Flag of East Germany
Officially German Democratic Republic
Locally Deutsche Demokratische Republik
What the flag looks like
Three equal horizontal stripes of black, red and gold, with the state emblem in the center: a hammer and a pair of compasses inside a wreath of rye wrapped in a black-red-gold ribbon.
What it means
The hammer stood for the workers, the compasses for the intelligentsia and the rye wreath for the farmers.
How to remember it
East Germany
is Germany's
black-red-gold with a hammer and compasses in a wreath stamped in the middle; plain stripes mean West Germany or Germany today.
Fun facts
- Until 1959 East and West Germany flew the identical plain black-red-gold tricolor.
- At the 1960 and 1964 Olympics the two German states competed as one team under a black-red-gold flag with white Olympic rings.
East Germany at a glance
- Existed
- 1949–1990
- Flag used
- 1959–1990
- Today
- Eastern Germany, reunified in 1990
- Capital
- East Berlin
- Region
- 1949–1990
- Languages
- German
- Currency
- East German mark (M)
- Flag adopted
- 1959
Flags often confused with East Germany
- Germany: East Germany and Germany both use black, red and gold horizontal stripes. East Germany has a hammer and compasses in a wreath in the center; Germany's flag is plain.