Horst Wessel

Horst Wessel

Horst Ludwig Wessel (October 9, 1907 – February 23, 1930) was a German National Socialist activist and an SA-Sturmführer who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930. He was the author of the lyrics to the song "Die Fahne hoch" ("The Flag On High"), usually known as Horst-Wessel-Lied ("the Horst Wessel Song"), which became the Nazi Party anthem and, de facto, Germany's co-national anthem from 1933 to 1945. His passing also resulted in him becoming the "patron" for the Luftwaffe's 26th Destroyer Wing and the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division during World War II.