Der NSDFB Stahlhelm: Geschichte, Wesen und Aufgabe des Frontsoldatenbundes (1935) By Berlin, Freiheit Verlag GmbH
Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten (transl. 'The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers'), commonly known as Der Stahlhelm (lit. 'The Steel Helmet') or Stahlhelm BdF ('D.S. BdF'), was a revanchist ex-servicemen's association formed in Germany after the First World War. Dedicated to preserving the camaraderie and sacrifice of German frontline soldiers, it quickly evolved into a highly politicised force of ultranationalist resistance, opposed to the democratic values of the Weimar Republic.
By the 1920s, Der Stahlhelm had become a mass movement with hundreds of thousands of members, ideologically aligned with völkisch nationalist currents: anti-Marxist, anti-Semitic, determined to reverse the Treaty of Versailles, but distinguished from Hitler's National Socialists by their support for a Hohenzollern restoration.
As a cultural and political formation, Der Stahlhelm was instrumental in undermining democratic legitimacy and laying the ideological groundwork for the rise of the Nazi regime, by which it was eventually absorbed.
After the Second World War, a Stahlhelm network was re-established in West Germany. Following a history of supporting fringe nationalist parties, the last functioning local association dissolved itself in 2000.
128 pages with 117 photo plates.
The Stahlelm (Steel Helmets), Bund der Frontsoldaten was one of many paramilitary organisations that arose after the end of the First World War in the Weimar Republic. Its periodical, "Stahlhelm", was edited by Count Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal, who was later hanged for his part in the failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944. In 1934, the organisation was absorbed into the Sturmabteilung (SA) and in 1935 was completely dissolved by the Nazi leadership. This is therefore probably the final publication of the Stahlhelm and is in very good condition
In German Text
- Hard Cover
- 128 pages
- In Poor to Fair Condition
