Drummers from the Alti Stainlemer clique in 1933 as “the Swiss swastika procession”.
Drummers from the Alti Stainlemer clique in 1933 as “the Swiss swastika procession”. © Archiv der Alten Stainlemer

Basel Carnival in the 1930s: don’t upset the Nazis

At Basel Carnival, anyone and anything is fair game. But from 1933 things got tricky.

Noëmi Crain Merz

Noëmi Crain Merz

Noëmi Crain Merz is a historian, university lecturer and curator.

Despite the springlike weather, it was impossible to ignore the dark clouds gathering at Basel Carnival in 1933. On 6 March – as the festivities were in full swing – the local newspaper, National-Zeitung carried a report about the “day of dictatorship.” The first elections under Hitler’s chancellorship in Germany had taken place the day before, just a week after he had abolished civil liberties. Basel had always maintained close ties with its German-speaking neighbour. Thousands of German citizens were living there at the time, and many more commuted from surrounding areas of Germany to work in the Swiss city on the Rhine. The economic crisis had also put a dampener on things and Basel was particularly hard hit as an industrial location. The number of unemployed people had risen six-fold since the summer of 1929.

When people watch the processions or listen to the Schnitzelbänke (satirical rhyming songs sung at the Carnival), they can forget their cares and worries for a while. But not everyone appreciated the more or less outright criticism of governments and authorities that is part of every Carnival. Basel’s local chapter of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) which had been established in 1932, was so outraged at the “indecorous” way their Chancellor had been criticised that they called on the local police force to take action in the strongest possible terms. In a country describing itself as neutral and that “was keen to maintain friendly relations with Germany”, it was promised that such things would not be allowed to happen again.
The themes addressed at Basel Carnival in 1933 didn’t go down at all well with the local NSDAP chapter in Basel.
The themes addressed at Basel Carnival in 1933 didn’t go down at all well with the local NSDAP chapter in Basel. Staatsarchiv Basel-Stadt, BSL 1045e 2-12-2 2 (photo Hoffmann, Basel)
Provocative appearance by the Alte Stainlemer at Basel Carnival in 1933.
Provocative appearance by the Alte Stainlemer at Basel Carnival in 1933. Staatsarchiv Basel-Stadt, BSL 1045e 2-12-1 1 (photo Hoffmann, Basel)
Basel police had always been extremely busy during Carnival. Ahead of the Morgenstreich (opening event), they would inspect lanterns and verse flyers, and detectives would patrol local restaurants in plain clothes to confiscate immoral or defamatory Helge (pictures) belonging to the Schnitzelbank performers. Actions relating to obscenity, defamation or sacrilege kept the courts busy, sometimes for weeks on end. They usually concerned local disputes; foreign organisations or governments rarely got involved. Although openly insulting a foreign people, its sovereign, or a foreign government had been punishable under federal criminal law since 1853, criminal prosecution only took place at the request of the government in question, so it rarely went that far. The last time this had happened was in 1888 when the German government found a carnival flyer so offensive that it sued the author – and the court in Basel convicted him.
“Wanted: foreign weeds … cruciferous plants preferred” (the German term contains the word for swastika (Hakenkreuz). Excerpt from the Fasnachtszeedel (flyer) distributed by the Alti Stainlemer clique in 1933.
“Wanted: foreign weeds … cruciferous plants preferred” (the German term contains the word for swastika (Hakenkreuz). Excerpt from the Fasnachtszeedel (flyer) distributed by the Alti Stainlemer clique in 1933. © Archiv der Alten Stainlemer

A police department on edge

The Führer and his followers did not tolerate irony or mockery. Wanting to avoid tension at the Basel Carnival, the local police chief even considered cancelling the 1934 edition, citing the rampant economic crisis as the reason. But the Fasnachts-Comité (Carnival organising committee) saw through the fake excuse and successfully resisted. It promised that there would be no insults directed at other countries, their governments, or their rulers. The Alchimischte Schnitzelbank included a reference to events in one of its satirical rhymes, warbling (in local dialect) “we’d like to sing about Hitler but if we do, we’ll be hearing from the boys in blue”. People stuck to the agreement in the subsequent years – albeit half-heartedly. Instead, Carnival participants took aim at the Neue Basler Zeitung newspaper – the only local pro-German press title. Its action for defamation led to the confiscation in 1936 of the float belonging to the JB-Clique – and to protests in Carnival circles and in the rest of the press.

In 1938, representatives from the German and Italian consulates turned up at Basel police station. Besides various verses and images, a drum major had caused embarrassment by leading his clique not with an oversized mask as was the custom but with a “miniature Mussolini”. The police force wanted to mediate but the Carnival participants proved uncooperative. Instead of just covering up the contested elements, one clique hung a black ribbon on their lantern, while others daubed coloured paint on the pictures. Meanwhile, the mini Mussolini continued to lead his cortège until his mask was confiscated in the street.
From 1934, “insulting” the National Socialists was prohibited. The Rätz-Clique ironized this rule with a stamp saying “Genehmigt Polizeimister” (approved, officer) on its lantern …
From 1934, “insulting” the National Socialists was prohibited. The Rätz-Clique ironized this rule with a stamp saying “Genehmigt Polizeimister” (approved, officer) on its lantern … © Archiv Rätz-Clique
… on the street this has been painted over, on whose orders we don’t know. The references to Nazi Germany remained subtle: the plucked imperial eagle has feet shaped like swastikas, while the piccolo players are “Aryan Gretchens” with spiked helmets.
… on the street this has been painted over, on whose orders we don’t know. The references to Nazi Germany remained subtle: the plucked imperial eagle has feet shaped like swastikas, while the piccolo players are “Aryan Gretchens” with spiked helmets. © Archiv Rätz-Clique
The chief of police imposed a vehement crackdown. He’d had enough of the “vilification of foreign governments” and referred to the Federal Council decree of 1934 which enabled cantons to confiscate printed material that jeopardised Switzerland’s good relations with other countries. All copies of the verse pamphlet belonging to the Schnitzelbangg Gesellschaft and several pictures were seized. Furthermore, a deluge of fines and court summons were imposed on cliques still out drumming after 10pm – which happened every year and was contrary to regulations.

When the police declared that the unruliness of the cliques who thought they could disregard regulations had to be stopped using “exemplary punishments”, the press went into a frenzy. From mid-March 1938, when the German Reich annexed Austria, Switzerland found itself completely surrounded by dictatorships – apart from France. This made the threat to press freedom and with it “Carnival freedom” all the more immediate. “We want to protect our Carnival from police harassment!”, wrote the Basler Woche newspaper in April 1938. “This is bigger than the Schnitzelbänke or the drumming ban: it’s about a state of mind!”
Police chief Fritz Brechbühl went on the defensive. The social democrat would not stand for accusations of political snooping and censorship; instead, he saw his intervention as smart diplomacy. As the police had not acted on their own initiative, but only after the consulates’ intervention, there could be no talk of political snooping concurred the Arbeiter-Zeitung newspaper. Would it have been so understanding under a police chief with more right-wing leanings?
The local chapters abroad, for example in Basel, were supposed to establish an indestructible bond to their fellow Germans in the homeland.
The local chapters abroad, for example in Basel, were supposed to establish an indestructible bond to their fellow Germans in the homeland. © Basel Historical Museum, Natascha Jansen
In 1939, German housemaids – who had returned en masse to Germany – were lampooned. Schnitzelbank-Comité
At the last Carnival before the Second World War, the Schnitzelbank performers took aim at German maids. After they were called back home in early 1939, nearly all of them left the city. The percentage of Germans – which in 1920 had made up over 20% of the total population – fell to below 5%. The close ties between Basel and the bordering region of Germany were a thing of the past, as was the fear of diplomatic resentment caused by the city’s famous annual event. Basel Carnival resumed on 11 March 1946 after a six-year hiatus due to the war, and cliques paraded the streets, eclipsing everything that had gone before “with colour, ribaldry and wit”. However, the German Consulate remained closed and the Federal Council only resumed diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany in 1951.

Published on: 20.02.2024

Modified on: 17.12.2025

URL: https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2024/02/basel-carnival-in-the-1930s-dont-upset-the-nazis/

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