The horizontal tricolor flag used today dates back to as early as 1778 and was popularized by the German Confederation in 1848. From 1556 until its end under Francis II in 1806 the empire meant little more than a loose federation of the different princes of Germany, lay and ecclesiastical, under the presidency of the House of Habsburg.

When the Weimar Republic collapsed in 1933, and the …

As East Germany was under Soviet rule, the flag did not yet represent them, although they used a flag that was similar.

At this time, the country had been using the red, white, and black color scheme on the flag (known as the imperial colors). From the year 1959 onwards, East Germany used a flag that incorporated the black, red, and gold background with the Coat of Arms of East Germany on the flag.

After the defeat of the Second Reich in World War I, that flag was replaced by the black-red-yellow under the

Former Director, Flag Research Center, Winchester, Massachusetts. In the Weimar Republic, following the First World War, the colors black, red, and gold represented the colors of the centrist, republican and democratic political parties. This flag was used to represent Germany until the end of World War II, which saw a ban on all Nazi symbols, including the flag. which had formed a coalition to avoid ascension to power by war-mongering or pacifist extremists.All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. When the Prussian king united Germany and became emperor in 1871, he adopted a black, white and red flag for the German Empire. That flag was also briefly used by the German Confederation of 1848–52.

Many Germans, however, rallied around other flags they felt better represented the true German spirit.

Author of Use of this flag was banned in West Germany, as it was seen as a symbol against unification.Ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the black, red and gold flag has officially stood for all of Germany.The colors of the flag of Germany somewhat resemble the colors used in the Roman Empire, which were just black and gold.

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Although there was some hesitancy to accept a national flag before eventual reunification, West Germany adopted the black, red and gold flag of Germany that we know today. After World War I, the Weimar Republic emerged from the rubble. The three colored bands represent the national colors of Germany. After the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), no emperor again… Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.When Germany was unified at the end of the 19th century, the national flag had stripes of black-white-red.

In 1919, the black, red and gold flag (a color scheme known as the \"republican colors\") was adopted by the newly formed Weimar Republic. The switch from the republican colors to the imperial colors was controversial to many in the Weimer Republic at the time. Germans associate the colors of the modern flag with freedom and unity since they were adopted by the first attempt in the united German republic.

The later German Empire under Otto von Bismarck and the emperors, that did unite Germany after all, chose a different tricolor as its national flag (the Prussian colors black, white and red). After the defeat of the Second Reich in World War I, that flag was replaced by the black-red-yellow under the Weimar Republic.