Description
Here’s a rare one of a kind one sided banner/flag that reads “Deutsch Ist Die Saar” (Saar is German). It measures aproximately 45″x42″ and is in excellent condition. It has additional stitching on the corners at the fly end.
This banner is historically significant. At the end of World War I, Saar was separated from Germany and administered by the League of Nations. France was given control of the Saar’s coal mines. After fifteen years of League of Nations administration, a referendum was scheduled to take place in the territory.
In the referendum, voters were asked whether the Saar should remain under League of Nations administration, return to Germany or become part of France. To the surprise of neutral observers as well as the Nazis themselves, over 90% voted in favor of reuniting with Germany. Every voting district saw at least 83% of voters support returning the Saar to German rule, and despite Georges Clemenceau’s claim that there were 150,000 Frenchmen in the Saar, less than 1% of voters supported the annexation of the Saar by France.
Following the referendum, the Council of the League of Nations decided that the Saar should return to Germany. Saar once again became part of Germany on 1 March 1935.
A song “Deutsch Ist Die Saar” was written in 1920 by the Saarbrücken teacher Hanns Maria Lux as a national confessional song for students. It became the most prominent of the then numerous Saar German chants and from 1933 exploited by the National Socialists. Even after the Second World War, the song played an important role as a political home anthem in Saarland.
This is a fantastic piece for display, especially for the collector that will appreciate its historical significance.
