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German History in Documents and Images
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Women of the Red Front Fighters' League Demonstrate against the Prohibition of Abortion (August 19, 1928)
Paragraph 218 of the Weimar Constitution criminalized abortion in Germany. The legal provision was opposed by a large popular movement that cut across class, gender and political lines. The Red Women’s and Girl’s League [Rote Frauen und Mädchenbund] was part of the Red Front Fighters’ League [Rotfrontkämpferbund], a paramilitary organization of the German Communist Party (KPD). On August 19, 1928, its members organized a protest march in Leipzig against Paragraph 218. It was the last mass rally of the Red Front Fighters’ League. Their banner reads: “Away with Paragraph 218.”