Black - Political Movements

Political Movements

Anarchism. Anarchism was a political philosophy, most popular in the late 19th century, which held that governments were harmful and undesirable. The symbol of anarchy was usually either a black flag or a black letter A. Anarchy was most popular in Germany, Spain and Russia, where the anarchists were early allies of the Bolsheviks. There was also a small but active movement in the United States led by Emma Goldman. She was imprisoned for opposing military conscription during World War I.

The Black Army was a collection of anarchist military units which fought in the Russian Civil War, sometimes on the side of the Bolshevik Red Army, and sometimes for the opposing White Army. It was officially known as The Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine, and it was under the command of the famous anarchist Nestor Makhno.

Fascism. The Blackshirts (Italian: camicie nere, 'CCNN) were Fascist paramilitary groups in Italy during the period immediately following World War I and until the end of World War II. The Blackshirts were officially known as the Voluntary Militia for National Security (Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, or MVSN).

Inspired by the black uniforms of the Arditi, Italy's elite storm troops of World War I, the Fascist Blackshirts were organized by Benito Mussolini as the military tool of his political movement. They used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. The emblem of the Italian fascists was a black flag with fasces, an axe in a bundle of sticks, an ancient Roman symbol of authority. Mussolini came to power in 1922 through his March on Rome with the blackshirts.

Black was also adopted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. Red, white and black were the colors of the flag of the German Empire from 1870 to 1918. In Mein Kampf, Hitler explained that they were "revered colors expressive of our homage to the glorious past." Hitler wrote: "the new flag... should prove effective as a large poster" because "in hundreds of thousands of cases a really striking emblem may be the first cause of awakening interest in a movement." The black swastika was meant to symbolize the Aryan race, while red symbolized the social program of the Nazis, aimed at German workers. Several designs by a number of different authors were considered, but the one adopted in the end was Hitler's personal design. Black It became the color of the uniform of the SS, the Schutzstaffel or "defense corps", the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, and was worn by SS officers from 1932 until the end of World War II. Black shirts were also worn by the British Union of Fascists before World War II, and members of fascist movements in the Netherlands and India.

The Nazis used a black triangle to symbolize anti-social elements. The symbol originates from Nazi concentration camps, where every prisoner had to wear one of the Nazi concentration camp badges on their jacket, the color of which categorized them according to "their kind." Many Black Triangle prisoners were either mentally disabled or mentally ill. The homeless were also included, as were alcoholics, the Romani people, the habitually "work-shy," prostitutes,draft dodgers and pacifists. More recently the black triangle has been adopted as a symbol in lesbian culture and by disabled activists.

Patriotic Resistance. The Lützow Free Corps, composed of volunteer German students and academics fighting against Napoleon in 1813, could not afford to make special uniforms and therefore adopted black, as the only color that could be used to dye their civilian clothing without the original color showing. In 1815 the students began to carry a red, black and gold flag, which they believed (incorrectly) had been the colors of the Holy Roman Empire (the imperial flag had actually been gold and black). In 1848, this banner became the flag of the German confederation. In 1866, Prussia unified Germany under its rule, and imposed the red, white and black of its own flag, which remained the colors of the German flag until the end of the Second World War. In 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany returned to the original flag and colors of the students and professors of 1815, which is the flag of Germany today.

National Bolshevism. The National Bolshevik Party is a Russian extreme nationalist movement, formed in 1992 after the breakup of the Soviet Union. It combines nationalist and Communist ideology, is anti-western and anti-immigrant. Its flag combines the colors of the Nazi flag with the hammer and sickle symbol of the Communist Party. It was declared illegal in 2007. Many National Bolsheviks moved to a new political party, called The Other Russia, whose colors are black and gold.

Islamism. The Black Standard (راية السوداء rāyat al-sawdā', also known as راية العقاب rāyat al-`uqāb "banner of the eagle" or simply as الراية al-rāya "the banner") is the historical flag flown by Muhammad in Islamic tradition, an eschatological symbol in Shi'a Islam (heralding the advent of the Mahdi), and a symbol used in Islamism and Jihadism.

  • The flag of the anarchist Black Army during the Russian Civil War. It says, 'Death to all who stand in the way of freedom for working people.'

  • Benito Mussolini and his blackshirt followers during his March on Rome in 1922.

  • Black uniform of an SS officer (1932-1945). The SS was the military wing of the Nazi Party.

  • Flag of the Russian National Bolshevik Party, an extreme nationalist, anti-western movement (1992-2007).

  • Flag of Ansar al-Sharia Islamic movement in Yemen. Variations of the Black Standard are used by Islamists and Jihadists across the Muslim world.

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