Horst Wessel (9 October 1907 – 23 February 1930) was a German Nazi Party activist and an SA-Sturmführer who became a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930. He was the author of the lyrics to the song "Die Fahne hoch" ("The Flag On High"), usually known as Horst-Wessel-Lied ("the Horst Wessel Song"), which became the Nazi Party anthem and Germany's de facto co-national anthem from 1933 to 1945. His death also resulted in his becoming the "patron" for the Lüftwaffe's 26th Destroyer Wing and the 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division during World War II.