“Die Fahne hoch! Die Reihen fest geschlossen!”

“Die Fahne hoch! Die Reihen fest geschlossen!” is the song raised by a parade of young people passing beneath the Landauers’ windows. In this scene, the phrase turns the image of tightly closed ranks into a public performance of Nazi political unity—one that continues even after the parade’s banner is smashed.

The Parade Beneath the Windows

The marchers pass directly below the rooms where the family is staying. The men wear lederhosen and knee-length socks; the women wear dirndls. An applauding crowd watches as a band accompanies the procession and its participants sing. A banner proclaims, “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer,” and the marchers answer it with “Die Fahne hoch! Die Reihen fest geschlossen!”

The song’s translated words, “The flag is high! The ranks are tightly closed!”, make the parade’s message explicit: unity is being staged through a raised flag, disciplined ranks, matching dress, music, and collective voices. The scene presents political allegiance not as an abstract idea but as a spectacle occupying the street below the family’s windows.

Violence and Persistence

Further down the road, the procession meets the police. Shouting and a scuffle follow, and the banner is smashed. Yet the parade does not end. The marchers continue onward, singing the same words while people at the roadside cheer and wave. The smashed banner briefly disrupts the display, but the continued song and the crowd’s response restore its momentum; the scene’s emphasis falls on the parade’s persistence rather than on the damage to its symbol.

The Family’s Uncertainty

The scene’s political spectacle is framed by a child’s question and an adult’s uncertainty. Martin asks Viktor whether the marchers are going to fight, and Viktor answers that they are only on manoeuvres. After watching the procession, Liesel asks what will happen. Viktor snaps that he has no idea. Against the song’s insistence that the ranks are closed, his response offers no assurance: the family can hear and see the display of force, but cannot know what it portends.

Significance of the Expression

The expression’s force comes from the contrast between its declaration of order and the disorder unfolding around it. The marchers sing of a high flag and closed ranks while encountering police, shouting, and a smashed banner; their continued song makes the slogan sound both like a political claim and a means of sustaining the procession when that claim is visibly challenged. From inside the family’s rooms, the chant is also part of an uncertain political landscape, not a reassuring answer to what may come.