Flag of Germany
With the formation of the short-lived Weimar Republic after World War I, the tricolour was adopted as the national flag of Germany. Sixteen years later following World War II, the tricolour was again designated as the flag of both West and East Germany divided states in 1949. The two flags were identical until 1959, when the East German flag was augmented with the coat of arms of East Germany. Since reunification on 3 October 1990, the black-red-gold tricolour has become the flag of a reunified Federal Republic of Germany.
Ranks and insignia of the German Army (1935–1945)
The "Reichswehr's" visual acknowledgement of the new National Socialist reality came on 17 February 1934, when the Defense Ministry ordered the Nazi Party eagle-and-swastika, now Germany's National Emblem, to be worn on uniform blouses and headgear effective 1 May. The design adopted, in silver for the "Reichsheer" (army) and in gold for the "Reichsmarine" (navy), was a stylized eagle with outstretched, beveled wings clutching a wreathed mobile "Hakenkreuz", later to be called the "Wehrmachtsadler" ("armed forces eagle"). On tunics this took the form of a cloth patch about 9 cm (3⅝") wide worn on the right breast, above the pocket. For enlisted uniforms it was jacquard-woven ("BeVo") or sometimes machine-embroidered in silver-grey rayon, for officers machine- or hand-embroidered in white silk or bright aluminum wire, and for generals hand-embroidered in gold bullion. The backing was "badge-cloth" ("Abzeichentuch"), a close-woven velvetish fabric; this was originally "Reichsheer" grey, but in late 1935 the renamed "Heer" changed its "Abzeichentuch" color to a dark blue-green called "flaschengrün" (bottle-green).