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One of the most sacred objects of the German Nazi Pary, the Blutfahne (Blood Flag) was a Nazi Swastika flag which was used in the attempted Nazi putsch in Munich, Germany on November 9, 1923. The flag-bearer, Andreas Blumfandl, was killed by Bavarian Police units that opened fire on the Nazi marchers. His blood stained the flag, along with others who were shot.
After the putsch was suppressed, the flag was confiscated by the Munich authorities, but returned to the Nazis around 1925. The flag was thereafter treated as a sacred relic of the party, and once remounted on an ornate ceremonial staff, carried by SS Sturmbannführer Jakob Grimminger, was used at various Nazi party ceremonies.
One of the most visible uses of the flag was by Adolf Hitler, who at the annual party rallies at Nuremburg, touched other Nazi banners with the Blutfahne, thus 'sanctifying' the new flags with the old.
The Blutfahne was last used at a state funeral for a party official in 1944, after which it disappeared. It is possible that it may have been destroyed, or it may yet survive in secret storage somewhere.
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