Flag of East Germany
The three horizontal stripes in the flag of the German Democratic Republic of black, red and gold are the same as in the West German flag, but the state emblem of East Germany is placed in the centre, to distinguish it from the West German flag. It contains a hammer (symbolizing the workers), and a pair of compasses (symbolizing the intellectuals) inside ears of grain (symbolizing the farmers).
From the establishment of the GDR in 1949 to 1959, the East German flag was the same as the Flag of West Germany, and the current Flag of Germany. This was reinstated as the national flag for some months in 1990.
