Motor vehicle flags of Prussia (1925-1935)
The motor vehicle flags of Prussia (1925–1935) were the flags and pennants for company vehicles used in the State of Prussia during this time.
Flags in German countries
The states of the German Reich , which had been established since the establishment of the Weimar Republic , hardly had an official flag system. Although there was often a desire for special flags to be assigned to a function, a significant number of service flags were only introduced in Prussia.
The first flags were approved in the mid-1920s. After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the swastika became part of the national and official flags. As all the countries in 1935 brought into line were, this meant the end of all specific country flags.
Vehicle flags in Prussia
1925-1933
With a circular, service flags for motor vehicles were introduced in Prussia for the first time. The permission to affix the existing Prussian service flag for state vehicles to motor vehicles was granted on October 26, 1925. The Prussian Prime Minister, the Prussian ministers, the state secretaries and the chief or regional presidents were authorized to use the stand. The 20 × 30 cm stand was allowed to be attached to one or both fenders.
Two years later, on April 6, 1927, district administrators were assigned a 20 × 30 cm pennant which also showed the simple Prussian eagle . The fangs and beak were gold in color. The edge of the pennant was bordered by two black stripes about 1.5 cm wide. The shape of the eagle could vary somewhat in the flag for the Prime Minister and so on as well as in the pennant for the district administrators, but always showed the “typical” Prussian silhouette .
On September 5, 1927, a final pennant was approved, which was carried by the Chief of Police. It was 20 × 30 cm in size and showed the Prussian police star with the simple Prussian eagle. The edge was bordered with black, about 1.5 cm wide ribbons.
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1 = Prussian prime minister, ministers, state secretaries, senior and regional presidents
2 = district administrators
3 = police president
1933-1935
With the seizure of power of the Nazis all the flags and pennants were quickly changed to make them more "NS-compliant." On October 18, 1933, new service flags were presented showing a modified Prussian eagle. Apart from a different outline, the eagle was given a silver-colored swastika on the chest. In his claws he now held a silver-colored sword on the right and two gold-colored lightning bolts on the left. Above the eagle was the motto "God with us!" In a banderole .
The Prussian Prime Minister received a 20 × 30 cm stand , which was surrounded by a silver-colored stripe. Several black triangles were lined up horizontally and vertically, the tips of which reached into the flag. The number of triangles was not specified. The new Prussian coat of arms was to be seen in the center. This stand was also available in a square version with probably 30 cm side length. It only seems to be known from photographs from 1935, but it may have been introduced earlier.
Hermann Göring , who had been Prussian Prime Minister since April 10, 1933, also had a personal standard made for himself , which apparently followed his own design and was modeled on Prussian police flags. The left side of the standard showed a modified Prussian eagle with a banner surrounded by silver-colored laurel branches. Starting from the middle, four white areas that were widened outwards were visible on the black ground cloth. These were also known from old Prussian military flags . A black swastika was applied in all four corners. The right side corresponded to the left except for the centrally located swastika. In addition, the new Prussian coat of arms without a slogan replaced the swastikas in the four corners. It is not known on which occasions or in which period one of the three standards of the Prime Minister was used.
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1 = Prussian Prime Minister
2 = Prussian Prime Minister, version as a square standard
3 = Personal standard of Hermann Göring as Prussian Prime Minister (left side)
4 = Personal standard of Hermann Göring as Prussian Prime Minister (right side)
For the ministers, state councilors, state secretaries, senior and regional presidents, the higher regional court presidents and the attorneys general, a 20 × 30 cm white stand was introduced, which was set off with a black stripe at the top and bottom. Officially, this should be 1/16 of the flag height, but pictures show it wider. In the center was the Prussian coat of arms. On May 12, 1934, ministers and state secretaries were granted a different flag. This was square, presumably 20 cm on the side and had a row of black triangles at the top and bottom, each with the tip reaching into the center of the flag. The state coat of arms was applied in the center.
District administrators also received their own pennant, 20 × 30 cm in size and with stripes around 1.5 cm wide on two sides. The state coat of arms was affixed to the pennant.
The police chief showed the same pennant as in the Weimar period, but the old Prussian eagle was replaced by the new state coat of arms.
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1 = ministers, state secretaries (1933–1934), state councilors, senior and regional presidents (1933–1935)
2 = ministers, state secretaries (1934–1935)
3 = district administrators
4 = chief of police
On November 29, 1933, two command flags were introduced for the state police stations . On the one hand for the commander of the police in Prussia (head of the police department in the Prussian Ministry of the Interior Kurt Daluege ) a 22.5 × 30 cm large, white stand with a black and dark green border. The borders had a width of 2.5 cm each. The state coat of arms was attached in the middle. On the other hand, an equally large stand for the commanders of the state police inspections (regimental commanders), which was quartered in green and white within the black border . The state coat of arms was in the upper right quarter. On January 22, 1934, a stand was added for the chief of the gendarmerie , which instead of the quartering showed a slanting white-green halving. On the flying end the country's coat of arms was attached.
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1 = commander of the police in Prussia
2 = commanders of the state police inspections
3 = chief of the gendarmerie
literature
- Andreas Herzfeld: The Rimann Collection of German Car Flags and Vehicle Stands , Volume 1, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-935131-08-7