The () is an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...

for war veterans' and

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

s' associations in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

based in

Rüdesheim am Rhein Rüdesheim am Rhein is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt, Hessen. Know ...

. It owes its name to the

Kyffhäuser Monument The Kyffhäuser Monument (), also known as Barbarossa Monument (), is an Emperor William monuments, Emperor William monument in the Kyffhäuser mountain range in the Germany, German state of Thuringia. It was erected from 1890 to 1896 atop the ...

(), a memorial built on the summit of the 473 m high

Kyffhäuser The Kyffhäuser (,''Duden - Das Aussprachewörterbuch, 7. Auflage (German)'', Dudenverlag, sometimes also referred to as ''Kyffhäusergebirge'') is a hill range in Central Germany, shared by Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, southeast of the Harz mou ...

mountain near Bad Frankenhausen in the state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

in central Germany.

History

The Kyffhäuserbund's origins lie in a section of the Deutscher Kriegerbund () that established a league in 1900 that would unite the formerly scattered German war veterans' associations. Some of these organizations had already been administering the maintenance of the memorial together. The league was initially named Kyffhäuser League of the German Countries' Warriors Associations (), a name that became later abbreviated to Kyffhäuserbund. By 1913, this umbrella organization had already 2.8 million war veterans as its members and it had become one of the largest societies in Germany. During the time of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, the Kyffhäuserbund was instrumentalized against the growing

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

movement in Germany. The difficult circumstances of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

's postwar years led to a significant shrinking of the veterans' associations and their role. During the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

in 1921, this organization shed its federal structure and centralized itself under a common leadership. Following this step, it changed its name to German Warriors Association Kyffhäuser (). In the name of

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...

, the Kyffhäuserbund was nazified after the Nazi takeover of power in 1933. Five years later, its name was altered to Nationalsocialist Reich Warriors Association Kyffhäuser (), becoming the sole and exclusive organization representing the veterans' interests in the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. It was headed by Wilhelm Reinhard from 1934 to its dissolution in 1943. The Kyffhäuserbund was swiftly and unceremoniously disbanded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in March 1943 by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

himself. Apparently, the reason was the German defeat in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. Its assets in the whole Reich were transferred to the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. All its surviving local associations, which in the last phase of the war effort became the breeding ground for

Volkssturm The (, ) was a ''levée en masse'' national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscri ...

units, were also placed under the direct orders of the Nazi Party. After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's defeat in World War II, the Allied military governments issued a special law, Kontrollratsgesetz Nr. 2, for the disbandment and liquidation of the Nazi organizations (Auflösung und Liquidierung der Naziorganisationen) on 10 October 1945. This

denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

decree outlawed the Nazi Party and all of its branches, effectively disbanding the Kyffhäuserbund's avatar that had been established during the Third Reich. The disbandment of the Kyffhäuserbund meant that it had to be established anew during the postwar reconstruction of both

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. The reestablishment of the Kyffhäuser organization with federal state branches began in September 1952 in West Germany, and it was again headed by Reinhard until his death in January 1955. The present-day Kyffhäuserbund emphasizes its role as a

shooting sports Shooting sports is a group of competitive sport, competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airg ...

association.

Uniforms and insignia

Like many other Nazi paramilitary organizations, they also had ranks and uniforms.

Notable Kyffhäuserverband members

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* Richard Heinze * Rudolf Heinze *

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* Werner Kollath *

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* Max Maurenbrecher * Joachim Mrugowsky *

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* Ernst Wahle *

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Notes and references

Kyffhäuserbund e.V.

Kyffhäuser-Bund der Deutschen Landeskriegerverbände e.V.
(Historisches Lexikon Bayerns). * Dieter Fricke et al.: ''Kyffhäuser-Bund der Deutschen Landeskriegerverbände (KB) 1900-1943.'' In: Dieter Fricke (Hrsg.): ''Die bürgerlichen Parteien in Deutschland''. Berlin 1968, S.296–312. * Karl Saul: ''Der "Deutsche Kriegerbund". Zur innenpolitischen Funktion eines nationalen Verbandes im kaiserlichen Deutschland.'' In: ''Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen (MGM).'' 2/1969. S.95–159. * Karl Führer: ''Der "Deutsche Reichskriegerbund Kyffhäuser" 1930-1934. Politik, Ideologie und Funktion eines "unpolitischen" Verbandes.'' In: ''Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen (MGM).'' 2/1984. S.57–76. * Heinz Kleene Das Kriegervereinswesen im Emsland zur Zeit des Kaiserreiches In: Jahrbuch des Emsländ. Heimatbundes Sögel 2005. S.137–159. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyffhauserbund German veterans' organisations Kyffhäuser Non-profit organisations based in Hesse Shooting sports organizations

History

Uniforms and insignia

Notable Kyffhäuserverband members

See also

Notes and references