Iron Front
철의 전선
A paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic made up of social democrats, trade unionists and democratic socialists. Its main goal was to defend the republic against the Nazi Sturmabteilung; formally independent, it was closely tied to the Social Democratic Party.
In depth
It was founded on 16 December 1931 by the SPD, the ADGB trade union federation, the Reichsbanner and workers’ sports clubs in response to the Harzburg Front. The Three Arrows designed for it became a well-known social democratic symbol of resistance against monarchism, Nazism and communism. Repression grew after the Nazis took power, and on 2 May 1933 the trade unions with which the Iron Front was closely allied were abolished.