Editing Flag of Germany (section)

=== Divided Germany (1949–1990) ===
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{{see also|Flag of East Germany}}

[[File:Flag of Germany.svg|thumb|right|200px|3:5 {{FIAV|110110}} {{FIAV|historical}} Flag of [[West Germany]] and [[Germany|Germany after reunification]] (1949–present), also flag of [[East Germany]] (1949–59)]]

With relations deteriorating between the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]], the three western Allies met in March 1948 to merge their zones of occupation and allow the formation of what became the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as [[West Germany]]. Meanwhile, the eastern Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic, commonly known as [[East Germany]].
During the preparation of the new constitution for West Germany, discussions regarding its national symbols took place in August 1948 during a meeting at [[Herrenchiemsee]]. Although there were objections to the creation of a national flag before reunification with the east, it was decided to proceed. This decision was primarily motivated by the proposed constitution by the eastern [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]] in November 1946,<ref>{{cite book |last=Friedel |first=Alois |title=Deutsche Staatssymbole |language=de |trans-title=German state symbols |year=1968 |publisher=Athenäum-Verlag |isbn=978-3-7610-5115-3}}</ref> where black-red-gold were suggested as the colours for a future German republic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/ddr/1946/sed-verfassungsentwurf-ddr.html |title=SED-proposed constitution of the German Democratic Republic |work=documentArchiv.de |date=14 November 1946 |language=de |access-date=24 February 2008 |archive-date=26 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126134018/http://www.documentarchiv.de/ddr/1946/sed-verfassungsentwurf-ddr.html |url-status=live }}</ref>