Editing Weimar paramilitary groups

{{Short description|1918–1930s armed German civilian groups}}
[[File:Poster of the Freikorps Lützow.jpg|thumb|Recruiting poster for the Freikorps Lützow: "Who will save the Fatherland? That is Lützow's wild, daring pursuit. German men! Soldiers of all weapons! Join our ranks!"]]
'''Weimar paramilitary groups''' were militarily organized units that were formed outside of the regular German Army following the defeat of the [[German Empire]] in [[World War I]]. The most prominent of them, the ''[[Freikorps]]'', were combat units that were supported by the German government and used to suppress uprisings from both the Left and the Right. There were also [[Citizens' Defense]] ({{Lang|de|Einwohnerwehr}}) groups to maintain public order<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Bucher |first=Peter |date=January 1971 |title=Zur Geschichte der Einwohnerwehren in Preußen 1918–1921 |trans-title=On the History of Citizens' Defense in Prussia 1918–1921 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1524/mgzs.1971.9.1.15/html |journal=Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift |language=de |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=15–60|doi=10.1524/mgzs.1971.9.1.15 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and paramilitary groups associated with specific political parties to protect and promote their interests.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sammartino |first=Annemarie |date=3 March 2021 |editor-last=Daniel |editor-first=Ute |editor2-last=Gatrell |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Janz |editor3-first=Oliver |editor4-last=Jones |editor4-first=Heather |editor5-last=Keene |editor5-first=Jennifer |editor6-last=Kramer |editor6-first=Alan |editor7-last=Nasson |editor7-first=Bill |title=Paramilitary Violence |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/paramilitary-violence-1-2/#toc_germany |access-date=10 July 2024 |website=1914–1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War |publisher=Freie Universität Berlin |doi=10.15463/ie1418.10398/1.2}}</ref>

Most who volunteered for the paramilitary groups came from the 6 million German soldiers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schumann |first=Dirk |date=8 October 2014 |editor-last=Daniel |editor-first=Ute |editor2-last=Gatrell |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Janz |editor3-first=Oliver |editor4-last=Jones |editor4-first=Heather |editor5-last=Keene |editor5-first=Jennifer |editor6-last=Kramer |editor6-first=Alan |editor7-last=Nasson |editor7-first=Bill |title=Post-war Societies (Germany) |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/post-war-societies-germany/#toc_military_self-demobilization |access-date=16 July 2014 |website=1914–1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War |publisher=Freie Universität Berlin}}</ref> who returned from the war to a country in the midst of the turmoil of the [[German revolution of 1918–1919|German revolution]], which overthrew the [[Hohenzollern monarchy]] and established the [[Weimar Republic]]. The Freikorps especially took part in significant [[Freikorps in the Baltic|fighting in the Baltics]], [[Silesian Uprisings#Third Uprising (1921)|Silesia]], Berlin during the [[Spartacist uprising]] and the [[Ruhr uprising|Ruhr during the 1920 uprising]] there.<ref name=":0" /> The paramilitary groups as a whole contributed significantly to the remilitarization of Germany between the wars.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Mommsen |first=Hans |title=The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-807-82249-4 |location=Chapel Hill |page=39 |translator-last=Forster |translator-first=Elborg |translator-last2=Jones |translator-first2=Larry Eugene}}</ref>

The Citizens' Defense groups were disbanded in 1920 and the ''Freikorps'' in 1921 because the government came to see them as threats and because of pressure from the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], who feared that the paramilitary groups were being used to circumvent the 100,000 man limit on the German Army imposed by the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Tim |title=Frontiers of Violence. Conflict and Identity in Ulster and Upper Silesia 1918-1922 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-199-58371-3 |location=Oxford |pages=83}}</ref> The paramilitary groups connected with political parties lasted throughout the life of the Weimar Republic and in the case of the [[Nazi Party]]'s ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA), beyond its end.

== Freikorps ==
{{Main|Freikorps}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2006-0049, Revolution in Bayern, Gardeschützendivision.jpg|thumb|335x335px|The Guards Cavalry Rifle Division ({{Lang|de|Garde-Kavallerie-Schützen-Division}}), a major ''Freikorps'' unit, enters Munich after crushing the [[Munich Soviet Republic]].]]
In the aftermath of [[World War I]] and during the [[German revolution of 1918–1919]], {{lang|de|Freikorps}} units consisting largely of World War I veterans were raised as paramilitary militias. They were armed with the rifles they had returned with from the front; infantry and cavalry units also had machine guns and mortars.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Scriba |first=Arnulf |date=1 September 2014 |title=Freikorps |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/revolution-191819/freikorps.html |access-date=21 July 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> While exact numbers are difficult to determine, it is estimated that some 500,000 men were formal Freikorps members with another 1.5 million participating informally.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Bucholtz |first=Mattheis |date=7 July 2017 |editor-last=Daniel |editor-first=Ute |editor2-last=Gatrell |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Janz |editor3-first=Oliver |editor4-last=Jones |editor4-first=Heather |editor5-last=Keene |editor5-first=Jennifer |editor6-last=Kramer |editor6-first=Alan |editor7-last=Nasson |editor7-first=Bill |title=Freikorps |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/freikorps/ |access-date=10 July 2024 |website=1914–1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War |publisher=Freie Universität Berlin |doi=}}</ref>

In the early days of the German revolution, the [[Council of the People's Deputies]], the revolutionary government led by [[Friedrich Ebert]] of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]], needed reliable troops in Berlin to protect its position. In consultation with the [[Oberste Heeresleitung|Army High Command]] (OHL), the Council reached an agreement to form the voluntary ''Freikorps'' units. Most of their members were anti-communist monarchists who saw no clear future in the revolutionary Germany that they had returned home to. They did not fight in support of the revolutionary government or the Weimar Republic after it was formed, but against its enemies from the political left, who they saw as Germany's enemies.<ref name=":3" />

''Freikorps'' units suppressed the [[Marxism|Marxist]] [[Spartacist uprising]] and were responsible for the extrajudicial executions of revolutionary communist leaders [[Karl Liebknecht]] and [[Rosa Luxemburg]] on 15 January 1919.<ref name="Jones_2004_p270">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Nigel |title=A brief history of the birth of the Nazis |date=2004 |publisher=Robinson |isbn=1-84119-925-7 |edition=Rev. & updated |location=London |page=270 |oclc=224053608}}</ref> The ''Freikorps'' also [[Freikorps in the Baltic|fought in the Baltic]] against [[Soviet Russia]] and were instrumental in putting down the [[Munich Soviet Republic]], the [[Ruhr uprising]] and the [[Silesian Uprisings#Third Uprising (1921)|Third Silesian uprising]]. The [[Kapp Putsch]] of March 1920, a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the Weimar Republic, drew its military support from the ''Freikorps'', in particular the [[Marinebrigade Ehrhardt]]. It was after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, and under Allied pressure to keep both Germany's official and unofficial military forces at the 100,000 man limit, that the ''Freikorps'' were officially disbanded in the spring of 1920. Some ''Freikorps'' members were then accepted into the ''[[Reichswehr]]'', Germany's official army, but more joined the [[Nazi Stormtroopers]] (SA), illegal far right formations such as the [[Organisation Consul]], or groups such as the [[Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten|Stahlhelm]] that were associated with political parties.<ref name=":3" />

=== ''Freikorps'' units ===
For a list of major ''Freikorps'' units during the Weimar era, see [[Freikorps#Freikorps groups and divisions|''Freikorps'' groups and divisions]].

== Citizens' Defense ==
{{Main|Citizens' Defense}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0333, Königsplatz, Festakt der Einwohnerwehren.jpg|thumb|314x314px|Celebration in 1920 of the Citizens' Defense forces at Munich's [[Königsplatz, Munich|Königsplatz]]|left]]
The [[Citizens' Defense]] paramilitary groups were voluntary, honorary associations based on part-time membership that performed self-protection tasks in local areas. They emerged in 1918 after the end of the First World War to ensure the maintenance of public order in cooperation with state authorities.<ref name=":4" /> After the [[Spartacist uprising]] in Berlin in January 1919, the [[Reichswehr Ministry]] instructed all general commands on 22 March 1919 to develop local militia groups into centrally controlled citizens' defense groups at the state level according to a uniform model. The newly created units were then to be directly subordinate to the [[Reichswehr]] leadership. In an emergency the citizens' defense forces were to serve as an army reserve.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Zeitschrift für Militärgeschichte. Volume 3 1964 |publisher=Deutscher Militärverlag |year=1964 |location=Berlin |page=33 |language=de |trans-title=Journal of Military History. Volume 3 1964}}</ref>

Instead of becoming a pillar of support for the parliamentary system, some of the citizens' defense forces developed into anti-republican groups that were largely outside the control of the government and thus a threat to the Republic. As a result of the Allied disarmament requirements, the Citizens' Defense forces at Reich level were released from their military subordination and placed under the control of the individual state ministries. The Allies continued to regard them as a military reserve formation that was to be disbanded in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. After the failed Kapp Putsch, the Prussian minister of the Interior ordered the dissolution of the Citizens' Defense groups. His order was followed by the other states in the summer of 1920. Only [[Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)|Bavaria]], where the groups had been most active, refused to disband its forces and kept them alive for another year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thoß |first=Bruno |date=25 January 2024 |title=Einwohnerwehren, 1919–1921 |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Einwohnerwehren,_1919-1921 |access-date=20 July 2024 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref>

==Groups affiliated with political parties==
=== Right-wing ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P046284, Berlin, Reichspräsidentenwahl, Werbung "Stahlhelm".jpg|thumb|266x266px|''Der Stahlhelm'' propaganda car in Berlin promoting [[DNVP]] nominee [[Theodor Duesterberg]] for president of Germany in the [[1932 German presidential election|1932 election]]. The message on the truck reads: "Whoever wants a true people's community votes for Duesterberg, the German man".]]
* ''[[Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten]]'' (The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers), was officially a veterans' organization with about 500,000 members. Led by [[Franz Seldte]] and with ties at the leadership level to the ''Reichswehr'', it was opposed to the Weimar Republic and politically close to the [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP) and other conservative groups. In 1931 it formed part of the [[Harzburg Front]], an anti-democratic political alliance that included the [[Nazi Party]]. In 1934 it was integrated into the SA and dissolved in 1935.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asmuss |first=Burkhard |date=14 September 2014 |title=Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten |trans-title=The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/stahlhelm-bund-der-frontsoldaten.html |access-date=22 July 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref>
* ''[[Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund]]'' (German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation) was an antisemitic [[Völkisch movement|''völkisch'']] group led by [[Alfred Roth (politician)|Alfred Roth]]. Its membership peaked at about 200,000 when it was banned by the German government in 1922. It was notable for its revisionist propaganda regarding Germany's defeat in World War I and for attacking Jews, [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]] and middle-class supporters of the Republic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leicht |first=Johannes |date=25 June 2015 |title=Der Deutschvölkische Schutz- und Trutzbund |trans-title=German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/antisemitismus/der-deutschvoelkische-schutz-und-trutzbund.html |access-date=22 July 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref>
* ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA; English "Storm Division") was formed by [[Adolf Hitler]] in 1921, with most of its members coming from the ''Freikorps''. As part of the Nazi Party, it protected its meetings, marched in its rallies and was often involved in street violence against members of the political left. Led by [[Ernst Röhm]] beginning in 1931, it had an estimated 2,000,000 members when Hitler became German chancellor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 May 2024 |title=SA |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/SA-Nazi-organization |access-date=22 July 2024 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>
* ''[[Kampfbund]]'' (Battle League) was a Bavarian umbrella group involving the SA, the [[Freikorps Oberland]] and the ''[[Bund Reichskriegsflagge]]'' (Imperial War Flag Society). It was created on 1 September 1923 to consolidate and streamline their agendas after the government in Berlin called off passive resistance to the French and Belgian [[occupation of the Ruhr]]. It planned and conducted the [[Beer Hall Putsch]] and disbanded after it failed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zelnhefer |first=Siegfried |date=8 September 2021 |title=Deutscher Kampfbund, 1923 |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Deutscher_Kampfbund,_1923 |access-date=23 July 2024 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref>

=== Center to center-left ===
* ''[[Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold]]'' (Reich Banner Black-Red-Gold) was devoted to the defense of the Weimar Republic. It was founded by former front-line soldiers of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (who made up the majority of the group), the [[German Democratic Party]] and the Catholic [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]]. Organized militarily, its main opponents were the Nazi SA and the [[Communist Party of Germany]]'s ''[[Roter Frontkämpferbund]]''. The ''Reichsbanner'' claimed more than three million members at its peak and was banned by the Nazis in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold at a Mass Rally in Potsdam (October 26, 1924) |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=4030 |access-date=23 July 2024 |website=German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 May 2024 |title=Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold |url=https://www.spd-geschichtswerkstatt.de/wiki/Reichsbanner_Schwarz-Rot-Gold |access-date=23 July 2024 |website=Geschichtswerkstatt in der SPD Schleswig-Holstein |language=de}}</ref>
* [[Iron Front|''Eiserne Front'']] (Iron Front) brought together the ''Reichsbanner'', free labor unions and workers' gymnastics and sports associations in 1931 in response to the far right's [[Harzburg Front]]. Not itself organized as a paramilitary, the Iron Front's central goal was to strengthen the Social Democrats in the [[July 1932 German federal election|1932 Reichstag election]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elsbach |first=Sebastian |date=2 April 2019 |title=Die Eiserne Front |trans-title=The Iron Front |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/die-eiserne-front.html |access-date=23 July 2023 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref>
* ''[[Jungdeutscher Orden]]'' (Young German Order) was a nationalist and antisemitic association founded by [[Artur Mahraun]]. Initially a paramilitary, it changed into a more politically oriented group with the goal of recreating the camaraderie experienced by soldiers at the front during [[World War I]] in order to overcome class and social differences in German society. In 1930, its political arm merged with the liberal [[German Democratic Party]] to form the short-lived [[German State Party]]. The Young German Order was banned by the Nazis in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 January 2023 |title=Jungdeutscher Orden, Bruderschaften Leer und Rheiderland |trans-title=Young German Order, Leer and Rheiderland Brotherhoods |url=https://www.archivportal-d.de/item/SB5EQLYDPJ5WXAODHRL2XRKQJPXYYO3R |access-date=25 July 2024 |website=Archivportal-D |language=de}}</ref>

=== Left-wing ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-05976, Berlin, Pfingstreffen der Rot-Front-Kämpfer.jpg|thumb|288x288px|Assembly of the Communist Party's ''[[Roter Frontkämpferbund]]'' at the [[Berlin Cathedral]] in 1928]]
* ''[[Roter Frontkämpferbund]]'' (Red Front Fighters' League) was founded by the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD) in 1924 and attained a peak membership of 110,000. It was banned across Germany in 1929 after the ''[[Blutmai]]'' demonstrations in Berlin that left 33 dead. Despite the ban, it engaged in frequent street battles with the Nazi SA until Hitler came to power in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asmuss |first=Burkhard |date=8 June 2011 |title=Der Rote Frontkämpferbund |trans-title=The Red Front Fighters' League |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/roter-frontkaempferbund.html |access-date=23 July 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref>
* ''Antifaschistische Junge Garde'' (Young Antifascist Guard) was the youth wing of the [[Communist Party of Germany|KPD]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kater |first=Michael H. |title=Hitler Youth |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2004 |location=Cambridge, MA |page=7 |chapter=Make Way, You Old Ones!}}</ref> and was banned in 1933.
* {{ill|Kampfbund gegen den Faschismus|de}} (Fighting League against Fascism) was the successor to the ''Roter Frontkämpferbund'' after it was banned in 1929. The ''Kampfbund'' itself was banned in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mühldorfer |first=Friedbert |date=27 April 1922 |title=Kampfbund gegen den Faschismus, 1930–1933 |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Kampfbund_gegen_den_Faschismus,_1930-1933 |access-date=24 July 2024 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref>
* ''[[Antifaschistische Aktion]]'' (Antifascist Action) was founded in 1932 and affiliated with the [[Communist Party of Germany|KPD]]. Its primary activity was to boost the KPD campaign during the [[July 1932 German federal election|July 1932]] and [[November 1932 German federal election]]s. It was banned in 1933.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pieroth |first=Stephan |title=Parteien und Presse in Rheinland-Pfalz 1945–1971: ein Beitrag zur Mediengeschichte unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Mainzer SPD-Zeitung 'Die Freiheit' |publisher=v. Hase & Koehler Verlag |year=1994 |isbn=978-3-775-81326-6 |location=Mainz |page=96 |language=de |trans-title=Political Party and Press in Rhineland-Palatinate 1945–1971: A Contribution to Media History with Special Consideration of the Mainz SPD Newspaper 'Die Freiheit'}}</ref>
* [[Rote Ruhrarmee]] (Ruhr Red Army) was an army of approximately 50,000 workers that formed in the industrialized [[Ruhr district]] during the [[Kapp Putsch]] with the goal of establishing a council republic. Not a true paramilitary in structure, it was suppressed with considerable loss of life by government troops and ''Freikorps'' units in what was known as the [[Ruhr uprising]] (13 March – 12 April 1920).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kämpfe der "Roten Ruhrarmee" |trans-title=Battles of the "Ruhr Red Army" |url=https://weimar.bundesarchiv.de/WEIMAR/DE/Content/Dokumente-zur-Zeitgeschichte/1920-03-15_Rote_Ruhrarmee.html |access-date=24 July 2024 |website=Bundesarchiv |language=de}}</ref>
* ''[[Schwarze Scharen]]'' (Black Band) were resistance groups of anarchist and [[anarcho-syndicalist]] youth affiliated with the [[Free Workers' Union of Germany]] (FAUD). The Black Band was banned in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rübner |first=Hartmut |title=Freiheit und Brot. 11. Der Anarchosyndikalismus als soziokulturelle Bewegung abseits gewerkschaftlicher Zusammenhänge |trans-title=Freedom and Bread. 11. Anarcho-syndicalism as a Socio-cultural Movement outside of Trade Union Context |url=http://ur.dadaweb.de/ask51116.htm |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Datenbank des deutschsprachigen Anarchismus |language=de}}</ref>

Similar organisations existed in the [[First Austrian Republic]], most notably the [[Republikanischer Schutzbund|''Schutzbund'']] and the [[Heimwehr]].

==See also==
* [[Black Reichswehr]]
* [[Weimar political parties]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
* {{Cite thesis
  |last= Koepp |first= Roy G. |year= 2010
  |title= Conservative Radicals: The Einwohnerwehr, Bund Bayern Und Reich, and the Limits of Paramilitary Politics in Bavaria, 1918–1928 |type= PhD thesis
  |url= http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=historydiss
  |location= Lincoln, Nebraska |publisher= [[University of Nebraska]] }}
* {{Cite book |last= Payne |first= Stanley G. |year= 1995 |title= The History of Fascism, 1914–1945 |location= Madison, Wisconsin |publisher= [[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn= 978-0299148744 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780299148744 }}
* {{Cite book
  |last=Rosenhaft |first=Eve | year= 1983
  |title=Beating the Fascists?: The German Communists and Political Violence 1929-1933
  |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521089388}}

'''Further reading'''
* Waite, Robert G. L. (1952) ''Vanguard of Nazism: The Free Corps Movement in Postwar Germany 1918-1923'', Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weimar Paramilitary Groups}}
[[Category:Paramilitary organisations of the Weimar Republic| ]]
[[Category:Military wings of political parties]]
[[Category:Reichswehr]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War I in Germany]]