Former German Colonies and Overseas Territories

Frühere deutsche Schutzgebiete

Last modified: 2011-04-29 by
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• Former Protectorates and other Overseas Territories
• Flags used in the German Colonies
• New Swabia 1937-1945 (Neuschwabenland)

• Flag of the Colonial Governors 1898-1919 - German East Africa and Kiaochao
  (Flagge der Gouverneure für Deutsch-Ostafrika und Kiautschou)



• Colonial Flags 1914
• Cameroon (Kamerun)
• German East Africa (Deutsch Ostafrika)
• German Southwest Africa (Deutsch Südwestafrika)
• Togo (Togoland)
• German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neu-Guinea)
• Samoa (Somoa)
• Ralik Islands (Ralik Inseln)


• German East African Company (Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft)
• German West African Company (Deutsch-Westafrikanische Gesellschaft)
• German New Guinea Company 1885-1899 (Deutsch Neuguinea-Kompagnie)
• Gross-Friedrichsburg 1683-1717 (Brandenburg, later Prussia)
• Reich Colonial League (Third Reich colonial claims)
• German Empire 1870-1919
• Germany

Former Protectorates and other Overseas Territories

Africa

• Cameroons (Kamerun), nowadays Cameroon and parts of the Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Nigeria [1916]
• German East Africa (Deutsch Ostafrika), nowadays Tanganyika (continental part of Tanzania), Burundi, Rwanda and the Ruvuma triangle (now part of Mozambique) [1919]
• German Southwest Africa (Deutsch Sudwestafrika), now Namibia [1915]
• Gross-Friedrichsburg, nowadays in southern Ghana [1717]
• Togoland, nowadays Togo and the eastern part of Ghana [1914]

• Kiaochao / Tsingtao (Pachtgebiet Kiautschou / Tsingtau), now Qingdao, part of China [1914]

• Carolinas Islands (Karolinen-Inseln), now the Federated States of Micronesia [1914]
• German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neu-Guinea), now the northern half of Papua New Guinea [1919]
• Marianas Islands (Marianen Inseln), now Northern Marianas [1914]
• Nauru [1914]
• Palaos Islands (Palau-Inseln), now Palau [1914]
• Ralik Islands (Ralik-Inseln), now Marshall Islands [1914]
• Samoa, now Samoa [1914]

Flags used in the German Colonies

In Schurdel 1995 there is a short chapter, illustrated with some flags used in the former German colonies. When the German colonies were not represented heraldically [i.e. with a particular coat-of-arms to display on the national flag], there were special flags flying:

• The flag of the authorities of the Reich (Reichsdienstflagge im Bereiche des Auswärtigen Amtes, einschl. der Kaiserl. Behörden und Fahrzeuge in den deutschen Schutzgebieten), with the exception of Kiautschou.
• The flag of the governors of Kiautschou and East Africa: black over white over red with the Reich eagle on the white stripe without crown.
• The flags of several Merchant companies operating there. The model of the flag should contain the colours black, white, red. Here are some of them:
• Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft: white with a black cross and a red canton containing five white stars 2:1:2.
• Westafrikanische Gesellschaft: white with a red cross fimbriated white and black. In the centre appears a black eagle on a white disc. In each canton there is a letter: D, W, A, G in black.
• Neu-Guinea-Compagnie: white with a black-white-red flag in the canton and a black lion with a fleur de lys in red in its right hand in the fly.
• Jaluit Gesellschaft: white with a black-white-red stripped disc in the middle [image in the Marshall Islands page].
• The flag of the Ralik Islands.

1. Afrika-Nachrichten 1933.
2. Die Kolonialreiche seit dem 18. Jahrhundert, David K. Fieldhouse, Fischer Weltgeschichte, Bd 29, 13. Edition, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1993.
3. Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien, Wilfried Westphal, C. Bertelsmann Verlag, München, 1984.

Some comments on the flag usage in the German colonies (Schutzgebiete):

1. Occupation: The occupation of territories as a German colony usually took place with a ceremonial flag hoisting. This was the case, for instance, in Angra Pequena (Southwest Africa, now Namibia) on 7 August 1884, in Cameroon on 21 July 1884, in Mioko (New Guinea) on 4 November 1884. The flag hoisted was the naval ensign, as the ceremony was done by naval forces, that were to "protect" the newly established "Schutzgebiete" (Protectorates). The drawings of the flag hoisting in Cameroon and New Guinea (p. 218, 269) show only the naval ensign, whereas in the case of Southwest Africa the national flag is also shown, albeit on a minor building (drawing p. 35).
2. Naval ships: Ships of the German navy show (of course) the naval ensign, for instance the gunboat "Möwe" in Western Africa (Togo and Cameroon) (foto p. 194). Other flags are not visible.
3. 3Troops ashore: Military forces ashore (only partially belonging to the navy) used the naval ensign as well. This includes official parades (Kiaochao in 1898, foto p. 296) as well as marches with indigenous troops (Askari in East Africa, painting p. 161). The armed forces (Schutztruppen) in the colonies did not have own military colours, so they used the naval ensign. On the other hand the indigenous police force of New Guinea showed the national flag (foto p. 280).
4. Civil ships: If visible, the flag used by civil ships is of course the national flag (and civil ensign). A steamboat at Lake Victoria does display it (foto p. 129) as well as a large wooden storage boat in Cameroon (drawing p. 232). The canoe of a local (Cameroon) prince also shows horizontal tricolours, obviously the black-white-red triband (drawing p. 232). A special case in this respect was King Bell of Belltown who was very germanophile, and was one of the first to sign a protection treaty with the Germans. His long canoe used for official, ceremonial purposes proudly displays the German national flag at the bow (painting p. 234).
5. Official buildings: The official buildings show a wide variety of flags. As there was no "proper" flag for these purposes up to 1892/93, they either used the national flag or the naval ensign. At a postal office at Sansibar (now Tanzania) in 1890, for instance, the naval ensign is on display (foto p. 157). A first official settlement at Sinathal (East Africa) in 1885 shows two national flags (drawing p. 100). After 1893 the proper service flag would have been the foreign office flag (Reichsdienstflagge im Bereiche des Auswärtigen Amtes), which can be seen on a foto of the sultan's palace at Dikoa (Cameroon) (p. 227). On a colour foto from Lome (Togo) there is also a service flag (visible is the white disk in the center), but it is not clear if it is the foreign office flag or the postal flag (p. 209). On a foto dated 1912 from the post office at Kilwa (East Africa) the postal flag can be clearly discerned (p. 157).
6. Private buildings: Private buildings not too frequently display flags. An indigenous shop in German East Africa (now Tanzania) shows a very short (almost square) example of the national flag (foto p. 161), a beach pavilion in Apia (Samoa) a more or less "normal" national flag (foto p. 272). A colour foto from Lome (Togo) shows a flag of the Hoermann shipping line as well as a flag of Bremen (without any coa) (p. 209).

Source: Graudenz, K & Schindler, H-M (1988) Die deutschen Kolonien. Augsburg (Weltbild Verlag). Flags are not specifically mentioned in this book, but a number of illustrations (drawings or fotos) show the flags in use.

New Swabia 1937-1945 / Neuschwabenland

In Boudewijn Büch's Eenzaam (Lonely), a book about islands and other geographical oddities, I read that the Nazi government claimed in 1939 a piece of Antarctica which was annexed by an expedition, led by Alfred Ritscher, as Deutsch Neuschwabenland (German New Swabia). This was never recognized by other countries, and especially not by Norway because it was already claimed by them as Dronning Maud Land.
Mark Sensen, 5 Feb 1997

I understand that there was a proposed German flag for the territorial claim on Antarctica (Neuschwabenland) after the 1937-38 German expedition. I have been unable to find the flag, I have it on very good authority that one existed.
Phillip Armijo, 12 Dec 1999

    The question was raised about the proposed boundaries for the 1939 German claim of Neuschwabenland. According to Westermann Lexikon der Geographie, Braunschweig, 1970: "Neuschwabenland is a fringe-area of the Queen-Maud-land, c. between 10 degrees West and 20 degrees East and at 75 degrees South; discovered by the German Antarctic Expedition 1938/39. Area c. 600.000 sq. km2. In how far this claim is real at present is quite doubtful, although on Antarctic maps (in the National Geographic, Hammond's World Atlas e.a. this area is still named 'New Schwabenland.'"
    The amazing thing is that this discovery was preceded by a huge operation involving a shuttle ship between Hamburg and the Antarctica, hydroplanes being catapulted into the air from that ship — and all for a dreadful desert.
Jarig Bakker, 25 Feb 2000

"The Neuschwabenland [expedition ship] left the port of Hamburg on December 17th 1938 (...) and reached the ice on January 19th 1939 at 4° 15' W and 69° 10' S. The following weeks on 15 flights the [hydroplanes] flew accross some 600,000 square kilometers and made more than 11,000 pictures of the area. Nearly one fifth of the w[h]ole antarctic area was scanned this way, thus documented for the first time and simultaneous claimed to be German territory. To stress this claim on the outside too, the two planes [disseminated] several thousands of drop-flags, special metal poles with the expedition's insignia on them, the swastika. So it seems that if there was ever a Neuschwabenland flag, that was the swastika flag.
Santiago Dotor, 28 Mar 2001