German Empire Flag 150 x 250cm (Wool, ca. 1920s)

German Empire wool flag – full view

Flag ID: FG-032

Material and Construction

Three-panel tricolour flag made from coarse, heavy wool fabric. The black, white, and red stripes are machine-stitched with single seams. The hoist is made of unbleached cotton tape, housing a thick, twisted rope that is sewn directly into the hem – not threaded afterwards. Stitching is industrial but lacks modern reinforcement techniques. A pencilled note reading “150–250” is present on the hoist but appears manually added, not factory-stamped.

Dimensions and Form

Measures approx. 150 × 250 cm, giving a clean 3:5 ratio. This was a common format for official or institutional flags during the interwar period. The flag is intact, though minor wear, fraying and small holes (likely moth or corrosion-related) are present, especially on the red stripe.

Dating and Origin

While the design dates back to the German Empire (1871–1918), this particular flag is not from the imperial period. Instead, all textile, stitching and construction features point to a production window between 1920 and 1930. The coarse wool and machine-sewn hoist rope indicate a quality above cheap propaganda flags but below formal state manufacture. The pencilled size marking further supports the idea of civilian or semi-official production, not factory-coded output.

Weimar-Era Civil Symbolism

Although outlawed as the national flag in 1919, the black-white-red tricolour continued to appear in conservative and nationalist circles during the Weimar Republic. Flags like this were used on buildings, in parades, or by veterans’ organizations resisting the adoption of the black-red-gold republic colours. FG-032 likely belonged to such a milieu – formal enough to be hoisted, informal enough to avoid regulation. The sewn rope suggests it was meant for actual flagpole use, not just display.

Additional Images

Hoist end showing handwritten size marking (not factory-stamped)

Lower hoist corner with sewn-in rope and frayed end

View of hoist channel and internal stitching

Top corner seam, showing clean finish and simple thread

Close-up of white stripe texture – coarse wool weave

Hem folded inside showing single machine-stitch seam

Sources and References

• Comparative analysis with interwar-era German wool flags
• FlagGeek visual archive, hoist types and rope stitching
• Archiv für Flaggenkunde, Vol. 2 (ca. 1925) – comparative tricolour usage
• Deutsches Historisches Museum – visual documentation of 1919–1933 flags
• Interview with textile conservator on interwar wool flag construction (unpublished)

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