yes and no
before WWII , there has been a flag that some people still use, but not official !
its the official- war flag of the armed forces of the german empire from 1871 -1919 - and has been used by the "Wehrmacht" during the Nazi-time too.
this flag changed the look 3 times - only the last one used by the Nazis is in compl. germany forbidden to use ! the earlier flags are allowed in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Niedersachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Thüringen, Sachsen, Baden-Württemberg and Bayern , in the rest of the german countrys these flags are also forbidden, because some think its a affront to use them....
this is the last one used from 1935 -1945 - this one is forbidden to use because of the Nazi-sign
because i dont speak positive about the Nazi - Regime - its allowed that i show this flag too !
btw.: i not only speak negative about this Regime - i also think negative about this Regime, a shame what happened..., but the biggest shame is that so many people allowed what happened by looking away.... - but dont forget that there have been also a lot of people who didnt gave up to fight for their rights, speaking about what the Nazis did, telling they did wrong, a lot of them died because of standing up for their rights ! let me name only two names : Schindler - you may have seen the movie !, and Sophie Scholl - the white Rose ...
personal statement :
i wasnt born by that time - my father was only a baby..., i know what my grandfather did by that time..., no need for me to feel ashamed for...
so only because i am born german there is absolutely no need for me to beg anyones pardon - or feel ashamed
when we start talking about other countrys and states, lets start with the youngest history : what happened during the irak-war and is still happening..., what happened in afghanistan..., what happened in jugoslavia, what.....
i think during war-time bad things happen - WAR IS BAD ! always ! there are no wars in the name of god, and when i see a priest blessing weapons or soldiers ----- thats a shame !!!
there is no such thing as a LAND of the BRAVE - and there is not a land given by God to only one race
what i stand for - and would stand up every time i would see it happen is :
one earth , one nature, one mankind , only brothers and sisters
no matter which color...
if i would see idiots - speaking or doing anything wrong against a foreigner ..., they wouldnt be allowed to do it when i am near , and i would stop them ! ( not trying - i would do ! )
right now i added a german -flag to my bike ( i didnt bought ! a car in front of me lost it and didnt stopped...! ) i keep it because of the german football team - and the world-championship right now...
but there is a flag that shows better where i am home :
and i hope that my children will be still alive when we will have one flag for this world