Nazi banner

This flag was taken as a trophy by the 1st The Royal Norfolk Regiment which in 1944-5 fought from the Normandy D-Day beaches through the Netherlands to victory in Germany. The black-white-red colours are those of the German Empire and replaced the black-red-gold flag of the Weimar Republic when Hitler came to power in 1933. The Nationalsozialismus (Nazi) Party had adopted the Hakenkreuz (Swastika) as their symbol in 1920 and emblazoned it on flags, uniforms, weapons, documents, buildings and so on.

The swastika is an ancient symbol found in many cultures and religions around the world. Archaeologists have traced it to the Indus Valley Civilisation of 2500 BC. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism it evokest auspiciousness. After the war, Germany re-adopted the black-red-gold tricolour with its 19th century implications of a united, democratic Germany. The Swastika has been made illegal in Germany and other countries such as Poland and Lithuania.