Thule Society
The group was founded in April 1919 by Rudolf von Sebottendorf, president of Thule Society. The cabinet of Johannes Hoffmann (SPD) had fled from Bavarian Soviet Republic to Bamberg. Major Albert Ritter von Beckh (1870–1958) assumed military control. Most of the volunteers came from Bavaria, and therefore the symbol of the Edelweiß was chosen. Its direct precursor was the "Kampfbund" within Thule Society, which also was against the Bavarian Soviet republic.