The Schwarz-Weiß-Rot (black-white-red) flag, or Reichsflagge, was the flag of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, and used by right-wing groups during the post-WWI Weimar era. The colours of the Reichsflagge were subsequently co-opted by the Nazis; Adolf Hitler wrote that red symbolised the “social idea of the [Nazi] movement” while white represented “the national idea”.
Given the common use of similar colour schemes in non-hateful contexts (e.g., football team colours; commercial, regional or local colours, etc), the interpretation of these colours should always be carefully considered in context.
Black-white-red colours began to be used by neo-Nazi groups after World War II in the wake of postwar bans, particularly in Germany and Austria, on the use of explicit Nazi symbols. These colours continue to be used by contemporary hate groups.
A sticker of a Dutch neo-Nazi group, featuring black-white-red colouring; the emblem in the circle (a symbol of the city of The Hague) is encircled like a Nazi flag
The Hague, Netherlands - July 2025
Michael Colborne
Participants gathering before a far-right event carrying black-white-red German imperial flags
Sofia, Bulgaria - February 2018
Michael Colborne