Last modified: 2012-09-13 by pete loeser
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![[Social Democratic Party, vertical flag (Germany)]](../images/d/de}spd_v.gif)
Image by Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001
[Editorial Note: The SPD is the oldest political party in Germany, it was founded in March of 1891.]
I have seen three different kinds of SPD flags in recent times:
- Red flag with large 'SPD' centered (image at the top). This was used during a demonstration in Dortmund in March 2001, as seen in a photo in Internet.
- Vertical red flag (flapping flag) with large 'SPD'
somewhat shifted to the top. This is flown on the SPD headquarters in Berlin.
- Red flag with 'SPD' and beneath 'Bayern'. This is the flag used by the Bayern-SPD (the Bavarian branch of the SPD) at their headquarters in Munich.
It was not possible up to now to get definitive informations from the SPD headquarters on the flags. As with other (bigger as well as smaller) parties they either ignore requests for information or they simply tell you about their logo. The word 'flag' does obviously not exist in their vocabulary.
Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001
![[Social Democratic Party (Germany)]](../images/d/de}spd.gif)
3:5 Image by Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001
![[Social Democratic Party, Bavaria (Germany)]](../images/d/de}spdby.gif)
3:5 Image by Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001
![[Mistaken Flag (Social Democratic Party, Germany)]](../images/d/de_spd1.gif)
Image by Jaume Ollé
As already pointed out by Philip Schäfer, this 'flag' is based on the logo of the SPD, which shows on a red field the inscription 'SPD' at the bottom. For instance, the logo was used in the form of a cube at the old headquarters at Bonn (see the SPD website). As with most other flags of parties in Germany there was never a properly designed flag, but just the logo put on a (usually) unicoloured background. However, I am not sure if this flag as we have it here is in real existence. I have never seen this flag.
Marcus Schmöger, 7 Sep 2001
A major political event for about 50 years now is the Politische Aschermittwoch or Political Ash Wednesday, in Bavaria, which this year took place on 13 February 2002. (...) At Vilshofen (about 20 km from Passau) the SPD showed some small paper flags at the tables, and one larger flag as decoration. This was the flag of a local branch, and showed (on a red field) the inscription 'SPD' and the name of the local branch. Having now seen many variants of the SPD flag, I believe I can explain why the 'SPD'
appears in the lower hoist: simply it never does so:
- Flags of local branches use most of the field for the inscriptions, thus the 'SPD' is either on top and the name of the local branch beneath, or the other way round.
- SPD flags without 'local inscriptions', show the 'SPD' either in the center or at the bottom, but never in the lower hoist.
Marcus Schmöger, 15 Feb 2002
2:3 image by Marcus Schmöger, 11 Feb 2003
A flag variant seen at the Munich peace demonstration last Saturday (8 Feb 2003). It shows the "SPD" inscription in the center of a red flag. The red is somewhat darker than standard red.
Marcus Schmöger, 11 Feb 2003
![[another flag variant]](../images/d/de}spdva.gif)
Image by Jorge Candeias, 19 Apr 2005
I've got in my archives a non-standard image of the vertical flag of the German party SPD that differs from Marcus' image in two details: it's longer, a full 3:1, and the party sigla is not shifted to the top, but centered. The file in my computer is dated from 30 January 2002, and I wander: is it a variation, an older version, an erroneous depiction?...
Jorge Candeias, 19 Apr 2005