In Treue fest (German for "steadfast inloyalty; firm in fidelity") was themotto of theKingdom of Bavaria (1805–1918) and of itsWittelsbach rulers, after the end of World War I used byBavarian monarchists.
The motto originates as that of theOrder of Saint Hubert of theDukes of Jülich and Berg, rendered in 15th-centuryLower Franconian asin traw vast. The order was defunct during the 17th century, and revived in 1708 underJohann Wilhelm, by which time the Duchy of Jülich-Berg had passed to thePalatinate branch of theHouse of Wittelsbach. The order was brought toBavaria in 1778 whenCharles Theodore, Duke of Jülich and Berg and Count-Elector Palatine, succeeded his childless cousin,Maximilian III Joseph asElector of Bavaria. In 1799, Charles Theodore was succeeded byMaximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, a member of a different branch of the house of Wittelsbach, who became the firstking of Bavaria.
The motto is the title of two militarymarches,one byCarl Teike (1903, English title "Steadfast and True") and another byAugust Högn (1905). It is invoked in the final verse of theArgonnerwaldlied (1914).From 1909, the motto was embossed on the belt buckles ofBavarian troops.[1] During theFirst World War, the motto was frequently reproduced on postcards and other memorabilia, often with the portraits of emperorsWilhelm II andFranz Joseph I. The "fidelity" invoked in the motto was now interpreted as referring to the loyalty of theGerman Empire andAustria-Hungary to theiralliance of 1879 in view of the increasing political isolation of theCentral Powers on theeve of the Great War.Bernhard von Bülow invoked the mutual loyalty between Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1909 asNibelungentreue in hisReichstag speech of 29 March 1909.
After the First World War it became the motto of German monarchists and of veteran associations also outside of Bavaria. Thus,IN TREUE FEST is inscribed on thewar memorial in Sörhausen,Syke,Lower Saxony.[2]In 1921, the Bavarian nationalist and royalist leagueIn Treue fest was founded at theSterneckerbräu. It was banned by the Nazis on 2 February 1933, and later re-established in 1952.[3]Because of its association with monarchism, the motto unlike other German military slogans (notably the termNibelungentreue) remained unassociated withNazi ideology and is still in use by a number of German associations, includingTambourcorps "In Treue fest" (Anstel, founded 1919/20),[4]Neusser Tambourkorps "In Treue fest" (Neuss, founded 1968).[5]BavarianStudentenverbindungKBStV Rhaetia München (founded 1881) uses the mottocum fide virtus ("virtue with loyalty"), intended as a Latin translation of the Wittelsbacher motto;KStV AlamanniaTübingen uses the Latin translationIn fide firmitas ("steadfastness in loyalty").
