Germany’s national colours
Reclaiming the flag, or showing our true colours

After decades of a shadowy existence, the black, red and gold of the German flag have become standards signs of national pride at events like the Football World Cup. But fears are also growing that a new wave of nationalism may emerge from the shadows as well.
By Wolfgang Mulke
June 2018: Tens of thousands of hopeful football supporters gather at Fan Fest Berlin to root for the German national team in its first match at the World Cup in Russia. The crowd in front of Brandenburg Gate is awash in Germany’s national colours. Fans sport caps, scarves, sweatbands, seat cushions and other paraphernalia in black, red and gold, keen to display their allegiance with the national team. Some cars even boast side-mirror covers in the national colours, and flags flutter wildly throughout the country.
Rebelling against the prevailing understanding of history
The positive media coverage of the national colours’ 2006 comeback ended this restrained approach, and masses of fans donned the black, red and gold with increasing confidence. “Many saw it as a liberation,” sociologist Schediwy recalls. Younger fans in particular wanted to celebrate as a nation without the crushing weight of Germany’s national-socialist patriotic past. To them, German flags and the national colours painted on faces or emblazoned on clothing symbolized nothing more than the feeling of solidarity with their football team other countries take for granted.
Psychologist Stephan Grünewald has observed that some fans choose “(flag) desertion” in response to the AfD’s and Pegida’s flag-brandishing proponents. He says that the black, red and gold are regaining a nationalistic charge many prefer to distance themselves from: “We would rather leave the flag in the cellar to ensure we don’t stir up nationalist sentiments. Some are worried about being tarred with the AfD’s nationalist brush.” In Berlin daily newspaper, the taz, journalist Lin Hirse wrote: “With the rise of Pegida, the ambiguities around the colour brown are even more firmly stuck to German flag like glue.”
Showing our national colours
The debate on what Germany’s national colours symbolize is in full swing. In June 2018, Vice President of the German Bundestag Claudia Roth warned of an emerging wave of nationalism. And while she didn’t want to forbid anyone from flying the flag, the Green politician said, "I think as Germans, we would do well to show restraint with nationalistic, self-congratulatory displays.” She emphasised that the AfD in particular were instrumentalising the German flag to signal exclusion. Political scientist Stefan Marschall has a very different take on the issue. He is confident that keeping the German flag flying in a wide range of contexts could prevent it from being "appropriated and exploited for other ideas".