Flag of the German Empire
National flag of the German Empire from 1892 to 1918.
The black-white-red tricolor, often called the Imperial Flag or Reich Flag, combines elements from the flag of Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Hanseatic League. It first served as the national flag of the North German Confederation and later became widely used, both officially and unofficially, throughout the German Reich from 1871 to 1945. However, it was not formally adopted as the German Empire's national flag until 1892, under Emperor Wilhelm II. After 1918, various groups used it as a political symbol.
The colors white and red appear frequently in heraldry, especially in the coats of arms and flags of Hanseatic cities like Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck, Rostock, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar, Brunswick, and Halberstadt. The Saxon Steed, a white horse on a red shield, carries deep meaning in northern Germany and still appears in the coats of arms of Lower Saxony and Westphalia. The Holstein nettle leaf and the Brandenburg coat of arms also feature red and white prominently, and the states of Berlin, Thuringia, and Hesse use red and white as their official colors. These colors were also present in the badges and flags of the Holy Roman Empire. The original imperial flag, first seen in the 12th century, displayed a silver cross on a red field. Around 1350, it was replaced by an eagle banner, though a red pennant on the imperial war flag preserved the red. The combination of black, white, and red appeared in the Holy Roman Empire's war flag, which showed black and silver stripes crossed by two red swords.
White and black have long been tied to Prussian history. The Teutonic Order's knights bore a white shield with a black cross. Grand Master Hermann von Salza received the black imperial eagle from Emperor Frederick II in the Golden Bull of Rimini, placing it on a white shield—this later became the Prussian eagle coat of arms. The Hohenzollern family, who ruled Brandenburg and Prussia, used a shield quartered in white and black. The flags of the Prussian provinces of Posen, East Prussia, and West Prussia were also white and black. The Berlin bear, a medieval symbol, is traditionally black on a white field.
After the German Confederation dissolved, Prussia formed the North German Confederation in 1866 through the Confederation Treaty and the 1867 Constitution. This new state included Prussia and 21 other northern German states. The question of a flag aro
- Adopted
- 1892 (as national flag of the German Empire)
- Design
- Horizontal black, white, and red tricolor
- Origin
- Combination of Prussian colors (black and white) and Hanseatic colors (red and white)
- First used
- 1867 (as flag of the North German Confederation)
- Last official use
- 1935 (banned in Nazi Germany)
- Also known as
- Schwarz-Weiß-Rot, Kaiserflagge, Reichsflagge
Lore & Background
The colors white and red are widely used in heraldry, particularly in the coats of arms and flags of Hanseatic cities such as Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck. The colors white and black have a long connection to Prussian history, with the knights of the Teutonic Order bearing a white shield with a black cross, and the Hohenzollern family having a shield quartered white and black as their family coat of arms. Following the dissolution of the German Confederation, Prussia formed the North German Confederation in 1866. Adolf Soetbeer, secretary of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, suggested combining the colors of Prussia (black and white) with the Hanseatic colors (red and white). The constitution of the North German Confederation declared a horizontal black-white-red tricolor as both the civil and war ensign. King Wilhelm I of Prussia was satisfied with the color scheme, noting that red and white also represented the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and that the absence of gold made it clear this German state did not include the Austrian Empire.
Reader's Guide
The black-white-red flag served as the national flag of the German Empire from its official adoption in 1892 until the German Revolution of 1918–1919. During the Weimar Republic, it was not used as a national flag but saw use within the Reichswehr and by paramilitary organizations including the Freikorps, as well as by right-wing conservative and liberal political parties. German nationalists used the flag to protest against the Weimar Republic, including during the Kapp Putsch of 1920. In March 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg reinstated the black-white-red flag by decree as the national flag of Germany, to be flown alongside the swastika flag. In September 1935, the swastika flag became the sole national flag, and the imperial flag was banned as 'reactionary'. During World War II, the National Committee for a Free Germany, an anti-fascist organization formed by German prisoners of war and exiles in the Soviet Union, adopted the black-white-red flag as their symbol, rejecting the Weimar Republic's black-red-gold flag. After German reunification, the flag remained a symbol among right-wing monarchist organizations and the far-right, though it originally had no racist or anti-Semitic meaning.
Did You Know?
- The flag was first suggested by Adolf Soetbeer, secretary of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, in the Bremer Handelsblatt on 22 September 1866.
- The flag was only officially adopted as the national flag of the German Empire in 1892, during the reign of Wilhelm II.
- During World War II, the anti-fascist National Committee for a Free Germany adopted the black-white-red flag as their symbol.
- The flag was banned in Nazi Germany in September 1935, when the swastika flag became the national flag.
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