Germany Flag PNG

The flag of Germany combines three horizontal stripes, black, red, and gold. Although the last color is technically yellow, it is described as gold for political and historical reasons. The flag may also include an eagle coat of arms in the middle when used for specific official purposes. The ratio is 3:5.

The flag was introduced in 1848 and officially adopted for the republic in 1919. It has been in continuous use since 1950, following the defeat of the Nazi Germany. The color specifications below were provided on 2 June 1999 by the federal cabinet.

Colors HEX Code Pantone CMYK
Black #000000 Black 0, 0, 0, 100
Red #FF0000 485 0, 100, 100, 0
Gold #FFCC00 7405 0, 12, 100, 5

History of the Flag

Historians believe the Germanic peoples emerged from the Jastorf culture during the Nordic Bronze Age or early Iron Age. Over time, they spread to the south, east, and west, melting with the Celtic, Iranian, Baltic, and Slavic tribes. The areas in the South of Germany were inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples from La Tène culture.

800 – 1806 (Holy Roman Empire)

The Holy Roman Empire was a polity in Central and Western Europe, which included varying lands and was ruled over first by Frankish and then by German kings. The empire emerged in the Early Middle Ages and lasted a thousand years.

962 – 1401

The empire didn’t have a national flag as such, but the Holy Roman Emperor did use an imperial banner. Throughout the 10 decades of its history, the banner featured a black eagle on a golden field.

The first modification took place around the late 13th or early 14th century. The bird’s claws and beak were colored red.

1401 – 1806

This modification was even more notable – the eagle became two-headed. This change took place in the early 15th century. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved. Instead, French emperor Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine from German client states loyal to France.

1806 – 1813 (Confederation of the Rhine)

Many of the dukes and princes of the dissolved Holy Roman Empire joined the Confederation of the Rhine. They would typically choose their local flags, which was only natural given that the Confederation didn’t have a flag of its own. In situations when a flag was needed, one of the two options was used: the flag of France (the blue-white-red tricolor) or the Imperial Standard of Napoleon (a golden eagle inside a red and blue frame).

1848 – 1852 (German Confederation)

The fact that the administration of many originally German states was now French, caused a strong nationalist movement. It aimed to free the land from foreign rule and create a single country. Part of this movement was the Lützowian Free Corps, a volunteer unit of the Prussian Army. The colors of their uniforms, black, red, and gold, soon became the main symbols of the nationalist forces.

We should point out that back then many people erroneously assumed these colors were derived from the coat of arms of the Holy Romany Empire, but this wasn’t the case. German politician Karl Hermann Scheidler explained the meaning of the colors in the following way:

  • black – “blackness of servitude”
  • red – “bloody battles”
  • gold – “light of freedom”

This combination was later adopted by the Jena Students’ Association and subsequently was used for flags in the 1832 mass rally at Hambah, in which thousands of students took part.

Although the black-red-gold tricolor was used mostly unofficially, it did eventually become the legitimate flag of the German Confederation in 1848. The flag lasted only four years in this status but became a universally recognizable symbol of the movement for a unified German state.

North German Confederation and the German Empire (1867 – 1918)

As a result of the Austro-Prussian War (1866), a notable power shift took place for the German states: Austria lost its status, while Prussia became more prominent. The German Confederation was abolished. It was partly replaced by the unification of all of the northern German states in the North German Confederation. The newly formed entity didn’t include Austria or southern German states.

The constitution of the North German Confederation, which was enacted in 1867, introduced a flag: a combination of black, white, and red stripes positioned horizontally. It had the status of both the civil and war ensign.

The colors were chosen to represent Prussia (black and white) and the three Hanseatic city-states (red and white). The person who suggested to choose from these colors was Adolf Soetbeer, secretary of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. He insisted that the confederation needed a distinctive flag for its ships and also that most ships were either from Prussia or from the Hanseatic city-states. So it was only natural to form the new flag of these colors.

King Wilhelm I of Prussia, in his turn, approved of this choice. One reason was that the gold, the color of Austria, was gone. Also, the red and white could be interpreted as the representation of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which also suited him.

When the new constitution was adopted in 1871, the state was renamed German Empire. The flag, however, remained unchanged.

1919 – 1933 (Weimar Republic)

As the result of the German revolution of 1918–1919 and the declaration of the German republic in 1918, the Weimar Republic was created. According to its constitution, the black-red-gold tricolor returned as the national flag. The black-white-red combination was still used as a civil ensign, but it had to comprise the national flag in the top left corner.

While this was the historic flag of Germany, quite a few people resented it assuming it was the reminder of the humiliation the country had gone through in World War I. In the political circles, there were both supporters and opponents. Most conservatives insisted that this flag was a good choice, while monarchists and the far right didn’t approve of it. As a result, in 1922 the black-white-red tricolor was returned as a symbol of German diplomatic missions abroad.

In early 1924, Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold was created, an organization aiming to support democracy. Since it chose the black-red-gold tricolor, these colors soon started to be associated with German democracy and resistance to political extremism.

1933 – 1945 (Third Reich)

In March 1933, the Enabling Act became the start of Nazi Germany. The black-red-gold tricolor, which was widely perceived as the symbol of democracy, was banned. Instead, the country got two flags: the old black-white-red tricolor and the banner of the Nazi Party featuring swastika.

In the fall of 1935, however, the black-white-red tricolor was abandoned altogether, and the flag of the Nazi Party became the country’s only legitimate national flag.

The swastika banner was introduced by Adolf Hitler himself around mid-1920. He shed the light on the meaning of the symbols in Mein Kampf. The choice of colors resulted from the need to create a link with Imperial Germany because the country had honor and respect back then. Also, he wanted the design to “prove effective as a large poster.” Hitler seemed to know pretty well how logotypes work and what they are for because he explicitly stated that an eye-catching emblem can sometimes become “the first cause of awakening interest in a movement.”

Later, other party leaders gave the following explanation of the elements of the design:

  • red as the symbol of the social
  • white to represent the party’s national thinking
  • swastika for the victory of Aryan humanity

As the civil war ensign, a version of the flag featuring an off-centered swastika was used.

1945 – 1949 (Allied Control Council)

Following World War II, the country was divided into four military occupation zones by the Allies. The swastika flag was forbidden, along with all other Nazi symbols.

While a national German flag didn’t exist, the country’s ships had to have a distinctive ensign. So, the Allied Control Council stated that the international signal pennant Charlie, or the C-Pennant, would play this role. It never had the status of Germany’s national flag, though.

As for the flags used on the territories of post-war Germany, they were chosen by the Allies, and each had its explanation.

The northern parts of the ex-states of Württemberg and Baden (American zone) were joined together into Württemberg-Baden in 1946. While it might seem that the flag chosen for the newly-formed political entity was just the historical German Confederation banner, that wasn’t the case. It just happened so that the colors of Württemberg were red and black, while Baden’s colors were red and yellow. The new flag, thus, could be interpreted as their mere combination.

In 1952, though, Württemberg-Baden merged into the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg, which used a black-gold bicolor.

Interestingly, the black-red-gold tricolor was also used in two other zones: in Rhineland-Palatinate (French zone) and Lower Saxony (British zone). One reason was that the tricolor didn’t have any connection to the historical states. Also, this flag was a reference to the Weimar Republic and its strive for democracy.

Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, 1949 – present)

As political issues between the United States and the Soviet Union were getting more and more acute, the US, France, and Britain decided to merge their zones into a single entity, the Federal Republic of Germany.

The flag was discussed during a meeting at Herrenchiemsee in August 1948. Among the many suggestions, there were two leading ones. First, the historical black-red-gold tricolor. The second one was more interesting. Introduced by conservative parties, it featured a Nordic Cross pattern made up of the same three colors.

The final decision was in favor of the more generic tricolor. It was based on the desire to emphasize the link with the Weimar Republic. It was proclaimed in the (West) German constitution enacted on 23 May 1949.

German Democratic Republic (East Germany, 1949 – 1990)

After the war, the lands east of the Oder and Neisse rivers were transferred to Poland and Soviet Russia. In 1949, the Soviet zone was renamed the German Democratic Republic.

1949 – 1959

The first flag of the just-formed state was the familiar tricolor of black, red, and gold. Interestingly, it was identical not only to a whole succession of Germany’s historical flags, but also to the then-current flag of West Germany.

1959 – 1990

The similarity to the neighboring state’s flag was an issue, so, in 1959, the GDR introduced a distinctive emblem. The intricate shape was formed by a compass and a hammer in gold in black placed inside a wreath of wheat. The design was inspired by communist symbols. It was in use until 1990 when East Germany was dissolved.

Meaning of Symbols and Colors

The main message behind the flag of Germany is currently that it is a symbol of democracy. This is largely because these colors were used by the pro-democratic and anti-extremist organization Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold established in 1924.

The tricolor, however, has been also used by a variety of political forces and under various circumstances.

Use of the Flag

There are eight flag-flying days in Germany, according to the information on the official site of the country’s Federal Government. Out of them, three are in May, two – in summer, and only two days are public holidays. On these days, the flag has to be hoisted by every official agency throughout the country, according to the federal decree issued on 22 March 2005.

Coat of Arms

The country’s coat of arms is nicknamed Bundeswappen. It is a gold shield featuring a black eagle with red legs, a red beak, and tongue. While an eagle is a widely used symbol, this one stands out due to the unusual parallel pattern on the wings. The top part of the wings creates a peculiar decorative effect and also represents power. The tail is somewhat similar to the fleur-de-lis pattern.

Bundeswappen has been known among the world’s oldest coats of arms. It is the oldest national symbol used by a country in the EU. The shield got its status in 1950 from the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, but its roots go deeper in history.

Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire used a coat of arms featuring a black eagle with a single head. The eagle was placed over the yellow background. In 1433, it was replaced by a double-headed eagle. The Weimar Republic returned to the single-headed eagle in 1919. In this form, the symbol was in use until 1935 and returned when the Nazis were destroyed.