Horst Wessel
Encyclopedia
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German
Nazi
activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930. He was the author of the lyrics to the song "Die Fahne hoch" ("The Flag On High"), usually known as Horst-Wessel-Lied
("the Horst Wessel Song"), which became the Nazi Party anthem and, de facto, Germany's co-national anthem from 1933 to 1945.
in Westphalia
, the son of Dr. Ludwig Wessel, a Lutheran minister at the Nikolaikirche
, one of Berlin's oldest churches. Wessel's mother, Luise Margarete Wessel, also came from a family of Lutheran pastors. The family lived in the nearby Judenstraße
(the Jews' Street), which in mediaeval times had been the centre of Berlin's Jewish community. Wessel's father was a supporter of the monarchist German National People's Party
(DNVP), and when he was 15, Wessel joined the DNVP youth group, the Bismarckjugend
. He soon became a local leader, engaging in street battles with youth members of the Social Democratic Party and Communist Party
.
Wessel attended the Volksschule (primary school) of Köllnisches Gymnasium from 1914 to 1922, thereafter the Königstädtisches Gymnasium (high school) and for his final year of school the Luisenstädtisches Gymnasium, where he passed his Abitur
examination. In April 1926 he enrolled in the law faculty of Friedrich Wilhelm University Unter den Linden
.
By 1926 Wessel had become too radical for the German National People's Party
, and in December of that year he joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party), and its paramilitary organisation, the Sturmabteilung
(SA).
Wessel soon impressed Joseph Goebbels
, the Nazi Party's Gauleiter
, and in January 1928, during a period when the Berlin city authorities had banned the SA in an effort to curb political street violence, Wessel was sent on a trip to Vienna
, to study Nazi organisational and tactical methods. In May 1929, Wessel was appointed leader of SA-Troop 34, based in the Friedrichshain
district, where he lived. In October 1929 he dropped out of university to devote himself fulltime to the Nazi movement.
Wessel played the schalmei (shawm
), a type of oboe popular in Germany, and he founded an SA Schalmeienkapelle (shawm band), which provided music during SA events. In early 1929, Wessel wrote the lyrics for a new Nazi fight song (Kampflied), which was first published in Goebbels's newspaper Der Angriff
in September, under the title "Der Unbekannte SA-Mann" (the Unknown SA-Man). This song later became known as "Die Fahne hoch" and as the "Horst Wessel Song". It was later claimed by the Nazis that Wessel also wrote the music, but the tune was likely taken from a World War I
German Imperial Navy
song, and is probably originally a folk song.
At that time, the Alexanderplatz
, the centre of Berlin's nightlife, was part of the territory of Wessel's SA troop. In September 1929, he met Erna Jänicke, an 18-year-old prostitute, in a bar. Soon he moved into her apartment in Große Frankfurter Straße (today Karl-Marx-Allee
). The landlady was Elisabeth Salm, whose late husband had been an active Communist. After a few months, there was a dispute between Salm and Wessel over unpaid rent.
In the evening of 14 January 1930, Wessel answered a knock on his door, and was shot in the face by an assailant who then fled the scene. Wessel lingered in hospital until he died on 23 February. Albrecht Höhler, an active member of the local Communist Party (KPD) branch was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the shooting, and was executed by the Gestapo
after the Nazi accession to power in 1933. The KPD, however, denied any knowledge of the attack and said it resulted from a dispute over money between Wessel and his landlady. It is possible that Salm asked her late husband's old comrades to help deal with her recalcitrant tenant. Another version says Wessel's murderer was a rival for the affections of Jänicke. It is also possible the shooting was revenge by local Communists for Wessel's alleged role in the murder of a 17-year-old Communist, Camillo Ross, earlier in the day..
speeches were made at gravesides, but Wessel received unusual attention among the many unremembered storm troopers.
Wessel was buried on 1 March in the Nikolaifriedhof, in Prenzlauer Allee. It was reported that 30,000 people lined the streets to see the funeral procession. Goebbels delivered the eulogy in the presence of Hermann Göring
and Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia
, son of former emperor Wilhelm II, who had joined the SA. His story was spread over Germany; when Naumann, a student who worked for Goebbels, had attended the funeral and taken the train to Gorlitz, he found that everyone at a Nazi rally was speaking of Wessel, and when they discovered he had attended the burial, insisted on his taking the stage to tell them of it. In an editorial in the Völkischer Beobachter
, Alfred Rosenberg
wrote of how Wessel was not dead, but had joined a combat group that still struggled with them; afterwards, Nazis spoke of how a man who died in conflict had joined "Horst Wessel's combat group" or were "summoned to Horst Wessel's standard."
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, an elaborate memorial was erected over the grave, and it became the site of annual pilgrimages by the Nazis, at which the Horst Wessel Song was sung and speeches made.
Nazi propaganda glorified his life. The bimonthly Der Brunnen - Für deutsche Lebensart (Frithjof Fischer ed.) in its issue of 2 Jan 1934 declared: "How high Horst Wessel towers over that Jesus of Nazareth - that Jesus who pleaded that the bitter cup be taken from him. How unattainably high all Horst Wessels stand above Jesus!" Wessel was commemorated in memorials, books and films. Hanns Heinz Ewers
wrote a novelistic biography of him.
". Part of the problem was that the authentic depiction of Stormtroopers, including picking fights with Communists, did not fit the more reasonable tone the Nazis adopted while in power; Westmar does not alienate his family and preached class reconciliation. It was, however, among the first films to depict dying for Hitler as a glorious death for Germany, resulting in his spirit inspiring his comrades.
, where Wessel died, was renamed Horst Wessel, and a square in the Mitte district, Bülowplatz, was renamed Horst-Wessel-Platz, as was the U-Bahn
station nearby. After the war the name Friedrichshain was restored, and Horst-Wessel-Platz (which was in East Berlin
), became Liebknechtplatz (after Karl Liebknecht
). In 1947 it was renamed Luxemburg-Platz after Rosa Luxemburg
(since 1969 more precisely Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
).
In 1936, the German Navy
(Kriegsmarine) commissioned a three-masted training ship and named her the Horst Wessel. The ship was taken as a war prize by the United States after World War II
. After repairs and modifications, she was commissioned on 15 May 1946 into the United States Coast Guard
as the , and is still in service.
Examples of German military units adopting the name of the Nazi-era "martyr" in World War II include the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division, known as the "Horst Wessel" Division, and the World War II era Luftwaffe's 26th Destroyer (or heavy fighter) Wing (Zerstörergeschwader 26
), as well as its successor day fighter unit Jagdgeschwader 6
, which was similarly named the "Horst Wessel" wing. During the Battle of Britain
, one successful attack on British planes was celebrated as the name of Horst Wessel represented absolute "devotion to duty", so too would they carry on until victory.
, along with the first stanza of the Deutschlandlied. With the end of the Nazi regime in 1945, the Horst-Wessel-Lied was banned, and the lyrics and tune are illegal in Germany and Austria except for educational purposes. In early 2011, this resulted in an investigation against Amazon and Apple for selling the song to German users.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930. He was the author of the lyrics to the song "Die Fahne hoch" ("The Flag On High"), usually known as Horst-Wessel-Lied
Horst-Wessel-Lied
The Horst-Wessel-Lied , also known as Die Fahne hoch from its opening line, was the anthem of the Nazi Party from 1930 to 1945...
("the Horst Wessel Song"), which became the Nazi Party anthem and, de facto, Germany's co-national anthem from 1933 to 1945.
Early life
Wessel was born in BielefeldBielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
in Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
, the son of Dr. Ludwig Wessel, a Lutheran minister at the Nikolaikirche
Nikolaikirche (Berlin)
The Church of St. Nicholas is the oldest church in Berlin, the capital of Germany. The church is located in the eastern part of central Berlin, the borough of Mitte...
, one of Berlin's oldest churches. Wessel's mother, Luise Margarete Wessel, also came from a family of Lutheran pastors. The family lived in the nearby Judenstraße
Jüdenstrasse (Berlin)
The Jüdenstraße , is a street in central Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is in the borough of Mitte and runs between Rathausstraße and Stralauer Straße, next to the Rotes Rathaus, Berlin's town hall...
(the Jews' Street), which in mediaeval times had been the centre of Berlin's Jewish community. Wessel's father was a supporter of the monarchist German National People's Party
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party was a national conservative party in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the NSDAP it was the main nationalist party in Weimar Germany composed of nationalists, reactionary monarchists, völkisch, and antisemitic elements, and...
(DNVP), and when he was 15, Wessel joined the DNVP youth group, the Bismarckjugend
Bismarckjugend
Bismarckjugend, 'Bismarck Youth', was an anti-Marxist youth movement in Weimar Germany. Bismarckjugend was the youth wing of the monarchist German National People's Party .-History:...
. He soon became a local leader, engaging in street battles with youth members of the Social Democratic Party and Communist Party
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
.
Wessel attended the Volksschule (primary school) of Köllnisches Gymnasium from 1914 to 1922, thereafter the Königstädtisches Gymnasium (high school) and for his final year of school the Luisenstädtisches Gymnasium, where he passed his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
examination. In April 1926 he enrolled in the law faculty of Friedrich Wilhelm University Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
.
Nazi activist
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party was a national conservative party in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the NSDAP it was the main nationalist party in Weimar Germany composed of nationalists, reactionary monarchists, völkisch, and antisemitic elements, and...
, and in December of that year he joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party), and its paramilitary organisation, the Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
(SA).
Wessel soon impressed Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, the Nazi Party's Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
, and in January 1928, during a period when the Berlin city authorities had banned the SA in an effort to curb political street violence, Wessel was sent on a trip to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, to study Nazi organisational and tactical methods. In May 1929, Wessel was appointed leader of SA-Troop 34, based in the Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain
Friedrichshain is a part of Berlin's borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and like Kreuzberg across the river it has its own distinct character, with the result that the new double name is hardly ever used outside government administration. From its creation in 1920 until Berlin's 2001...
district, where he lived. In October 1929 he dropped out of university to devote himself fulltime to the Nazi movement.
Wessel played the schalmei (shawm
Shawm
The shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
), a type of oboe popular in Germany, and he founded an SA Schalmeienkapelle (shawm band), which provided music during SA events. In early 1929, Wessel wrote the lyrics for a new Nazi fight song (Kampflied), which was first published in Goebbels's newspaper Der Angriff
Der Angriff
Der Angriff was a German language newspaper founded in 1927 by the Berlin Gau of the Nazi Party.The newspaper was set up by Joseph Goebbels, who in 1926 had become the Nazi Party leader in Berlin, and the party provided most of the money needed to ensure publication...
in September, under the title "Der Unbekannte SA-Mann" (the Unknown SA-Man). This song later became known as "Die Fahne hoch" and as the "Horst Wessel Song". It was later claimed by the Nazis that Wessel also wrote the music, but the tune was likely taken from a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
German Imperial Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
song, and is probably originally a folk song.
At that time, the Alexanderplatz
Alexanderplatz
Alexanderplatz is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin, near the Fernsehturm. Berliners often call it simply Alex, referring to a larger neighborhood stretching from Mollstraße in the northeast to Spandauer Straße and the City Hall in the southwest.-Early...
, the centre of Berlin's nightlife, was part of the territory of Wessel's SA troop. In September 1929, he met Erna Jänicke, an 18-year-old prostitute, in a bar. Soon he moved into her apartment in Große Frankfurter Straße (today Karl-Marx-Allee
Karl-Marx-Allee
The Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx....
). The landlady was Elisabeth Salm, whose late husband had been an active Communist. After a few months, there was a dispute between Salm and Wessel over unpaid rent.
In the evening of 14 January 1930, Wessel answered a knock on his door, and was shot in the face by an assailant who then fled the scene. Wessel lingered in hospital until he died on 23 February. Albrecht Höhler, an active member of the local Communist Party (KPD) branch was sentenced to six years imprisonment for the shooting, and was executed by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
after the Nazi accession to power in 1933. The KPD, however, denied any knowledge of the attack and said it resulted from a dispute over money between Wessel and his landlady. It is possible that Salm asked her late husband's old comrades to help deal with her recalcitrant tenant. Another version says Wessel's murderer was a rival for the affections of Jänicke. It is also possible the shooting was revenge by local Communists for Wessel's alleged role in the murder of a 17-year-old Communist, Camillo Ross, earlier in the day..
Posthumous fame
Wessel was elevated by Goebbels' propaganda apparatus to the status of leading martyr of the Nazi movement. Goebbels himself began the process with his 17 February 1930 account of Wessel's death "Raise High the Flag!" Many of Goebbels's most effective propagandaPropaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
speeches were made at gravesides, but Wessel received unusual attention among the many unremembered storm troopers.
Wessel was buried on 1 March in the Nikolaifriedhof, in Prenzlauer Allee. It was reported that 30,000 people lined the streets to see the funeral procession. Goebbels delivered the eulogy in the presence of Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
and Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia
Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia
Prince August Wilhelm Heinrich Günther Viktor of Prussia , called "Auwi", was the fourth son of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein....
, son of former emperor Wilhelm II, who had joined the SA. His story was spread over Germany; when Naumann, a student who worked for Goebbels, had attended the funeral and taken the train to Gorlitz, he found that everyone at a Nazi rally was speaking of Wessel, and when they discovered he had attended the burial, insisted on his taking the stage to tell them of it. In an editorial in the Völkischer Beobachter
Völkischer Beobachter
The Völkischer Beobachter was the newspaper of the National Socialist German Workers' Party from 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from February 8, 1923...
, Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
wrote of how Wessel was not dead, but had joined a combat group that still struggled with them; afterwards, Nazis spoke of how a man who died in conflict had joined "Horst Wessel's combat group" or were "summoned to Horst Wessel's standard."
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, an elaborate memorial was erected over the grave, and it became the site of annual pilgrimages by the Nazis, at which the Horst Wessel Song was sung and speeches made.
Nazi propaganda glorified his life. The bimonthly Der Brunnen - Für deutsche Lebensart (Frithjof Fischer ed.) in its issue of 2 Jan 1934 declared: "How high Horst Wessel towers over that Jesus of Nazareth - that Jesus who pleaded that the bitter cup be taken from him. How unattainably high all Horst Wessels stand above Jesus!" Wessel was commemorated in memorials, books and films. Hanns Heinz Ewers
Hanns Heinz Ewers
Hanns Heinz Ewers was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilogy of novels about the adventures of Frank Braun, a character modeled on himself...
wrote a novelistic biography of him.
Hans Westmar
One of the first films of the Nazi era was an idealised version of his life, based on Ewers' book. Goebbels, however, disliked the film and temporarily banned it, eventually allowing its release with alterations and with the main character's name changed to the fictional "Hans WestmarHans Westmar. Einer von vielen. Ein deutsches Schicksal aus dem Jahre 1929
Hans Westmar. Einer von vielen. Ein deutsches Schicksal aus dem Jahre 1929 was the last of an unofficial trilogy of films commissioned by the Nazis shortly after coming to power in January 1933, celebrating their Kampfzeit - a mythologized history of their period in opposition, struggling to gain...
". Part of the problem was that the authentic depiction of Stormtroopers, including picking fights with Communists, did not fit the more reasonable tone the Nazis adopted while in power; Westmar does not alienate his family and preached class reconciliation. It was, however, among the first films to depict dying for Hitler as a glorious death for Germany, resulting in his spirit inspiring his comrades.
Memorial namings
The Berlin district of FriedrichshainFriedrichshain
Friedrichshain is a part of Berlin's borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and like Kreuzberg across the river it has its own distinct character, with the result that the new double name is hardly ever used outside government administration. From its creation in 1920 until Berlin's 2001...
, where Wessel died, was renamed Horst Wessel, and a square in the Mitte district, Bülowplatz, was renamed Horst-Wessel-Platz, as was the U-Bahn
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
station nearby. After the war the name Friedrichshain was restored, and Horst-Wessel-Platz (which was in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
), became Liebknechtplatz (after Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
). In 1947 it was renamed Luxemburg-Platz after Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen...
(since 1969 more precisely Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
The Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz is a square in Berlin-Mitte, Germany.The square is dominated by the Volksbühne and by the Karl-Liebknecht-Haus, the headquarters of the German Left Party...
).
In 1936, the German Navy
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
(Kriegsmarine) commissioned a three-masted training ship and named her the Horst Wessel. The ship was taken as a war prize by the United States after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After repairs and modifications, she was commissioned on 15 May 1946 into the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
as the , and is still in service.
Examples of German military units adopting the name of the Nazi-era "martyr" in World War II include the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division, known as the "Horst Wessel" Division, and the World War II era Luftwaffe's 26th Destroyer (or heavy fighter) Wing (Zerstörergeschwader 26
Zerstörergeschwader 26
Zerstörergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy/destroyer Fighter Aircraft-wing of World War II.-History:Zerstörergeschwader 26 was formed in early 1936 from the Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel". The Geschwaderstab and I. Gruppe was located in Dortmund, II. Gruppe in Werl and III....
), as well as its successor day fighter unit Jagdgeschwader 6
Jagdgeschwader 6
Jagdgeschwader 6 Horst Wessel was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The first Geschwaderkommodore was Oberstleutnant Johann Kogler who became a POW during the Operation Bodenplatte when he crashed and was taken prisoner by British troops on 1 January 1945.JG 6 was created on October 13,...
, which was similarly named the "Horst Wessel" wing. During the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, one successful attack on British planes was celebrated as the name of Horst Wessel represented absolute "devotion to duty", so too would they carry on until victory.
Song
The "martyrdom" of Horst Wessel led directly to the Horst-Wessel-Lied, also known as Die Fahne hoch ("The Flag On High") from its opening line, being promoted as the anthem of the Nazi Party from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945 the Nazis made it a co-national anthem of GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, along with the first stanza of the Deutschlandlied. With the end of the Nazi regime in 1945, the Horst-Wessel-Lied was banned, and the lyrics and tune are illegal in Germany and Austria except for educational purposes. In early 2011, this resulted in an investigation against Amazon and Apple for selling the song to German users.