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The German flag: Black-Red-Gold - not Black-White-Red

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Rumpel

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If one watches too many Anglo-Saxon war films one might come to the conclusion, that the German flag is Black-White-Red.
Well, it isn't.
It is Black-Red-Gold.

Here is an article about it:

Black-red-gold: The origins of the German flag​

European soccer championship enthusiasts like to wear their national colors. Germany's fans sport black, red and gold. The colors have a checkered history.
Click to expand...

and:

Following a long reflection process, the authors of Germany's new constitution, the Basic Law, added the following sentence into Article 22 in 1949: "The federal flag is black-red-gold."

In fact, the color combination already had at least 200 years of history behind it in Germany.

Nowadays, the flag represents a tradition of freedom and democracy, but it was a long and winding road to get there.

The roots of the black-red-gold triad were long thought to have been in the Middle Ages. Although the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation showed a black eagle with red legs against a gold background, those were not the official colors of the empire.
Click to expand...

More about it: https://www.dw.com/en/black-red-gol...bolized national unity,that was to be founded.
 
Surely some of you thought that the German flag is Black-White-Red?
Isn't it?

:)
 
In foreign films anyway the German flag is usually Black-White-Red.
And with a Swastika (Hakenkreuz) in it.

:cool:
 
East Germany also used Black-Red-Gold - but with a hammer and a compass.
 
The East German flag:

The flag of East Germany was the official national flag of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during its existence from 1949 to 1990. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from the flag of the Weimar Republic and communist symbolism. The flag was outlawed as an unconstitutional and criminal symbol in West Germany and West Berlin, where it was referred to as the Spalterflagge (secessionist flag) until the late 1960s.
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Here that flag can be seen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_East_Germany
 
Contrary to Denmark, Switzerland, USA, France, UK etc - the German flag can only rarely be seen in its own country.
Mostly at times of a World or European soccer championship.
 
Rumpel said:
Contrary to Denmark, Switzerland, USA, France, UK etc - the German flag can only rarely be seen in its own country.
Mostly at times of a World or European soccer championship.
Click to expand...
We also do not show our national flag that many times. Normally on national holidays and on the family of royalty. We are not that flag mad. And when there are football tournaments we normally go orange.
 
@ Black-Red-Gold

Of the 195 countries, only three countries have gold (yellow), black, and red color combination flags. However, several regions, cities, towns, and counties also have flags with three color combinations. The meaning of the three colors is unique to each country. Below are some of the flags with gold, black, and red.
Click to expand...
www.worldatlas.com

Flags With Gold, Black, and Red

Of the 195 countries, only three countries have gold (yellow), black, and red color combination flags. However, several regions, cities, towns, and counties also have flags with three color combinations.
www.worldatlas.com www.worldatlas.com
 
We never call the USA national standard flag a tricolor even given it has three colors: the well known red, white, blue.

Tricolor is a European thingy word for a flag of three colors, often red, white, blue, as in the French Tricolour.

In fact I offer a friendly if not French myself challenge to match this....


La Marseillaise Bastille Day July 14 Champs de Elyesees


2,310,387 views
Jul 14, 2019


I couldn't determine whether Merkel was also singing along en Francaise. I've gathered over some period of time Merkel is fluent in Russian, German, English, so I'd figure she knows some French if not being fluent in it.

The lyrics are of course a lot of French Revolution bloodlust but the music is stirring indeed, rousing as needs be for a revolution.



It would be apropos indeed to look at something German while we're at it....


Marsch des Yorck'schen Korps​



2,954,032 views​

May 16, 2009


March in Military Band and Guard Battalion of the German Federal Armed Forces. Music: Marsch des Yorck'schen Korps or Yorckscher Marsch or The March for Military Band No.1 in F major. Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven in 1808.

Ludwig van Beethoven's "Yorkscher Marsch" is named in honor of Prussian General Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg. This ceremony is a several hundred years old Prussian military tradition and has nothing to do with "Nazis" from Third Reich or WW II, and also please realize, that the German armed forces are in the tradition of the military resistance against Hitler and the Nazi reign of terror.

(So sez the text accompanying the video. I corrected the text btw, mainly to place periods since there were only two periods in the whole thing -- although colons were correct ha -- corrected some spelling and the capitalization of the second use of Prussian. Around the time btw Beethoven wrote the march the Germans named a naval cruiser the Yorck that in WW I sunk hitting German mines in Rostock harbor on its return from participating in a raid on Yarmouth in UK ha.)

Although I don't know German, it seems to me a reasonable translation of Marsch des Yorck'schen Korps would be something like March of the Yorkshire Corps. The joint service forces present, as we would call Army, Navy, AF formed up together, appear to be the Bundeswehr ceremonial guards of each service.

There is no ceremonial MOS in the U.S. armed forces btw. In other words, in Washington honor guard services you are what your MOS is in each service and you also do ceremonial stuff that hasn't any code. In Washington it's voluntary in each service but I dunno about Germany, ie, whether you can say no and walk away to something else or whether you're assigned and haven't any choice. I would think the former in Germany too as no command I can think of wants ceremonial troops who rebel at the thought of all the marching and standing around and, as the Army NCO E-7 who recruited me termed it, the "'chickenshit" of white gloves, pressed uniforms, shined shoes, constant drill and ceremonial practice, inspections and inspections and inspections....and so on.

All the same this happy horsestuff is anyway a great experience for virtually all of us who volunteered to do it, officers, nco and enlisted alike, and I'm confident these German forces feel the same -- as the ceremonial troops feel the same in just about any other country's ceremonial armed forces. Just make no mistake, ie, ceremonial forces can fight tonight.
 
Rumpel said:
Surely some of you thought that the German flag is Black-White-Red?
Isn't it?

:)
Click to expand...
No, I knew that was the old flag (as in the flag of the German Empire). And I doubt anyone here as actually seen the old flag, the flags people tend to know are the new flag and the Nazi party flag (since that's the one that's in most war movies). Black-Red-Gold was already the official flag during the Weimar Republic (and had older roots), although the Imperial flag was still used by the political right.

If you play any Hearts of Iron game Nazi Germany tend to have the Imperial flag because the Nazi flag is banned in several countries.
 
Fun fact on the colors black/red/gold:

While not evidenced beyond all doubt, many see the origins as dating back to the Napoleonic wars and uniforms of the "free corps of Lützow", the uniforms of which were black, had red lapels and gold-colored buttons.
 
joluoto said:
No, I knew that was the old flag (as in the flag of the German Empire). And I doubt anyone here as actually seen the old flag, the flags people tend to know are the new flag and the Nazi party flag (since that's the one that's in most war movies). Black-Red-Gold was already the official flag during the Weimar Republic (and had older roots), although the Imperial flag was still used by the political right.

If you play any Hearts of Iron game Nazi Germany tend to have the Imperial flag because the Nazi flag is banned in several countries.
Click to expand...
Tangmo said:
We never call the USA national standard flag a tricolor even given it has three colors: the well known red, white, blue.

Tricolor is a European thingy word for a flag of three colors, often red, white, blue, as in the French Tricolour.

In fact I offer a friendly if not French myself challenge to match this....


La Marseillaise Bastille Day July 14 Champs de Elyesees


2,310,387 views
Jul 14, 2019


I couldn't determine whether Merkel was also singing along en Francaise. I've gathered over some period of time Merkel is fluent in Russian, German, English, so I'd figure she knows some French if not being fluent in it.

The lyrics are of course a lot of French Revolution bloodlust but the music is stirring indeed, rousing as needs be for a revolution.



It would be apropos indeed to look at something German while we're at it....


Marsch des Yorck'schen Korps​



2,954,032 views​

May 16, 2009


March in Military Band and Guard Battalion of the German Federal Armed Forces. Music: Marsch des Yorck'schen Korps or Yorckscher Marsch or The March for Military Band No.1 in F major. Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven in 1808.

Ludwig van Beethoven's "Yorkscher Marsch" is named in honor of Prussian General Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg. This ceremony is a several hundred years old Prussian military tradition and has nothing to do with "Nazis" from Third Reich or WW II, and also please realize, that the German armed forces are in the tradition of the military resistance against Hitler and the Nazi reign of terror.

(So sez the text accompanying the video. I corrected the text btw, mainly to place periods since there were only two periods in the whole thing -- although colons were correct ha -- corrected some spelling and the capitalization of the second use of Prussian. Around the time btw Beethoven wrote the march the Germans named a naval cruiser the Yorck that in WW I sunk hitting German mines in Rostock harbor on its return from participating in a raid on Yarmouth in UK ha.)

Although I don't know German, it seems to me a reasonable translation of Marsch des Yorck'schen Korps would be something like March of the Yorkshire Corps. The joint service forces present, as we would call Army, Navy, AF formed up together, appear to be the Bundeswehr ceremonial guards of each service.

There is no ceremonial MOS in the U.S. armed forces btw. In other words, in Washington honor guard services you are what your MOS is in each service and you also do ceremonial stuff that hasn't any code. In Washington it's voluntary in each service but I dunno about Germany, ie, whether you can say no and walk away to something else or whether you're assigned and haven't any choice. I would think the former in Germany too as no command I can think of wants ceremonial troops who rebel at the thought of all the marching and standing around and, as the Army NCO E-7 who recruited me termed it, the "'chickenshit" of white gloves, pressed uniforms, shined shoes, constant drill and ceremonial practice, inspections and inspections and inspections....and so on.

All the same this happy horsestuff is anyway a great experience for virtually all of us who volunteered to do it, officers, nco and enlisted alike, and I'm confident these German forces feel the same -- as the ceremonial troops feel the same in just about any other country's ceremonial armed forces. Just make no mistake, ie, ceremonial forces can fight tonight.
Click to expand...
 


Sounds impressive! :)
 


Here Black-Red-Gold can be seen in daylight. :)
 


The East German Army also showed Black-Red-Gold :)
 


And now: Prussia's Glory in Chile :)
 


And here a bit less militaristic :)


>>> If you click onto "Auf Youtube ansehen" you can watch the Video <<<<<<<<<<<<
 
this Festivals are everywhere the same, only with different clothing. Here is one near by here - even with scotsmen and backpipes ;)



edit - oh and even I found one from my homevillage (900 residents ;) :D )

 
The point of this thread, like Passchendaele, defies explanation.
 
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