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History
The swastika began to figure into German flags when the Nazi party rose to power after World War I. Soon the swastika flag was sharing the spotlight as the national flag of Germany, along with the old Imperial German tricolor flag that was black, white and red. Eventually the Imperial flag was discarded altogether and the swastika became the only national flag for the country.
Time Frame
The swastika became the only national flag for Germany in 1934. It remained the national flag throughout World War II and was replaced in 1945 when the Third Reich was defeated.
Types
While the most recognizable German flag of the World War II period is the Nazi Party &State flag, there were several others that were also prominent during that time. The German Battle Flag integrated an iron cross into its design, while the SS Skull &Eagle flag had a skull included on it. The SS also had a distinctive Police Flag and a stylized symbolic flag known as the Runes flag. While the overall designs may have differed between these flags, the one thing that remained constant between the majority of them was the inclusion of a swastika.
Features
The Nazi Party &German State flag had a solid red background with a white circle placed in the center, and a black swastika placed in the center of the circle. The German Battle Flag during World War II also had a red background, but included a small iron cross in the top left corner as well as an off-center swastika. The SS Skull and Eagle flag followed in the color scheme of the last two for its background, with it divided into two large red triangles and two large black triangles. Sitting atop this background was a golden eagle holding a golden swastika in its talons, above a golden skull alone beneath it. The Waffen SS Police Eagle flag also contained a gold eagle holding a gold swastika, this time atop a background made up of two large white triangles and two large green triangles. The SS Runes flag had one of the most basic designs out of the lot of them with a solid black background with two white "SS" runes placed in the middle.
Effects
As Germany rose to power before and during World War II, it became customary for nations that fought alongside Germany to modify their own flags to emulate the German flags. Countries such as Romania, an ally of Germany during the war, adopted tricolor patterns and added symbols such as the cross to show Romania identified with Germany.