Blut und Ehre (English: "Blood and Honor") was a Nazi political slogan that was used by the Hitler Youth, among others.
The terms "Blood and Honor" were constitutive concepts of the "Nordic-German Racial Spirit" to Alfred Rosenberg, who developed them in his work The Myth of the 20th Century.[1] Through Rosenberg's Myth, these terms found an entry into the thinking of the Hitler Youth.[2] Four of the collected essays of Rosenberg published between 1936 and 1941 dealt with this concept.
Many Germans knew the terms in this combination that was used by the Hitler Youth. "Blood and Honor" was the title of a songbook. The motto was also embossed in the belt buckle of the Hitler Youth uniform, and between 1933 and 1938 it was also engraved on the blade of the Hitler Youth's hiking knife.
In Germany, the use of this slogan is legally considered to be a use of a symbol of an unconstitutional organization, and is subject to legal penalty.[3] According to a judgement of the Federal Court of Justice in 2009, the use of the English translation "Blood and Honour" is not subject to legal penalty.[4][5]
The motto has been used in translation by several different neo-Nazi organisations. Blood and Honour is an international network of neo-Nazi musical groups. The motto has also been used, in modified form, by followers of Golden Dawn party in Greece.[6] It is part of the motto of the Wagner Group as well.
References
edit- ^ Heinz Schreckenberg: Erziehung, Lebenswelt und Kriegseinsatz der deutschen Jugend unter Adolf Hitler. LIT, Münster 2001. ISBN 3-8258-4433-1. pg. 20
- ^ Heinz Schreckenberg: Erziehung, Lebenswelt und Kriegseinsatz der deutschen Jugend unter Adolf Hitler. LIT, Münster 2001. ISBN 3-8258-4433-1. pg. 213
- ^ Roman Trips-Hebert: Das strafbare Verwenden von Kennzeichen verfassungswidriger Organisationen - § 86a StGB im Spiegel der Rechtsprechung Archived 2011-01-25 at the Wayback Machine. Berlin 2009.
- ^ faz.net 13. August 2009: Nazi-Parolen in fremder Sprache nicht strafbar
- ^ BGHSt 54, S. 61–69.
- ^ "Greece's Golden Dawn isn't a political party – it's more like a criminal gang" guardian.co.uk vom 4. September 2012