German Flag

The flag of Germany is tricolored with the national colors of Germany: black, gold, and red in equal horizontal bands. These colors signify democracy formed after World War II and represents the freedom of Germany and the personal freedom that German citizens enjoy.

Today’s modern day flag was originally adopted in 1848 until 1871 when Bismarck gained control and replaced the flag. When Germany became a republic in 1919 the black, red and gold flag was reinstated until the Nazis took power in 1933. When World War II ended the tricolor Flag of Germany was officially reinstated on May 23, 1949. The current German flag has not changed since.

The current German flag achieved was popularized during the 1848 revolution. While having a brief tenure the Frankfurt Parliament of 1848–1850 proposed the black, gold, and red banded flag to represent a united and democratic German state. After the Weimar Republic was formed after World War I, the tricolor was adopted as the official flag of Germany. Subsequent to World War II, the tricolor was designated as the flag of both West and East Germany even though it was a divided state. The two flags were identical until 1959, when communist symbols were included to the East German flag. Upon unification of East and West Germany on 3 October 1990, the black-red-gold tricolor has remained the flag of Germany