View source for Frontbann

{{Short description|Front organisation of the Nazi paramilitary SA}}
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{{Use shortened footnotes|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name             = {{lang|de|Frontbann}}
| logo             = 
| caption          = 
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| other_name       = 
| leader           = 
| foundation       = 
| dates            = {{Start date|1924|04}}–{{End date|1925|02|27}}
| dissolved        = 
| merger           = 
| split            = 
| predecessor      = {{lang|de|[[Sturmabteilung]]}} (SA)
| merged           = 
| successor        = {{lang|de|Sturmabteilung}}
| country          = {{flag|Weimar Republic}}
| allegiance       = 
| headquarters     = 
| ideology         = 
| status           = 
| size             = 30,000
| opponents        = 
| flag             = 
| website          = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}

The term '''{{lang|de|Frontbann}}''' ({{lit|Front Regiment}}) refers to a reorganized front organization of the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' or SA which was formed in April 1924.<ref>Davidson, M. (2010). ''The Perfect Nazi: Uncovering My SS Grandfather's Secret Past and How Hitler Seduced a Generation''. United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited.</ref> It was created to replace the SA which had been banned in the aftermath of the failed [[Munich Putsch]]. It was disbanded in February 1925 after the ban on the SA was lifted.

== History ==
The Frontbann was a reorganized and renamed version of the SA. It was created in April 1924 as a substitute for the then banned SA in the aftermath of the failed "Beer Hall Putsch" of November 1923.{{sfn|Angolia|1989|p=203}} The [[Nazi Party]] (NSDAP) including the SA was outlawed by the [[Weimar Republic]] government following the putsch. The Nazi Party was briefly renamed the [[National Socialist Freedom Movement|National Socialist Freedom Party]] to maintain its legality and the SA was similarly renamed. Like the party it served, the Frontbann included the same members and performed the same functions as its predecessor. It contained many of the original members of the SA and was still led by [[Ernst Röhm]]. Frontbann units were formed throughout Germany. [[Kurt Daluege]] was the leader of the Frontbann unit in Berlin and [[Martin Bormann]] was a member of the unit in [[Thüringen]].{{sfn|Miller|2006|pp=147, 216}} It had about 30,000 members across Germany.  The Frontbann was disbanded on February 27, 1925 when the ban was lifted on the Nazi Party and was reformed back into the SA.

=== The uniform ===
The Frontbann uniform was similar to the Nazi Party SA uniform. Instead of a brown shirt and brown cap, they wore a field grey shirt with a grey cap; otherwise, it was the same. The arm band was essentially the same as that of the Nazi Party. The only change was the placement of a steel helmet at the centre of the red [[brassard]], instead of the black swastika.

== Frontbann badge ==
[[File:Frontbann.jpg|thumb|The Frontbann badge, worn until 1934. The motto on the swastika behind the helmet reads "Wir wollen frei werden" ("We want to be free").]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2007-0184, Karl-Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] wearing the Frontbann Badge in 1933]]
The Frontbann Badge (''Frontbannabzeichen''), was established in 1932 by the SA-Gruppe-Berlin-Brandenburg.  It was a badge to commemorate the Frontbann.  To be able to obtain and wear the badge, one had to have joined the Frontbann prior to December 31, 1927 and had membership in the Nazi Party or another right-wing paramilitary organisation prior to that date.  The badge was silver in color, had a pin back and measured 20 mm.  It consisted of a [[swastika]] with a [[Stahlhelm]] in the middle; written on the arms of the swastika were the words, {{small|WIR WOLLEN FREI WERDEN}} ("We want to be free").  It was listed as an official decoration of the Nazi Party in 1933. By the end of 1934 the authorization was removed.  It was no longer a badge that could be worn by NSDAP members.{{sfn|Angolia|1989|pp=203, 204}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* {{cite book | last = Ailsby | first = Christopher | title = The Third Reich: Day by Day}}
* {{cite book | last = Angolia | first = John | title = For Führer and Fatherland: Political & Civil Awards of the Third Reich | publisher = R. James Bender Publishing | year = 1989 | isbn = 0912138165 }}
* {{cite book | last = Miller | first = Michael | year = 2006 | title = Leaders of the SS and German Police, Vol. 1 | publisher = R. James Bender | location = San Jose, CA | isbn = 978-93-297-0037-2 }}

[[Category:Sturmabteilung]]
[[Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of Nazi Germany]]