187. Which German state had a black-red-gold flag with a hammer, a compass, and a wreath of grain?

Answer options

1. Prussia
2. Federal Republic of Germany
3. GDR
4. "Third Reich"

Explanation

The black-red-gold tricolor has represented the German constitutional movement since 1848 and was used by the Weimar Republic and, after 1949, by both German states. In 1959 the GDR added its state coat of arms—a hammer, compass, and wreath of grain—to the tricolor to denote the socialist alliance of workers, intelligentsia, and peasants and to differentiate itself from the FRG. By contrast, Article 22(2) of the Basic Law fixes the federal flag as a plain black-red-gold without an emblem, emphasizing republican, non-ideological state symbolism. This divergence of symbols reflected competing constitutional claims until reunification in 1990.