Stahlhelm-Fraktion Explained

German: Stahlhelm-Fraktion (German, 'Steel Helmet Faction') is the hard-line or right-wing faction of a political party in Germany, most notably the German CDU.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} The term refers to the hawkish, i.e. pro-military positions often taken by such groups and comes from the Stahlhelm, the steel helmet historically used by German soldiers. It was originally used of pro-military politicians in the Weimar Republic who were members of the Der Stahlhelm, an ex-servicemen's organisation which acted as the paramilitary wing of the German National People's Party.^[5] Some prominent members of this informal grouping (the name was coined by its opponents) such as Alfred Dregger had been members of the NSDAP during the war.^{[6] [7] [8]} Members of the CSU – even those ideologically similar to the Stahlhelm Fraktion – were usually not considered part of the group.

See also

• Der Flügel
• German Militarism
• Military history of Germany
• Freikorps

Notes and References

1. Ted Galen Carpenter, NATO at 40: Confronting a Changing World, Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 1990,, p. 259: "The CDU-CSU is badly split over SNFs. Its Gaullist wing (the so-called Stahlhelm Fraktion) has argued that with the INFs gone, West Germany is dangerously singularized by the presence of U.S. SNFs. . . . The Stahlhelm Fraktion favors removing the SNFs and moving toward a closer Franco-German military relationship."
2. Sebastian Fischer and Christine Xuân Müller, "Die Neo-Kons proben den Aufstand" (The Neo-Cons Test Resistance), Der Spiegel 2 February 2006 : "Legendär die Aussprüche der sogenannten Stahlhelm-Fraktion in der CDU" (The statements of the so-called Stahlhelm-Fraktion in the CDU [are] legendary), introducing a series of quotations on immigration.
3. http://www.fr-online.de/home/vier-abtruennige-stuerzen-ypsilanti/-/1472778/3116886/-/index.html "Vier Abtrünnige stürzen Ypsilanti" (Four Defectors Dethrone Ypsilanti)
4. http://diepresse.com/home/politik/innenpolitik/538829/index.do?_vl_backlink=/home/politik/innenpolitik/539810/index.do&direct=539810&index=2 "Kaputtes Heer: Ex-Minister zerlegen die Darabos-Politik" (Washed-Up Army: Ex-Ministers Dissect Darabos Policies)
5. James M. Diehl, Paramilitary Politics in Weimar Germany, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977,, p. 264: "Stahlhelm leaders hoped to form a sort of Stahlhelm party within the [DNVP and DVP] parties, a bloc of Stahlhelm deputies who could force the two conservative parties to take more intransigent positions. The attempt to create a Stahlhelm Fraktion failed miserably."
6. https://www.fr.de/rhein-main/alfred-dregger-11387959.html
7. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/alfred-dregger-cdu-biografie-wolfram-pyta-nils-havemann-1.5762879
8. https://www.kas.de/de/web/geschichte-der-cdu/personen/biogramm-detail/-/content/alfred-dregger