The flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold. The flag was first adopted as the national flag of modern Germany in 1919, during the Weimar Republic.
Germany has two competing traditions of national colours, black-red-gold and black-white-red, which have played an important role in the modern history of Germany. The black-red-gold tricolour first appeared in the early 19th century and achieved prominence during the 1848 Revolutions. The short-lived Frankfurt Parliament of 1848–1850 proposed the tricolour as a flag for a united and democratic German state. With the formation of the Weimar Republic after World War I, the tricolour was adopted as the national flag of Germany. Following World War II, the tricolour was designated as the flag of both West and East Germany in 1949. The two flags were identical until 1959, when the East German flag was augmented with the coat of arms of East Germany. Since reunification on 3 October 1990, the black-red-gold tricolour has become the flag of reunified Germany.
After the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, the Prussian-dominated North German Confederation adopted a tricolour of black-white-red as its flag. This flag later became the flag of the German Empire, formed following the unification of Germany in 1871, and was used until 1918. Black, white, and red were reintroduced as the German national colours with the establishment of Nazi Germany in 1933, replacing German republican colours with imperial colours until the end of World War II.
The colours of the modern flag are associated with the republican democracy formed after World War I, and represent German unity and freedom.[2] During the Weimar Republic, the black-red-gold colours were the colours of the democratic, centrist, and republican political parties, as seen in the name of Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, formed by members of the Social Democratic, the Centre, and the Democratic parties to defend the republic against extremists on the right and left.
The national flag of France is a tricolour flag featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour (French: Tricolore).
The royal government used many flags, the best known being a blue shield and gold fleur-de-lis (the Royal Arms of France) on a white background, or state flag. Early in the French Revolution, the Paris militia, which played a prominent role in the storming of the Bastille, wore a cockade of blue and red,[citation needed] the city's traditional colours. According to Lafayette, white, the "ancient French colour", was added to the militia cockade to create a tricolour, or national, cockade.[1] This cockade became part of the uniform of the National Guard, which succeeded the militia and was commanded by Lafayette.[citation needed] The colours and design of the cockade are the basis of the Tricolour flag, adopted in 1790.[citation needed] The only difference was that the 1790 flag's colours were reversed. A modified design by Jacques-Louis David was adopted in 1794. The royal white flag was used during the Bourbon restoration from 1815 to 1830; the tricolour was brought back into use after the July Revolution and has been used ever since 1830.
