The German (StGB; ) in section § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the contexts of "art or science, research or teaching". The law does not name the individual symbols to be outlawed, and there is no official exhaustive list. However, the law has primarily been used to outlaw fascist, Nazi, communist, Islamic extremist and Russian militarist symbols. The law was adopted during the Cold War and notably affected the Communist Party of Germany, which was banned as unconstitutional in 1956, the Socialist Reich Party (banned in 1952) and several small far-right parties.
The law prohibits the distribution or public use of symbols of unconstitutional groups—in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting.
Text
The relevant excerpt of the German criminal code reads:
Symbols affected
The text of the law 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, South Eastern or East Asian religions. Similarly, the 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.
Because of 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 ( § 2). As a result of the ban on Nazi symbols, German Neo-Nazis have used older symbols such as the black-white-red German Imperial flag (which was also briefly used by the Nazis alongside the party flag as one of two official flags of Nazi Germany from 1933 until 1935) as well as variants of this flag such as the one with the and the variants, the Imperial-era , the and the flag of the Strasserite Black Front – a splinter Nazi organization – as alternatives.
Affected by the law according to Federal Constitutional Court of Germany rulings are: (1952) (1956) () (1982) (1983) (1992) (not to be confused with ) (1992) (1994) (1995) Blood and Honour, Germany chapter (2000)
Symbols known to fall under the law are: the swastika as a symbol of the Nazi Party, prohibited in all variants, including mirrored, inverted etc. (exceptions are only applied to swastikas used as religious symbols in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples) a stylized Celtic cross, prohibited as a symbol of the VSBD/PdA and in the variant used by the White Power movement. The legal status of the symbol used in non-political contexts is uncertain, but non-political use is not acted upon in practice. the solar cross as a symbol of the Ku Klux Klan (symbol of cross burning from the "second Klan" era onward), the German Faith Movement, the Thule Society and the 5th and 11th Waffen SS divisions the Sig rune as used by the SS the emblem the legal status of the Othala rune is disputed; prohibited as a symbol of the . Post-war military usage was incorporated into the with a stylized "Othala rune" being featured on the shoulder insignia of the with it also being used by the ranks succeeding it. the as used by the 2nd, 4th and 34th Waffen-SS divisions, and badges (2002) : prohibited in the Third Reich version including a swastika. the greeting (1970) the greeting (1990) , along with the symbol, as the motto of the Waffen-SS and as the verbal equivalent of the Hitler salute. The with the Nazi swastika. the (the anthem of the Nazi Party) and (a song of the Hitler-Jugend) (1991) the hammer and sickle, red star and red flag when used as emblems of the Communist Party of Germany The Black Standard of the Islamic State; widely considered the chief sigil or flag of the jihadi group. the People's Protection Units (YPG) pennant was explicitly banned as a symbol related to the PKK on 2 March 2017, even though the organisation itself is not currently recognised as terrorist. Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia, several states including Berlin, Lower Saxony and Bavaria are looking to put the military Z symbol under the law.
Illustration of the emblems mentioned in the list above: