Osprey Special Editions (Military) : Flags of the Third Reich

In his book, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler claims that he made the decision to use the swastika as the emblem for his fledgling movement. He was responsible for the shape the swastika finally took, and for the choice of colours used, which set the pattern for all subsequent flags of the party and its associated units. Hitler devoted almost four pages of his book to this matter. He felt that the new flag 'should prove effective as a large poster.'. On 16 March 1936, in his role as supreme commander, he bestowed new colours to the Wehrmacht reinforcing this ideal. Later the Waffen-SS were equipped with flags and insignia even more redolent of Nazi ideology and many non-German volunteer contingents, variously named as 'Legions' and 'Free Corps', were raised to serve alongside the German forces, primarily on the Eastern Front, these units were also equipped with flags and insignia following Hitler's ideals, but also reflecting their own national identities. Text by Brian Leigh Davis with illustrations by Malcolm McGregor.

Contents

• Flags of the Wehrmacht
• Flag Terminology
• Colours
• Emblems
• Parading
• The National War Flag
• Army Flags
• Army Standards
• Kriegsmarine Flags
• Luftwaffe Flags
• The Legion Condor
• Full Colour Artwork
• Flags of the Waffen-SS
• Introduction
• Foreign Volunteer Legions
• Walloon Volunteers
• The Flemish Legion
• Norwegian Volunteers
• Finnish Volunteers
• Danzig Volunteers
• Danish Volunteers
• Estonian Volunteers
• Latvian Volunteers
• Croat Volunteers
• French Volunteers
• Spanish Volunteers
• Indian Volunteers
• Full Colour Artwork
• Party and Police Unit Flags
• Origins of the Swastika Flag
• NSDAP Kreis and Ortsgruppen
• The Sturmabteilungen
• The NSKK
• The Hitlerjugend
• The Reichsarbeitsdienst
• Full Colour Artwork