Germany's Flag

Germany’s flag features a design known as a tricolour, a set of three evenly measured horizontal bars that showcase the national colors: gold, red, and black. This design first came to prominence during the revolution of 1848, and eventually became the flag of the united democratic state formed by the Frankfurt Parliament. It was once again used as the national flag during the interwar period, when the Weimar Republic was in power. After the Second World War, when Germany was split into two separate nations, the tricolour remained the flag of both nations, with the exception that socialist symbols were added to the East German Flag in the 1950s. Germany’s flag has come to represent a great deal about the beliefs and practices of the government that flies it.

However, this is not the only flag that has ever flown above German soil. During the era of the German Empire following the Austro-Prussian War, when Germany was unified for the first time in history, the three colors of the flag were black, white, and red. These colors were reintroduced when Germany came under the control of the Nazis during the 1930s, and were maintained as the national colors until they were defeated at the end of World War II. These colors dominated whenever Germany was under imperial or fascist rule; in contrast, the colors of Germany’s flag today are closely associated with democracy, unity, and freedom in the minds of the German people.

The modern black-red-gold design was selected as the official civil flag of West Germany in 1949, when it was selected for inclusion in the German constitution. It is used by many civil authorities on a local and state level to associate themselves with the German federal government. Typically, these local powers will fly flags of their own in addition to the federal tricolour. Germany’s flag for the German government, the Dienstflagge der Bundesbehörden—which means state flag of the federal authorities—maintains the black-red-gold design, but adds a federal badge that is a variation on Germany’s coat of arms. Using the governmental flag is a right of the federal authorities—anyone else who uses it for any purpose is subject to a fine.

It has also been decreed that the Germany’s flag must be flown from public buildings on certain designated days, that include, but are not limited to, the following: Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism (27 January), International Worker’s Day (1 May), Constitution Day (23 May), and German Unity Day (3 October). Some states even require the flag to be flown on election days.