When you think of a country, what’s one of the first things that come to mind? For many, it’s the country’s national flag. Countries use flags as a way to set themselves apart—and, oftentimes, as a way to represent the values and traditions that the country holds in high regard.
A country’s flag isn’t a static thing. As countries grow and change, so too do their flags. It’s no surprise that a country’s history can be read through the changes in their national flag. This is true of Germany and the German flag’s history.
Did you have ancestors living in Germany during one of the changes to the German flag's design? Perhaps you had ancestors that lived through some of the pivotal points of German history. You can check your family tree for these ancestors using the Timeline feature of FamilySearch's Where Am I From activity!
The Current German flag
The current German flag is recognizable with its bold stripes of black, red, and gold. Within Germany, the flag has a few variations: the government flag, which includes the German coat of arms; the vertical flag, which has the German flag colors vertically displayed to be draped from buildings; and the military flag, which is used for military purposes.
What Do the Colors of the German Flag Mean?
Most historians don’t agree on the origins of the German flag’s colors. Some say the colors come from the colors of the Holy Roman Empire, a large part of which was in modern-day Germany. Others say they come from German soldiers' uniforms during the Napoleonic Wars.
The colors on these uniforms had great symbolism tied to them; the traditional saying explains that “Out of the blackness of servitude, through bloody battles, to the golden light of freedom.”
The Holy Roman Empire’s influence can be seen in Germany’s coat of arms as well. The Bundesadler, or Federal Eagle, as it appears on the German government flag, has its origins in the aquila, a Roman symbol that represented both the emperor and their most powerful god.
Banners of the Holy Roman Empire
Before Germany existed as we know it today, the area was part of the Holy Roman Empire. At its most powerful, the Holy Roman Empire included all or some of modern-day Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, France, and Italy.
Over the centuries of the Holy Roman Empire’s existence (962–1806), the country had several versions of their imperial banner. The basic 14th century royal banner was a simple, black-on-gold design featuring an eagle. This design was further expanded upon in the early 1400s when the color red began to be included. In 1433, the basic eagle was replaced with a double-headed imperial eagle.
The Holy Roman Empire’s imperial banner changed relatively frequently to represent different ruling dynasties. However, the gold-on-black, double-headed eagle remained constant until the Holy Roman Empire’s disillusion at the beginning of the Napoleonic wars.
Historic German Flags of the 1800s
By the time the Napoleonic wars left Europe embroiled in over a decade of conflict, the Holy Roman Empire was already a shadow of its former self. Many of the territories had almost complete sovereignty, and the title of emperor no longer held much significance.
When the French army won a series of important battles, Emperor Francis II was forced to sign the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, which annexed a significant portion of territory to France. Convinced that his days as emperor were numbered, Francis II then abdicated the throne and dissolved the empire.
With the Holy Roman Empire gone, many territories chose to join the Confederation of the Rhine, a confederation under French control. These territories had no unifying flag of their own; they instead flew the French flag to show their allegiance.
The German Confederation and Growing German Nationalism
The Confederation of the Rhine dissolved in 1813 when Napoleon was finally defeated, ending the Napoleonic era. Diplomatic meetings at the Congress of Vienna determined new borders for many European countries. German territories were organized into the German Confederation, a loose organization with no central leadership.
The German Confederation had no flag, though it did have a coat of arms that included the black-and-red double-headed eagle on a gold background.
The Reunification of Germany
German nationalism grew in the late 1800s, as well as a desire to combine strength against larger powers. After a series of victories in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian war, the German Empire was founded on January 18, 1871. Wilhelm I, former king of Prussia, was crowned as its first emperor.
The flag of the new German Empire was unlike any of its predecessors. It adopted a black-white-red color scheme that combined the colors of Prussia with the colors of the Hanseatic league, which were 2 of the most prominent German territories.
Germany in the 1900s
The beginning of the 1900s saw the start of World War I, a conflict that engulfed nearly all of Europe. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium on August 4, 1914. At WWI's conclusion in 1919, Germany’s defeat and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in many ways meant the end of the German Empire. Public awareness of the lost war sparked a revolution, and the Weimar Republic was founded.
Flag of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic readopted the black-red-gold colors first seen during the Napoleonic wars. However, this change was not welcomed by many of the German people. They saw the new flag as a humiliating symbol of their defeat in World War I, something they already had too many reminders of.
The “War Guilt clause” included in the Treaty of Versailles marked Germany as completely responsible for the conflict and demanded that the country pay a staggering amount of money in reparations. The crippling debt caused hyperinflation and economic turmoil.
The Treaty of Versailles also included forced disarmament and loss of European territory and Pacific and African colonies. In a short period of time, Germany was effectively removed as a world power
The Rise of Nazi Germany
Although a successful debt restructuring plan reinvigorated Germany's economy for a short time, the situation only got worse when the worldwide Great Depression hit in 1929. Many people connected this economic downturn to the downturn Germany had faced immediately after World War I.
Public dissatisfaction and economic instability created a fertile environment for the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler, who promised to restore traditional values, pull Germany from the Great Depression, and return Germany to a seat as world power. Through deft political maneuvering, Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933. He then used the position to seize complete control of the government and transform Germany into a dictatorship.
Under Hitler's leadership, the black-red-gold flag of the Weimar Republic was banned. Two flags replaced it: the black-white-red flag of the German Empire and the now-infamous flag of the Nazi Party. The Nazi flag was designed by Hitler— it kept the old colors of the German Empire flag and the black swastika was meant to represent the Aryan race.
Germany in World War II
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. Other nations quickly got involved in what became the deadliest conflict in history. During this time, the Nazi government also enacted the Holocaust, the horrific state-sponsored genocide of over 6 million Jewish men, women, and children.
By 1942, Germany and its allies controlled nearly all of continental Europe. However, the tide of the battle began to change in 1943. Germany experienced its first major defeat in Stalingrad and shortly thereafter was forced to surrender in the North Africa Stalemate. On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender.
German History after World War II
Germany was leaderless immediately after World War II, and the Allied forces split the country into occupation zones until a new German government could be established. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States united their territories into West Germany in 1948. The Soviet Union, however, maintained its control of East Germany.
The Cold War: East and West Germany
When the relationship between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union broke down, Berlin was split in a similar manner to how Germany had been divided. Although Berlin itself was in East Germany, the Western Allies and their administrations claimed West Berlin for West Germany.
The Soviet Union tried several tactics to force the Allies out of Berlin. When those tactics failed, East Germany erected the Berlin Wall around Western Berlin, preventing mass defections from the east side to the west.
The story of this divide is told in the flags of each territory. East Germany adopted a flag similar to the Weimar Republic flag, emblazoned with the Emblem of East Germany: a compass and a hammer, wreathed in rye. West Germany also readopted the Weimar Republic flag, as well as the black-on-gold eagle of the Germany coat of arms.
The Reunification of Germany
The Berlin Wall stood for nearly 30 years until the Cold War began to die down. On November 9, 1989, East German leadership responded to building protests by loosening up travel restrictions from East to West Germany. East Germans flooded the border in celebration and began chipping away at the wall itself.
West Germany moved swiftly for reunification, a move overwhelmingly supported by the German people. By October 3, 1990, there was no more East and West—there was just one Germany and one German flag.
Does your family celebrate German Unity Day on October3? Consider recording your family's traditions and experiences with this public holiday using FamilySearch Memories!
German Flag History and Family History
German flag history is full of all kinds of stories, depicting the changes and continuities of Germany's values and traditions over time. Your family history is also full of stories, showing the your ancestors' journeys through life.
Don't know where to start discovering your ancestors' stories? Use the Timeline feature of FamilySearch's Where Am I From activity to see when and where your ancestors lived. Let history guide you as you imagine the lives they might've lived.
Discover More about Your German Heritage
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