Before the German Empire
Before 1871, German-speaking Europe was divided among kingdoms, duchies, free cities and other territories. There was no single German national state or national flag.
The idea of German political unity grew during the nineteenth century. The colours black, red and gold became associated with liberal and national movements, while individual German states continued to use their own dynastic colours and flags.
The North German Confederation
After Prussia's victory over Austria in 1866, the North German Confederation was established in 1867 under strong Prussian leadership.
The black-white-red colour combination was adopted for the new federation. Black and white were strongly associated with Prussia, while red and white had connections with the Hanseatic cities of northern Germany.
This combination would become the foundation of the later imperial German flag.
1871 — the German Empire
The German Empire was proclaimed in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War and the unification of most German states under Prussian leadership.
The black-white-red horizontal tricolour became the national flag of the new empire. It was a deliberately different political symbol from the black-red-gold colours associated with liberal and democratic nationalism.
Black, white and red
The three colours became closely associated with the Kaiserreich, the German monarchy and the power of Prussia within the new federal empire.
Unlike a flag based on a single historical kingdom, the tricolour represented the new political structure of a united Germany while retaining strong links to the states and traditions that had created it.
The colours would eventually become politically controversial because different movements later claimed them as symbols of German nationalism and opposition to the republic.
The Kaiser and imperial Germany
The German Empire was a federal constitutional monarchy. The King of Prussia also held the title of German Emperor, or Kaiser.
The imperial flag appeared alongside royal, military and naval standards. It became closely connected with the monarchy, the armed forces and the increasingly powerful German state.
Industrial and military expansion
During the late nineteenth century, Germany underwent rapid industrialisation. Its population, economy, scientific institutions and manufacturing industries expanded dramatically.
The empire also developed one of the world's most powerful armies and, under Kaiser Wilhelm II, a major modern navy. The black-white-red flag became increasingly visible at military ceremonies, public buildings, ports and national celebrations.
Imperial Germany at sea
The flag had an important maritime history. Black-white-red was used on German merchant shipping, while the Imperial German Navy used related naval ensigns and standards.
Germany's growing navy was part of its wider ambition to become a major global power. The flag consequently became familiar outside Germany as well as within the empire.
The German colonial empire
Germany also established an overseas colonial empire during the late nineteenth century. German territories were established in parts of Africa and the Pacific.
The imperial flag was used to represent German sovereignty in these territories. The colonial period is now studied critically, including the violence and atrocities committed by German colonial authorities.
The flag therefore belongs not only to the history of German unification and monarchy, but also to the history of European imperialism and colonialism.
The First World War
When the First World War began in 1914, the black-white-red flag became a major symbol of the German war effort.
Germany fought on multiple fronts and suffered enormous casualties and economic disruption. Military defeat eventually produced a political crisis at home.
1918 — the end of the empire
In late 1918, revolution spread through Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and the German monarchy collapsed.
The German Empire came to an end and was replaced by the Weimar Republic. The political change also brought a change in national colours.
The return of black-red-gold
The Weimar Republic adopted the black-red-gold tricolour associated with the earlier liberal and democratic national movement.
The change was highly symbolic. Black-white-red represented the imperial past to many supporters of the monarchy and conservatives, while black-red-gold increasingly represented parliamentary democracy and republican government.
The imperial colours after 1918
Although no longer the official national flag, black-white-red did not disappear. Monarchists, nationalists and other opponents of the Weimar Republic continued to use the colours.
The flag's meaning therefore shifted from being an official state symbol to being a political and historical symbol. Different groups could use the same colours to express very different ideas about Germany's past and future.
The Nazi period
The black-white-red colours were briefly restored to official use alongside Nazi symbolism after Hitler came to power in 1933. This reflected the Nazi regime's attempt to appeal to older German nationalist traditions.
In 1935, however, the swastika flag became the sole national flag of Nazi Germany. The imperial tricolour was no longer the official national flag.
It is important to distinguish the imperial flag from the later Nazi flag: the German Empire existed from 1871 to 1918, decades before the Nazi regime.
After the Second World War
Following Germany's defeat in 1945, black-white-red was not restored as a national flag. The Federal Republic of Germany and later the reunified German state used black-red-gold.
The imperial colours nevertheless survived in historical collections and among some political movements. Their modern meaning can depend heavily on the context in which they are displayed.
Why the imperial flag matters
The German Empire flag is an important example of how a flag can acquire different meanings over time. It began as the symbol of a newly unified federal monarchy and later became associated with political movements opposed to the German republic.
It also provides a visual link between several major periods of German history: unification in 1871, the Kaiserreich, German imperial expansion, the First World War, the revolution of 1918 and the creation of the Weimar Republic.
German Empire Flag Timeline
The black-white-red colour combination is adopted by the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership.
The German Empire is proclaimed and the black-white-red tricolour becomes its national flag.
Germany industrialises rapidly, builds a major navy and establishes a colonial empire. The imperial flag becomes widely visible at home and overseas.
The flag becomes a major symbol of the German war effort.
Germany's defeat leads to revolution, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the collapse of the monarchy.
The new republic adopts black-red-gold, replacing black-white-red as the national flag.
Black-white-red is restored alongside Nazi symbolism during the early years of Hitler's regime.
The Nazi regime removes the imperial tricolour from official national use.
The imperial colours remain part of German history and are later used by various political and historical groups.
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Sources & further reading
This FlagAtlas article is an educational overview of historical flag development. Historical symbols can have different meanings depending on period and context, so individual flags should be studied alongside the political history of the states that used them.