Throughout its long history, the flag of Germany has been repeatedly changed in accordance with political beliefs and the state system of the country. The modern flag was approved on May 23, 1949, and since then the appearance and symbolism have not changed.
The canvas of the German flag has the shape of a rectangle, which consists of three horizontally arranged stripes of the same size: black, red and gold, where:
- Black is the dark past of the country
- Red is the blood shed in the struggle for freedom
- Gold is the prosperity and great future of Germany.
The combination of these colors has been known since the Middle Ages. The prototype was the banners and coats of arms of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, which was founded by King Otto I of Germany and existed for almost a thousand years.
In different periods of history, the flag was first adorned with a one-headed eagle with red claws and a beak on a gold background, which later became two-headed.
Flag of Germany and Counts of Habsburg
With the coming to power of the Habsburg dynasty, whose family coat of arms depicted a red lion on a gold shield, red and yellow colors were firmly established in the heraldry of Germany. On the chest of the eagle was placed a shield with the image of a lion of red color. Over the course of history, the eagle's chest was decorated with an increasing number of shields with the coats of arms of the subordinate lands, and the main colors eventually become gold and black.
German Confederation of Napoleon I
With the advent of the Rhine League under Napoleon I, the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation ceased to exist - the era of the German Confederation began under the leadership of the Habsburg Empire and under the patronage of Napoleon I. The official colors of the Union are green, white and blue. At the same time, the states subject to the Union continued to use national coats of arms and flags.
How did the modern colors of the tricolor appear
The flag of black- red-gold color became for Germany a symbol of unity and the struggle for freedom. During the Napoleonic Wars, there were several corps of volunteers in Austria and Germany, which led the militia. The most famous was Lyutzow's detachment, or "black vigilantes": they sought to unite all the Germans who hated the French and disorganize Napoleon's army. The uniform of the volunteers of the detachment was black with bronze buttons and red sheaths. Thus, these colors unwittingly became a symbol of the struggle against slavery and the desire from darkness to light through a bloody battle.
Officially, the flag of the German Confederation tricolor black-red-gold color becomes in 1848.
Flag of the German Empire
From 1867, the German Confederation was transformed into the North German Confederation when Prussia joined. The new colors of the new state are black, white and red. This was an important step towards the unity of Germany, so there was no special dispute about the colors.
In 1870, the North German Confederation was united with the South German states, resulting in the birth of the German Empire. The national heraldic symbol has not changed - the flag of black-white-red color will exist for the next 50 years.
Flag of the German State during the Weimar Republic
In 1918, Germany became a republic: the duchy and kingdom that left the empire received separate flags for each, and the state colors of the republic again became black, red and gold. The tricolor will be used for the next 15 years.
Flag of the Third Reich
With the advent of the Nazis, heraldic symbols in Germany changed again. Adolf Hitler personally designed the flag for the Third Reich: a red cloth with a white circle in the middle, inside of which is a black swastika. The Third Reich had two national flags: the first with a swastika and the second a black-white-red tricolor. Both flags were hung at the same time.
Post-war period without a flag
After the defeat in World War II, Germany was under occupation, the territory was divided between the USSR, the USA, France and Great Britain, and for several years the country did not have its own flag - Nazi paraphernalia was banned.
Only in 1949 Germany returned the flag of black-red-gold color, already without ominous references.
