Reichskriegsflagge

And while seafaring was the traditional domain of the Hanse in Germany, virtually all of the 19th century German coastline (including the North Sea coast) and naval power belonged to Prussia after the decisive victory in 1866.

Prince Adalbert of Prussia, the commander-in-chief of the North German Navy, was commissioned with the task of designing the new war ensign.

Around 1850, he already had designed a number of potential war ensigns for a hypothetical German nation-state under Prussian rule, which never were adopted as the project was not realised at that time.

He used his old ideas to design the new North German war ensign with heavy involvement of the Prussian king, leading to numerous changes, like the inclusion of the Iron Cross in its original shape.

The 'German colours' – black, red and gold – were so popular from their beginnings on a Thuringian principality's state flag in 1778 that it did not seem necessary to mention them in the constitution of 1849.

By May 1850, the flag was recognised by the U.S., the Netherlands, Belgium, Sardinia, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Spain, Greece, and (conditionally) France.

At the ordinary raising, the party consisted of the Orderly Officer of the Day, the guard, and one musician.

At the ceremonial raising, one officer, one platoon of soldiers with rifles, the guard, the regimental band, and the corps of drums were all present.

[citation needed] In the other nine states, any provocative misuse of the flag can be prosecuted as an Ordnungswidrigkeit [de] ("act contrary to order", an administrative offence that can be handled without a court process and that carries only a fine that is not legally considered a punishment).

This last round of prohibition decrees (since September 2020) was triggered by an event on 29 August 2020 when a right-wing demonstration escalated into an attempted storming of the Reichstag building.

[10] In the United States, conversely, American-founded white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan have used the Reichskriegsfahne side-by-side with the Confederate "battle flag" at their gatherings at times.