The swastika flag became the party emblem very early on, in 1921, combining the colours of the German Reich—black, white and red—with a symbol which had long been in use among ethnic-chauvinist circles; Ehrhardt’s navy brigade, for instance, had worn it on their steel helmets during the Kapp–Lüttwitz putsch.32 There were also the pennant that became the sign of the SA, and the “Heil” greeting, which was made mandatory within the movement in 1926.33 The National Socialists also had no qualms about adopting leftist propaganda techniques. They announced their meetings on garish red posters, and
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