Union of Red Front Soldiers

The Union of Red Front Soldiers was founded on July 18, 1924 . The first chairman was Wilhelm Pieck , later replaced by Ernst Telman . The first local branch of the SKF was formed on July 31, 1924 in the city of Galle . In 1927, SKF had about 110,000 members.

The deteriorating economic situation for most of the population amid the global economic crisis of 1929 led to increased discontent and protests. When the SKF, despite the ban, gathered on May 1, May 1, 1929 for a May Day demonstration, this led to bloody clashes (Bloody May) with the police, which lasted until May 3. At the same time 33 people were killed, about 200 were injured, more than 1200 were detained. During the “Small state of emergency” declared as a result of this, the SKF was banned on May 3, 1929 in Prussia. On May 6, Minister of the Interior Karl Sewering issued a national ban, which was enforced in all lands until May 14. The SCF worked illegally and further and, under the leadership of the KKE, organized a protest against the ban lasting a month. Illegal SCF groups acted until the organization was completely destroyed after the National Socialists came to power in 1933 and participated in fierce street clashes with assault forces of the NSDAP .

Communist workers who emigrated to the Soviet Union also established SCF groups there, such as workers from the Ruhr region, the Blucher group in the city of Bryansk mine in Ukraine. SCF members fought in the Spanish Civil War in inter-brigades on the Republican side. Others, during the reign of National Socialism in Germany, left for exile in the Soviet Union or participated in the Resistance in Germany . In 1943, part of the former members of the SKF was emigrated, the Free German Movement ( Freie Deutsche Bewegung ) was founded, another part of the former members of the SKF already in Germany in 1945 began to create a network of anti-fascist committees.

The Union of Red Front-line Soldiers consisted of gau ( gau ) functionally consistent divisions of regular armies, in territories they were closer to electoral districts, that is, medium provinces and lands, parts of large provinces and lands, groups from the provinces and small lands:

• East Prussia
• Pomerania
• Silesia
• Upper silesia
• Mecklenburg
• Berlin Brandenburg
• Magdeburg-Anhalt
• Halle Merseburg
• East Saxony
• West saxony
• Erzgebirge-Vogtland (East Thuringia)
• Thuringia
• Lower saxony
• Wassercante
• Northwest
• Hesse-Waldeck
• Hesse-Frankfurt
• Ruhr Territory
• Middle rhine
• Lower rhine
• Saar Territory
• Baden
• Württemberg
• Northern bavaria
• South bavaria

Hau consisted of local groups ( ortsgruppe ), which functionally corresponded to regiments in regular armies, geographically corresponded to urban areas with adjacent territories, local groups consisted of departments ( abteilung ), departments of squads ( kameradschaft ) led by the commander of the squad ( kameradschaftsführer ) , each of the squads of 3 platoons ( zug ) led by a platoon commander ( zugführer ), each of the platoons consisted of 4 groups ( gruppe ), led by a gruppenführer ( gruppenführer ), groups usually consisted of 8 people.

The supreme body is the national conference ( reichskonferenz ), between national conferences - the union committee ( bundesleitung ), the highest official is the chairman of the union committee ( vorsitzender der bundesleitung ) or the Bundesfuehrer, the supreme body of the gau - gauh conference ( gaukonferenz ), between conferences - Hau committee ( gauleitung ), Hau senior official - chairman of the Hau committee ( vorsitzender der gauleitung ) or gaufuehrer, supreme body of a local group - general meeting, between general meetings - local committee ( ortsgruppenleitung ), senior local official of the second group - the chairman of the local group committee ( vorsitzender der ortsgruppenleitung ) or ortsgruppenfuehrer .

Youth organization "Front of the Front" - Jungfront (formerly - Jungsturm ( Roten Jungsturm )) for young people from 16 to 21 years ^[1] . The Jungsturm youth association, created in 1924, aimed at consolidating the young forces as a cadre party reserve of the Communist Party of Germany . Among young men and women, a healthy lifestyle was actively promoted, sports classes were held in athletics and weightlifting, gymnastics and shooting. In addition, the Yungsturm leadership paid great attention to conducting political studies both among the Yungsturmites themselves and among young people who are not members of the organization. In addition, every summer the organization held summer camps to train youth leaders, at which classes on military, political and social - social training were held with young people. Each local group of Jungsturm had its own premises with a hall for activists to gather, a library and red corners of Vladimir Lenin and Karl Liebknecht . In 1933, the Young Front was banned. In June 1936, the Union of Free German Youth was created in exile from the young German Communists and the left wing of the Social Democrats.

The Rot Front women's organization was the Union of Red Women and Girls ( Rote Frauen und Mädchenbund , RFMB ).

In 1924, in the coastal and port cities for the maritime population was founded section "Red Fleet" ( Rote Marine ). In addition, there was the organization "Red Petrels" - the SCF aeronautical section.

There were other related organizations - the Red Aid of Germany ( Rote Hilfe Deutschlands ) and the Martial Society of Red Sports ( Kampfgemeinschaft für Rote Sporteinheit ).

The official newspaper is the Red Front.

Jungsturm and the Union of Red Front-line Soldiers had their own military-organizational uniforms, which included a jungsturm jacket, jodhpurs, a belt with the “Front Mouth” logo, and a red bandage with a clenched fist worn on the left hand above the elbow.

A form of greeting from the Red Front was the utterance of Rotfront! at the same time, at the end of the greeting, the right forearm should be sharply (youthfully) raised to the level of the head, with a palm clenched into a fist, with the back of the hand turned to the side opposite from the observer, in other words, directed backward.

A raised and closed fist symbolized the combined power of the working class.

Rotfront is also the name of the Moscow confectionery factory , which was named after the SKF. This factory operates to this day.

• Kurt Finker: Geschichte des Roten Frontkämpferbundes. Berlin (Ost) 1981
• Kurt Schuster: Der rote Frontkämpferbund 1924-1929. Beiträge zur Geschichte und Organizationsationsstruktur eines politischen Kampfbundes. Düsseldorf 1975
• Hermann Weber: Die Wandlung des deutschen Kommunismus. Die Stalinisierung der KPD in der Weimarer Republik. 2 Bände, Frankfurt am Main 1968

• Reichsbanner
• Republican Schutzbund