Reichskolonialbund

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Flag of the Reichskolonialbund

The Reichskolonialbund (RKB) was the collection organization under Franz Ritter von Epp in the era of National Socialism , in the 1933 to 1943 all colonial organizations (u. A. German colonial society were summarized).

Founding history

It is presented differently, whether it was a compulsory synchronization or a voluntary union in which the various clubs, associations and organizations wanted to bundle their efforts and strengths to regain the former German colonies .

In favor of a voluntary association, there have been efforts since 1923 to bundle the forces of the colonial associations and thus to strengthen them. One result of these efforts was the establishment of the “ Colonial Reich Working Group (KORAG) in 1925 . After various intermediate steps, the Reichskolonialbund was founded on June 10, 1933 as an umbrella organization for diverse, still independent colonial societies and associations. In a second step, in the spring of 1936, under pressure from the National Socialists, the individual organizations were initially dissolved and then on May 12, 1936 a joint association, the new Reich Colonial Association , was founded as a centrally controlled organization (entry in the register of associations on June 12, 1936). Franz Ritter von Epp , who had been Reichsleiter of the NSDAP's Colonial Political Office since May 1934, was elected as federal leader . In the literature there are occasionally misleading information on the date of foundation due to the two-stage development. From 1936 to 1938 Wilhelm Rümann was the general manager and head of staff .

However, the conversion or re-establishment of the RKB in 1936 did not take place in the interests of the NSDAP , as it continued to be a legally independent association - with the emphasis on independence outside the party organization. Two months later, the Reichskolonialbund was therefore to be dissolved again by a decree by the “Deputy Leader”, Rudolf Hess . Only after lengthy negotiations between von Epp and Hitler was this dissolution decree withdrawn in October 1936. The RKB allowed itself to be instrumentalized for propaganda purposes in line with the regime and was tolerated as a non-party organization.

Act

Event for the Day of the Colonial League on May 30, 1942 in Munich; Standing in the middle: Franz Ritter von Epp

The Reichskolonialbund published newspapers and a large number of agitation pamphlets, organized lectures and used various means to campaign to keep the "colonial question" open. He drew the funds for this partly from state support, but mainly from donations, membership fees and income from publishing houses (books and newspapers). The most important regular publications between 1937 and 1943 were "Kolonie und Heimat" and the "Deutsche Kolonialzeitung" . Alf Bayrle designed posters and postcards for the Reichskolonialbund.

In December 1938, the number of members exceeded the limit of 1 million originally set by the NSDAP and continued to grow. Shortly before the dissolution, the RKB was divided on January 1, 1943 into 41 district associations, approx. 900 district associations and 12,800 local associations. It now had 2,160,000 members, including around 50,000 honorary officers.

In addition to dozens of colonial exhibitions, the Reichskolonialbund also organized Reich colonial conferences: 1933 in Frankfurt , 1934 in Kiel , 1935 in Freiburg (1936 in Breslau was canceled), 1938 in Bremen and 1939 in Vienna .

Until 1939, the headquarters of the federal office was the Africa House of the DKG, Am Karlsbad 10, Berlin. In the course of the planned redesign of Berlin, the house was to be demolished and one was forced to move. The new headquarters was Meinekestrasse 18/19 in Berlin.

resolution

At the latest at the beginning of the Second World War (1939), the government's interest in a further discussion about the recovery of the former colonies steadily decreased in favor of the European conquests. The war goal was the " living space in the east " and not the old colonies. After cancellation of the grants and years of toleration, the Reichskolonialbund was finally dissolved on February 15, 1943 on the instructions of Martin Bormann , and the assets were transferred to the NSDAP, i.e. in fact confiscated. With the Control Council Act No. 2 of October 10, 1945, the Reichskolonialbund was banned by the Allied Control Council and a new establishment was prohibited. In the “Law on Denazification and Liberation from Militarism ” of March 5, 1946, it was stated that the Reichskolonialbund was neither a founding of the NSDAP nor a party organization nor an association affiliated with the NSDAP.

Characters and uniform

Membership badge of the Reichskolonialbund: Coat of arms-shaped badge in the colors of the St. Peter's flag with a swastika

In the period between the world wars , the St. Peter's flag, the flag of the German-East African Society (DOAG), was the unifying symbol of all colonial organizations. After the founding of the (new) Reich Colonial Association in 1936, the swastika was included in the coat of arms. The membership pin was worn on the lapel of civilian clothes. However, the badge was tolerated even without a swastika and was worn more often as a patch. The flags were also regularly without swastikas. The associations of the colonial youth , which were incorporated into the Hitler Youth , wore it in addition to the insignia of the Hitler Youth. The Reichskolonialbund did not have its own uniform. However, the uniform of the German Colonial Warrior Association (DKKB) is regularly mistaken for this because their relatives were particularly noticeable when the RKB marches. All DKKB members were automatically members of the RKB and wore a uniform during marches that was based on the uniform of the former imperial protection force .

See also

literature

  • Klaus Hildebrand : From Empire to World Empire. Hitler, NSDAP and the colonial question 1919–1945 (= publications of the Historical Institute of the University of Mannheim. 1, ZDB -ID 1111086-7 ). Fink, Munich 1969, (At the same time: Mannheim, University, dissertation, 1967: Hitler, NSDAP and colonial question, 1919–1945. ).
  • Alexandre Kum'a Ndumbe III. : What did Hitler want in Africa? Nazi planning for a fascist reorganization of Africa (= critical and self-critical research reports on the Third World. 7). Translated from the French by Sven Däne and Petra Liesenborgs. Editing of the German manuscript Richard Lakowsky. IKO - Verlag for Intercultural Communication, Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-88939-104-4 .
  • Karsten Linne: Germany beyond the equator? The NS colonial planning for Africa (= highlights of colonial history. 9). Ch. Links, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86153-500-3 .
  • Wolfe W. Schmokel: The dream of the empire. German colonialism from 1919 to 1945. Sigbert Mohn, Gütersloh 1967.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz von Epp: Call! In: Deutsche Kolonial-Zeitung. No. 8, August 1, 1936, online in the 20th century press kit .
  2. Wolfe W. Schmokel: The dream of the empire. German colonialism from 1919 to 1945. Sigbert Mohn, Gütersloh 1967, p. 42.

Web links

Commons : Reichskolonialbund  - Collection of images, videos and audio files