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| Use | State flag,civil andstate ensign |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 (3:5 in 1933–1935) |
| Adopted |
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| Relinquished |
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| Design | A horizontaltricolour ofblack,white, andred |
Theblack-white-red flag[1] (Schwarz-Weiß-Rot),[2] also known as theflag of the German Empire, theImperial Flag (Kaiserflagge) or theRealm Flag (Reichsflagge), is a combination of the flag ofPrussia and theflags of the Holy Roman Empire and theHanseatic League. Starting as thenational flag of theNorth German Confederation, it would go on to be commonly used officially and unofficially under thenation-state of theGerman Reich, which existed from 1871 to 1945. However, it was only officially adopted as the national flag of the German Empire in 1892, during the reign ofWilhelm II.[3] After 1918, it was used as a political symbol by various organizations.
The colorswhite andred are widely used in heraldry. They are particularly prevalent in the coats of arms and flags of theHanseatic cities, for example, in the coats of arms ofHamburg,Bremen,Lübeck,Rostock,Stralsund,Greifswald,Wismar,Brunswick, andHalberstadt. TheSaxon Steed, which carries significant symbolic meaning in Northern Germany and still forms the coats of arms ofLower Saxony andWestphalia, also consists of a white horse on a red shield. Similarly, theHolsteinnettle leaf and thecoat of arms of Brandenburg are dominated by red and white, and the states ofBerlin ,Thuringia , andHesse also use red and white as their state colors.
The colors white and red were also used in the badges and flags of theHoly Roman Empire.The original imperial flag, which first appeared in the 12th century, showed a silver cross on a red field. Around 1350, it was replaced by the royal or imperial eagle banner. Only a red pennant on theimperial war flag still recalled it. The combination black, white, and red, however, was already found in the imperial war flag, the war flag of the Holy Roman Empire. It showed a black and a silver stripe with two crossed red swords on it.
The colorswhite andblack have a close connection toPrussian history. Theknights of the Teutonic Order already bore a white shield with a black cross. The importantGrand Master of the Teutonic Order,Hermann von Salza, received the black imperial eagle as a mark of favor fromEmperor Frederick II upon his elevation to Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in theGolden Bull of Rimini , which he then displayed on a white shield. This would later become thePrussian eagle coat of arms. TheHohenzollern family, who later ruled Brandenburg and Prussia, had a shield quartered "white and black" as their family coat of arms. In theKingdom of Prussia, the flags of the provinces ofPosen ,East Prussia , andWest Prussia were also white and black. The Berlin bear, which has been a symbol since theMiddle Ages, is traditionally black and adorns the Berlin coat of arms on a white field.
Following the dissolution of theGerman Confederation,Prussia formed its unofficial successor, theNorth German Confederation, in 1866 with the signing of theConfederation Treaty in August 1866 and then the ratification of theConstitution of 1867. This national state consisted of Prussia, the largest member state, and 21 other north German states.[4]
The question regarding what flag should be adopted by the new confederation was first raised by the shipping sector and its desire to have an internationally recognisable identity. Virtually all international shipping that belonged to the confederation originated from either Prussia or the three Hanseatic city-states ofBremen,Hamburg, andLübeck. Based on this,Adolf Soetbeer, secretary of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, suggested in theBremer Handelsblatt on 22 September 1866 that any planned flag should combine thecolours of Prussia (black and white) with theHanseatic colours (red and white). In the following year, theconstitution of the North German Confederation was enacted under the leadership ofOtto von Bismarck, where a horizontal black-white-red tricolour was declared to be both the civil and war ensign.[5]
KingWilhelm I of Prussia was satisfied with the colour choice: the red and white were also taken to represent theMargraviate of Brandenburg, theImperial elector state that was a predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia.[6] The absence of gold from the flag also made it clear that this German state did not include the "black and gold" monarchy of theAustrian Empire. In theFranco-Prussian War, the remaining southern German states allied with the North German Confederation, leading to theunification of Germany. A new constitution of 1871 gave the federal state the new name of German Empire and the Prussian king the title of Emperor. TheGerman Empire retained black, white, and red as its national colours.[7] It was only officially adopted as the national flag of the German Empire in 1892, during the reign ofWilhelm II.[3] It would continue using it until theGerman Revolution of 1918–1919, which resulted in thefounding of the Weimar Republic.[8]
The Weimar Republic did not use it as a national flag though it did see use within theReichswehr and by manyparamilitary organizations including theFreikorps.[9] It would see usage byright-wingconservative andliberal political parties, including theGerman National People's Party and theGerman People's Party.German nationalists used the black-white-red flag to protest against theWeimar Republic during the 1920s and 1930s. This included the 1920 attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic known as theKapp Putsch.[citation needed]
Immediately after the electoral victory of theNazi Party in March 1933, German PresidentPaul von Hindenburg reinstated the black-white-red flag by decree as thenational flag of Germany. It is worth noting, however, that theswastika flag of the Nazi Party was to be flown along with this flag.[10] In September 1935, a year after Hindenburg's death andAdolf Hitler's elevation to the rank ofFührer, the swastika flag became the national flag of Germany;[11] the old imperial flag was deemed "reactionary", and banned.[12]
DuringWorld War II, German prisoners of war who had defected to theSoviet Union and German exiles in the Soviet Union, mainly the members of theCommunist Party of Germany, formed theNational Committee for a Free Germany, an anti-fascist military and political organization which sought to overthrow the Nazi regime and aided the Red Army in various ways, including the combat against theWehrmacht, and adopted the black-white-red flag as their symbol and as a flag for a possible democratic German state after the overthrow of Hitler. The main reason for the choice was the rejection of the Weimar Republic by the organization, since the prisoners of war who constituted the majority of the organization were highly critical of the Weimar Germany and said that initially they supported the Nazis only because of their disgust or hatred towards the "weakness" of the Weimar Republic, and the Communists agreed with them. The manifesto of the organization included criticisms of the "powerless" Weimar Republic and contrasted it to the future democratic state, a "truly popular" democratic government strong enough to crush the remains of the Nazi regime. The other reason was that the KPD leaders wanted to reassure its majority that the NKFD was not a Communist outfit but a union with all kind of views opposed to Nazism. The black-white-red flag became the flag of the organization and was used in its propaganda materials and on the armbands worn by the members of the organization.[13]
Many members of this organization would play a role in theSoviet occupation and organization of theEast German government. Due to this, the Imperial Flag was proposed as a national flag forEast Germany by those who saw it as a symbol ofGerman resistance to Nazism and by those who saw the black-red-gold tricolor as a symbol of the failedWeimar Republic. However, the East German government ultimately adopted theblack-red-gold flag, later adding the country'scoat of arms to distinguish it from the otherwise identical West German flag.[14][15]
After thereunification of Germany, the black-white-red flag remained as a symbol amongright-wingmonarchist organizations and thefar-right in Germany. Due to the ban on Nazi swastika flag in modern Germany, many German Neo-Nazis instead adopted the Imperial Flag. However, the flag never originally had any racist or anti-Semitic meaning, despite its brief use inNazi Germany. Among the right-wing the flag typically represents a rejection of theFederal Republic.[16][17]
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