Protestors in Germany are waving the German Imperial Flag. It’s a direct assault on German democracy.
During recent demostrations in Berlin, protesters have been waving Germany’s old black, white and red Imperial flag. Because of Germany’s history, this is not just an expression of nostalgia or quaint, old-fashion monarchism. It is a direct assault on Germany’s tradition of post-war democratic rule.
First, A Little History.
In the past 150 years, the German nation has had four flags.
From the founding of the German nation in 1871 until the end of the World War I, the German national flag was composed of three equal horizontal bands of black- white-red. This was the flag of Imperial Germany. It is known as the Reichs flag because it was the symbol of the German Empire, or Reich, which was ruled by an Imperial Emperor, or Kaiser. This was the flag under which Germany started, fought and ultimately lost World War I.
With Germany’s defeat in 1918, the German Empire was dissolved by the victorious Allies and the Kaiser was deposed. Following the fall of this old order, German representatives meeting in the City of Weimar…
