|
German Democratic Republic Flag - Former East Germany
SKU: DDR35P
The flag of the former German Democratic Republic or East Germany is derived from the black-red-gold tri-colour which first appeared during the revolution of 1848 as a proposal for use in a united German state. It was not adopted until the formation of the Weimar Republic following World War l. The German people did not respect this new flag, as they perceived it as a symbol of their recent war defeat. This resentment together with emerging violence between the communists and the national socialists domestically lead to the collapse of the Weimar Republic in 1933 and the seizure of power by the Nazi Party with Adolf Hitler as Chancellor. Several flag designs would be introduced in by the Nazi’s using the black-red-white colours of the Austro-Prussian Empire as a sign of Germanic nationalism. The defeat of Germany in World War II resulted in the administration of Germany by the Allied Nations occupying its territory (Great Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet Union). As the occupied state had no independent government it flew no national flag. As the Cold War began to develop between the Soviets and the West, the three western allies met in March 1948 to propose a merger of their zones into a new German State which would eventually be known as the Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany. The Soviets would also soon formalize their zone as the German Democratic Republic or East Germany contrary to calls from the West to unify with the Federal Republic. Meetings held in August 1948 to establish a constitution for the proposed German Republic introduced the concept of a new national flag consisting of the colours black red and gold. Although objections were raised that the flag should be tabled until the unification of all four German quadrants, it was decided to proceed. A tri-color design was adopted using these colours with the constitution on May 23, 1949. While the use of black-red-gold had been suggested in the Soviet zone in 1946, the Second People's Congress in 1948 decided to adopt the old black-white-red tri-colour as a national flag for East Germany. However, in 1949, following a suggestion from Friedrich Ebert, the black-red-gold tri-colour was instead also selected as the flag of the German Democratic Republic, upon its official creation on October 7th, 1949. Both Germanys flew the same flag through 1959. On October 1, 1959, the East German government added its coat of arms to its tri-colour. This was seen in West Germany as a deliberate attempt to divide the German people. Displaying what was known as the Spalterflagge or divider-flag in West Germany (including West Berlin) was a violation of the German constitution and was outlawed until the late 1960s. The lead-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification in 1989 saw East Germans cut out the Coat of Arms from their flag, as a message to their Communist government that they wanted to end East German isolation. The German Democratic Republic was absorbed into the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990 retaining the black-red-gold tri-colour.
Try these related products:
France Flag - French Republic
Germany Flag - Federal Republic of
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Flag
United States of America Flag (USA)
United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland Flag
Send Page To a Friend
Gift Reminder
Return to Catalog
| 
Canada Flag Mart 
