FG-042 — Captured German National Flag
FG-ID: FG-042
Flag facts
- Maker: Bonner Fahnenfabrik — woven hoist label “Bonner Fahnenfabrik, Bonn a. Rhein” present.
- Field & device: Red wool bunting field; white cotton roundel appliquéd; black swastika appliqué (not print-through).
- Hoist & fittings: Grey cotton/linen heading with integral braided rope lanyard; wooden head-toggle; reinforcement at the upper hoist.
- Design position: Roundel and device are geometrically centred (not hoist-offset).
- Read-through: Appliquéd device reads correctly on both sides (not mirror-reversed).
- Size: c. 93 × 150 cm (≈3:5).
- Dating: Early–mid 1930s; likely pre-1935. Rationale: (1) Bonner woven label type documented c. 1933–1940, (2) fully multi-piece wool with cotton appliqué rather than later printed stock, (3) centred roundel matching party/land display practice. (Centred discs persist after 1935; early dating rests on the combination of traits within the label window.)
- Markings: Maker label as above; no separate issue stamp observed.
Overview & significance
FG-042 is a multi-piece German national (NSDAP type) flag made by Bonner Fahnenfabrik, identified by a woven hoist label. It measures approximately 93 × 150 cm (≈3:5) and shows the roundel and device in true geometric centre—not hoist-offset. The flag was taken in Cologne on 7 March 1945 during the Battle of Cologne and carries a documented chain of custody preserved in email correspondence and dealer paperwork (on file). Beyond its battlefield linkage, the piece matters because the centred layout combined with a fully multi-piece wool build sits closer to earlier/party-grade practice than to late-war printed stocks, and because the Bonner label ties the object to a company forced through Aryanization in the mid-1930s—a paradox at the heart of Nazi-era material culture.
Construction & design (interpretive)
The field is of red wool bunting; the white roundel in cotton is appliquéd to the field, and the black swastika is further appliquéd to the roundel. Stitching is uniform machine-work with secure turns around the roundel and clean lap seams across the field panels. A grey cotton/linen heading bears the maker’s woven label and encloses an integral braided rope with a wooden head-toggle. Reinforcement at the upper hoist is square and neatly finished. Because the device is appliquéd—not printed—the emblem reads correctly on both sides, with a subtle difference in thread shadowing typical of two-sided appliqué work.
Layout is critical to interpretation. Period practice employed two distinct placements of the roundel: a centred disc widely used for party/land display (NSDAP flags, hall/balcony pieces, early “Hissflaggen”), and a hoist-offset disc adopted from 1935 for national/merchant ensigns so the emblem appears visually centred in flight. FG-042 presents the centred variant, and in conjunction with its multi-piece wool construction and Bonner label, it aligns with earlier/party-grade manufacture—even as centred examples do persist in later years.
Dating — why “early–mid 1930s; likely pre-1935”
Three factors converge. First, the Bonner woven label variant on the hoist is documented within a window of approximately 1933–1940, with changes after ~1940. Second, the fully multi-piece wool build with cotton appliqué sits comfortably in the early–mid 1930s production profile, whereas later-war supply skews toward printed cotton, particularly for hoist-offset ensigns. Third, the centred roundel matches party/land practice common before—and alongside—the 1935 standardisation for ensigns. Taken together, these traits support an early–mid 1930s manufacture, likely pre-1935. No explicit production year is claimed beyond this evidence-based range.
Cologne, 7 March 1945 — capture context
Urban fighting in Cologne peaked between 5–7 March 1945. U.S. armoured elements with attached infantry advanced block by block around the cathedral district and bridge approaches, clearing administrative and party premises as they secured crossings and strongpoints. Within that window, 7 March marks the final push through central districts. The removal of state and party flags from offices during clear-and-secure phases is consistent with well-documented souvenir-taking in the battle zone. FG-042 fits that pattern both in type and in date.
Provenance narrative (public, anonymised)
Contemporary email correspondence and dealer paperwork on file document the chain of custody. The flag was taken in Cologne on 7 March 1945 by a U.S. serviceman and remained in the family for decades. In later years it passed to a trusted family friend with the intention of donating the piece to a museum; multiple institutions declined due to duplication in their collections. The flag was then consigned to a reputable online militaria dealer and entered the present collection. At the request of living parties, names are withheld. Publication follows an anonymised, documentation-led approach.
Maker context — Bonner Fahnenfabrik
The Bonn firm known as Bonner Fahnenfabrik traces its origins to the Meyer family, a Jewish-background entrepreneurial line targeted by antisemitic campaigns in the 1930s. Under state and market pressure the business underwent forced “Aryanization” in the mid-1930s and continued production under new control, including contracts for public events. A Bonner label on a Nazi-era flag therefore embodies a historical paradox: a company stripped from its Jewish owners contributing standardized symbols of the regime. FG-042—combining that label with an early construction logic—sits squarely in that conflicted history.
Condition (technical)
The flag shows fly-end fray, scattered small moth losses and pinholes in the red bunting, and light handling/crease marks on the roundel. Seams are stable and the hoist assembly remains sound.
Additional Views (preview)
Sources & References
- Private archive (email correspondence and dealer paperwork), on file with the collection.
- Workshop notes on centred vs. hoist-offset layouts in period practice (FlagGeek internal reference).
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