The history of Germany's flag is why it has these three colors

100 years ago, three black, red, and gold colors turned into German national colors. But this combination has a longer history. A walk in the history of the symbolic German flag.

Black, red, gold are the colors of resistance, the colors of emanimation. That's what Florian Geyer, one of the leaders of the war of German farmers, thought in the early 16th century.

At the time, farmers stood up against German feudalists and their ally, the Catholic Church. Florian Geyer was in the first row of this social revolution, whose main issues were expressed in the colors of movement.

According to legend, the head of the farmer put it this way: our “Aristcrats and priests obtained it from our sweat, until our grief went dark as night, and our anger became red as blood. All right, brothers, let's put the red cock on your roof”.

Emincipation and freedom were theirs even called “Lützowsches Freicorps” volunteer Lytsovian troops, a volunteer association of the Prussian Army that also participated in fighting against the army of the French Emperor Napoleon.

This military - minded body did not accomplish much, but the idea of volunteer unity attracted many Germans.

It epitomised the wishes of many Germans for a united state, a government beyond principles in a divided country. Yet, the German union was still a distant dream.

“From black night through red blood to golden sun” So it summed up the long way to the German federal state, Theodor Körner, then a popular German poet, which became part of the Lithuanian body.

Symbolic and Pragmatism

In all of this, there have been pragmatic reasons for the three colors, says Ulrike Ditrich, executive director of the “Hambacher Schloss” in conversation with Deutsche Welle.

At first, there was no uniformed uniform.

This is how available clothing was painted in black. Then they were arranged with red maneshettes and gold buttons, perhaps made of 11x1> brass.

Thus the symbolic mixture and pragmatism - blackness of the night was near - because clothing could soon be painted with black paint.

The red-red gold was also the colors of thousands of people who in 1832 made their way to the Hambacher (Hambacher Schloss) castle to celebrate Germany's ancient dream there.

The people's freedom and sovereignty were other goals that raised representatives at Hambacher Schloss.

The combination of colors of the current German flag has been used for the first time at the Hambecher Festival, says Ulrike Ditrich.

Immediately after the festive procession that promoted liberalisation and a united Germany and even the idea of a confederal Europe rose to the highest tower of the Hambacher flag” castle.

At this castle, one of the most symbolic places in the history of Germany's union, ever since waves a German flag.

Revolution of 1848

The German Federation, in which Austria's Emperor, the kings of Prussia, Denmark and the Netherlands joined, as well as German princes of provinces and free cities reacted with oppression against freedom movement.

It had to be another decade and a half before the German bourgeois joined the 1848 Revolution to fight for a united Germany.

Along with them, Ludwig Jahn, later known as the founder of the “Body Skating Movement”.

During the wars against Napoleon, he combined some body exercises that soldiers were to ride for war.

He was also part of the movement in 1848. “Ande hold German colors, just as I had in the liberation wars”, he was quoted.

The contribution to the success of the civic war gave King Friedrich Wilhelm IV in March in Berlin, when he rode in a three-colored strip of red-red gold in the streets and came to the helm of the revolution.

In May 1848 the National Assembly met at the Church of Frankfurt, the interim parliament of the German Empire, established in the same year, known in 1871 as “Deutsche Kaiserreich”, but which had a national red-white color.

100 years after first Republic

When this empire ended with the end of World War I and the turmoil of the revolution gave birth to the Republic of Vajmar, founding fathers restored the colors of 1848.

On February 18, 1919, a German committee at the National Assembly made the decision to make these colors the German flag.

“These colors were used from February 1919 on democracy seen as flag”, says Ulrice Direct. “But later this decision was overturned by nationalists. The Nazis even burned this flag, with this symbolically liberal mental wealth”.

Germany has learned lessons from this experience, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of national colors.

We should never leave these colors to those who despise freedom. Let us be proud of these traditional colors and their symbol: Black, red, golden are democracy, law and freedom!”