS The ''Allgemeine SS'' (; "General SS") was a major branch of the '' Schutzstaffel'' (SS) paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany; it was managed by the SS Main Office (''SS-Hauptamt''). The ''Allgemeine SS'' was officially established in the autu ...

''. Many Germanic SS units (non-German SS units in

German-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly military occupation, militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the governmen ...

) adopted a translation of the motto in their own languages, such as ''Mijn Eer Heet Trouw''/''Mijn Eer is mijn Trouw'' in Dutch, ''Min Ære er Troskap'' in Norwegian, and ''Troskab vor Ære'' in Danish.

Laws

Since 1947, the use of this motto or variations of it are prohibited in Austria and Germany in their laws pertaining to the use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations, e.g. in Germany, ''Strafgesetzbuch 86a''. The sentence is used by some extreme-right organisations. Jurica Živoder (29), a contestant on the Croatian RTL television show "Love is in the countryside", was removed from the show in April 2021 after viewers complained about his "Meine Ehre heißt Treue" tattoo. The producers in response gave a statement: "all his scenes will be cut before airing after discovering he also liked a Facebook page titled 'Adolf Hitler's political beliefs.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meine ehre heisst treue Mottos Nazi SS German words and phrases German political catchphrases 1931 quotations Political terminology in Germany Cults of personality

Origin

Usage

Laws

See also

Notes and references