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Heimatschutz is a German language word which literally translated means 'homeland protection'. The Heimatschutz movement arose in the late 19th century in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, with a focus on nature and landscape conservation as well as the care of historic townscapes, cultural heritage and traditions, folklore and regional identity.
A distinct early modernist Heimatschutz architectural style, characterised by traditional and regional building structural shapes, became common mainly in residential constructions up to World War II and continued until the late 1950s. The homeland literature of the late 19th century, opposing the prevalent naturalist movement, was popularised by authors like Berthold Auerbach, Ludwig Ganghofer, Peter Rosegger, or the "Heath Poet" Hermann Löns. In the Wilhelminism era, the middle-class educated Heimatschutz milieus increasingly adopted an anti-Modernism stance and developed strong ties with nationalist and chauvinist Völkisch circles. On the other hand, the idea of 'homeland protection' also became the concept of such as the German Friends of Nature ( Naturfreunde).
During the interwar period in Austria, the Heimatschutz concept was adopted by paramilitary Heimwehr forces, first in the Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia at the end of the World War I. Upon the 1930 legislative election, their Heimatblock organisation became part of the Austrian government and later was merged into the Fatherland Front, the Austrofascism single party. After the Anschluss annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938, the Vaterländische Front was disbanded; several Heimwehr members were deported to concentration camps by the Sturmabteilung and later the SS. By the cultural policy of the German regime, a "Blood and Soil" ideology in literature and film was promoted as an integral part of Nazi propaganda.
After World War II, the Heimat concept remained the basis of numerous light novels and Heimatfilm movies. During the Cold War era, Heimatschutz reserve battalions were deployed by the West German Bundeswehr for homeland defense. Today, the word is also used to translate the English expression "homeland security" used by the US federal government after the September 11 attacks of 2001.
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