 Some overzealous statesmen have called it a Nazi invention - while its origins date back to the 11th century and the Red and White banner of Gérard de Lorraine (aka.d'Alsace).The Rot-un-Wiss flag is still known as the real historical emblem of the region by most of the population and the départements' parliaments and has been widely used during protests against the creation of a new "super-region" gathering Champagne-Ardennes, Lorraine and Alsace, namely on Colmar's statue of liberty.