Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold

The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold (German: [ˈʁaɪçsˌbanɐ ˈʃvaʁts ˈʁoːt ˈɡɔlt], "Black, Red, Gold Banner of the Reich") was an organization in Germany during the Weimar Republic, formed by members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the German Centre Party, and the (liberal) German Democratic Party in 1924. Its goal was to defend parliamentary democracy against internal subversion and extremism from the left and right, to teach the population to respect the new Republic, to honor its flag and the constitution. Its name is derived from the Flag of Germany adopted in 1919, the colors of which were associated with liberal parliamentary democracy and the republic.

While the Reichsbanner was set up as a multiparty organization, it came to be strongly associated with the Social Democratic Party and viewed as their paramilitary force. The headquarters of the Reichsbanner was located in Magdeburg, but it had branches elsewhere.

The Reichsbanner's main opponents were the Communist Party of Germany and their Rotfrontkämpferbund on the left, and the Nazi Party and their Sturmabteilung on the right.

The Reichsbanner was re-established in 1953, as Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, Bund aktiver Demokraten e.V. as an association for political education.

Right wing and nationalist armed groups, like the Stahlhelm or the SA, as well as the left-wing Communist Red Front Fighters had continued to radicalize and intensify the political struggle in Germany. The Reichsbanner was initially formed in reaction to the far right's "Beer Hall" Putsch and far left's Hamburg rebellion, both failed coups, which had taken place at the end of 1923. On 22 February 1924 members of the SPD, the German Centre Party, the German Democratic Party and trade unionists in Magdeburg established the Reichsbanner. However the proportion of Social Democrats in the membership clearly outweighed all others, with estimates of up to 90 per cent.

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