Last modified: 2026-01-17 by pete loeser
Keywords: nskk | german veterans association | nskov | german imperial war association | drkb | german imperial warrior's association | national socialist empire war association | nsrkb | german soldier's association | dsb | germa |
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In Germany there existed a multitude of small, scattered German war veterans' associations, some dating as far back as 1873 during the time of Frederick II of Prussia. In 1900 under the leadership of one, the German Warrior League (Deutscher Kriegerbund), they formed a new larger umbrella organization named the German Warrior Association (Kyffhäuserbund). The purpose was to united all the former small veteran groups into one single organization.
Source: German Warrior League
Pete Loeser, 9 January 2026
The Deutscher Kriegerbund (German Warrior Association) was a War Veterans' and reservists' Association in Germany. It was established in 1873 in Weißenfels. Following World War I several German veteran groups including "Der Stahlhelm" (The Steel Helmet) were active as War Veterans´ and reservists´ Associations in Germany. However, under the National Socialist government these were all gradually eliminated.
Information from Deutscher Kriegerbund - (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
I'm not sure Germany had reservists after the Great War. After all, the size of its army was limited; it wouldn't make sense to reduce the numbers further by holding part of the army in reserve. Stahlhelm, I'd say, was more of a militia, one of the forces in the German national war that brought Hitler to power. Either way, its history might not be relevant for the Kriegervereine, that weren't so much about warfare as about care.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 March 2011
The Kyffhäuserbund was swiftly and unceremoniously disbanded during the Second World War, in March 1943, by Adolf Hitler himself. Its assets in the whole Reich were transferred to the NSDAP. All its surviving local associations, which in the last phase of the war effort became the breeding ground for Volkssturm units, were also placed under the direct orders of the Nazi Party.
After Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II, the American Military Government issued a special law outlawing the Nazi party and all of its branches. Known as "Law number five", this Denazification decree even disbanded the NSKOV, like all organizations linked to the Nazi Party. The organizations taking care of the welfare for World War I veterans had to be established anew during the postwar reconstruction of both West Germany and the DDR.
Information from Deutscher Kriegerbund - (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
Image by Fornax
This was the banner of the Kyffhäuserbund (German War League until around 1934. The Kyffhäuserbund (Kyffhäuser League) was an umbrella organization for War Veterans´ and Reservists´ Associations in Germany. The Deutscher Kriegerbund began the efforts to build a memorial that would honor and represent the German warriors in 1888. This monument, located on top of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain was finally inaugurated in 1896. The Kyffhäuser Mountain is near Bad Frankenhausen in the State of Thuringia in Central Germany.
Information from Kyffhäuserbund - (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
I'd say the Kriegervereine of the separate Länder together had the Kyffhäuser monument built. The missing link would seem to be that from this collaboration rose the Kyffhäuserbund as a federation of Kriegervereine. But the German members might understand such details better. (And they might be able to create a contribution under our own license.) Do we know anything of possible banners of the Kyffhäuserbund before 1934, of even from the Kriegervereine of the separate Länder, or of the Deutscher Kriegerbund and other organisations along the way?
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 March 2011
Image by Fornax
The difficult circumstances of World War I´s postwar years led to a significant shrinking of the veterans' associations and their role. In 1921, during the Weimar Republic, this organization centralized itself under a common leadership and changed its name to "Deutscher Reichskriegerbund 'Kyffhäuser' e.V." (German Warriors Association 'Kyffhäuser').
Information from Deutscher Kriegerbund - (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
Image by António MARTINS-Tuválkin, 16 January 2026
Based on this photo from the WW2TREASURES.COM website.
This is the Banner of the Reichskriegerbund 'Kyffhäuser' during the times of the Third Reich. In the name of Gleichschaltung, the Kyffhäuserbund was nazified after the Nazi takeover of power in 1933. Five years later, its name was altered to "NS-Reichskriegerbund 'Kyffhäuser' e.V." (Nationalsocialist Reich Warriors Association 'Kyffhäuser'), becoming the sole and exclusive organization representing the Veterans´ interests in the Third Reich.
Information from Deutscher Kriegerbund - (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia)
Image by Pete Loeser, 9 January 2026
Based on this photo found by William Garrison, 7 January 2026
This is the flag of the Nazi Veterans Association. The Nazi era Government absorbed the several veterans groups such as the Stahlhelm (steel helmet) and the Kyffhauser bund (Kyffhauser bunch) to create a centralized Nazi controlled veteran´s association.
Chuck Linderman, 19 August 2007
This flag was sold by Milestone Auctions with the following caption: "The flag of the Nazi Veterans Association. Rare WWII Nazi German Soldatenbund membership flag. Red wool printed construction features a stylized eagle whose spread wings with a wreathed mobile swastika in its talons and a Iron Cross to its breast behind which are crossed swords. Flag measures 49 X 53 inches with no color fading. The Registered Soldiers League (Soldatenbund, created in 1936, it was incorporated into the NS-RKB in 1938. A fairly short lived organization. Light scattered mothing." On this flag the eagle's head is pointed to the left hoist side; on the backside the head is pointed towards the now right hoist side.
Source: Milestone Auctions
William Garrison, 7 January 2026
