Strafgesetzbuch section 86a

The German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code) in § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations". This concerns Nazi symbolism in particular and is part of the denazification efforts following the fall of the Third Reich.

The law prohibits the distribution or public use of symbols of unconstitutional groups, in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting.[1]

Law text

The relevant excerpt of the German criminal code reads:[1][2][3]

§ 86 StGB Dissemination of Means of Propaganda of Unconstitutional Organizations

(1) Whoever domestically disseminates or produces, stocks, imports or exports or makes publicly accessible through data storage media for dissemination domestically or abroad, means of propaganda:

1. of a party which has been declared to be unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court or a party or organization, as to which it has been determined, no longer subject to appeal, that it is a substitute organization of such a party;

[…]

4. means of propaganda, the contents of which are intended to further the aims of a former National Socialist organization,

shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine. […]

(3) Subsection (1) shall not be applicable if the means of propaganda or the act serves to further civil enlightenment, to avert unconstitutional aims, to promote art or science, research or teaching, reporting about current historical events or similar purposes. […]

§ 86a StGB Use of Symbols of Unconstitutional Organizations

(1) Whoever:

1. domestically distributes or publicly uses, in a meeting or in writings (§ 11 subsection (3)) disseminated by him, symbols of one of the parties or organizations indicated in § 86 subsection (1), nos. 1, 2 and 4; or
2. produces, stocks, imports or exports objects which depict or contain such symbols for distribution or use domestically or abroad, in the manner indicated in number 1,

shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine.

(2) Symbols, within the meaning of subsection (1), shall be, in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting. Symbols which are so similar as to be mistaken for those named in sentence 1 shall be deemed to be equivalent thereto.

(3) The exceptions from §86 subsection (3) and (4) apply accordingly.

Symbols affected

Participants in a Neo-Nazi march in Munich (2005) resorted to flying the Reichsflagge and Reichsdienstflagge of 1933–1935 (outlawed by the Nazi regime in 1935) due to § 86a

The law text does not name the individual symbols to be outlawed, and there is no official exhaustive list. A symbol may be a flag, emblem, uniform, or a motto or greeting formula. The prohibition is not tied to the symbol itself but to its use in a context suggestive of association with outlawed organizations. Thus, the Swastika is outlawed if used in a context of völkisch ideology, while it is legitimate if used as a symbol of religious faith, particularly any South Eastern or East Asian religions. Similarly, the Wolfsangel is outlawed if used in the context of the Junge Front but not in other contexts such as heraldry, or as the emblem of "landscape poet" Hermann Löns. Due to the law, German Neo-Nazis took to displaying modified symbols similar but not identical with those outlawed. In 1994, such symbols were declared equivalent to the ones they imitate (Verbrechensbekämpfungsgesetz Abs. 2).

Affected by the law according to Federal Constitutional Court of Germany rulings are:

A restored Me 163B Komet World War II rocket fighter with a historically accurate, low-visibility swastika shown on the fin, as displayed in a German aviation museum in 2005

Symbols known to fall under the law are:

  1. ^ Eddy, Melissa (12 September 2014). "Germany Bans Support for ISIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2014. 

Anti-fascism symbols

A crossed-out swastika
"thank you for dumping Nazism" icon

In 2005, a controversy was stirred about the question whether the paragraph should be taken to apply to the display of crossed-out swastikas as a symbol of anti-fascism.[13] In late 2005 police raided the offices of the punk rock label and mail order store "Nix Gut Records" and confiscated merchandise depicting crossed-out swastikas and fists smashing swastikas. In 2006 the Stade police department started an inquiry against anti-fascist youths using a placard depicting a person dumping a swastika into a trashcan. The placard was displayed in opposition to the campaign of right-wing nationalist parties for local elections.[14]

On Friday 17 March 2006, a member of the Bundestag, Claudia Roth, reported herself to the German police for displaying a crossed-out swastika in multiple demonstrations against Neo-Nazis, and subsequently got the Bundestag to suspend her immunity from prosecution. She intended to show the absurdity of charging anti-fascists with using fascist symbols: "We don't need prosecution of non-violent young people engaging against right-wing extremism." On 15 March 2007, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (Bundesgerichtshof) reversed the charge, holding that the crossed-out symbols were "clearly directed against a revival of national-socialist endeavors", thereby settling the dispute for the future.[15][16][17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Section 86a Use of Symbols of Unconstitutional Organizations". Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB). German Law Archive.
  2. ↑ Andreas Stegbauer; German Law Journal. "The Ban of Right-Wing Extremist Symbols According to Section 86a of the German Criminal Code" (PDF). germanlawjournal.com.
  3. ↑ World Bank. "GERMAN CRIMINAL CODE Criminal Code in the version promulgated on 13 November 1998, Federal Law Gazette [Bundesgesetzblatt] I p. 3322, last amended byArticle 3 of the Law of 2 October 2009, Federal Law Gazette I p. 3214" (PDF). worldbank.org.
  4. ↑ Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom 23. Oktober 1952, Aktenzeichen 1 BvB 1/51; Fundstelle: BVerfGE 2, 1
  5. ↑ Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom 17. August 1956, Aktenzeichen 1 BvB 2/51; Fundstelle: BVerfGE 5, 85
  6. ↑ "Isoliertes Verwenden eines stilisierten Keltenkreuzes grundsätzlich strafbar" (in German). Der Bundesgerichtshof. November 14, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Gauwinkel" (in German). taz.de. December 2, 2005.
  8. ↑ Entscheidung des Oberlandesgerichts Celle, NJW 1970, 2257
  9. ↑ Entscheidung des Oberlandesgerichts Düsseldorf vom 6. September 1990, MDR 1991, 174
  10. ↑ Entscheidung des Bundesgerichtshofes, Aktenzeichen 3 StR 280/76, BGHSt 27,1
  11. ↑ Entscheidung des Oberlandesgerichts Celle, NJW 1991, 1498
  12. ↑ Eddy, Melissa (12 September 2014). "Germany Bans Support for ISIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Stuttgart Seeks to Ban Anti-Fascist Symbols". Journal Chrétien. April 4, 2006.
  14. ↑ "Plakate sind Thema im Landtag" (in German). Tageblatt Online. September 23, 2006.
  15. ↑ Bundesgerichtshof, decision (Urteil) of the 15 March 2007, file reference: 3 StR 486/06
  16. ↑ "Durchgestrichenes Hakenkreuz kein verbotenes Kennzeichen" (in German). Der Bundesgerichtshof. 15 March 2007.
  17. ↑ "Bundesgerichtshof: Anti-Nazi-Symbole sind nicht strafbar" (in German). Der Spiegel. 15 March 2007.

External links

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