- Plate 24a: Standard of the Leader and National Chancellor Adolf Hitler 1935-1945 (Standarte des Führers)
- Wikipedia: Flag of Nazi Germany: Personal standard
- The personal standard of Adolf Hitler was designed after Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. Hitler abolished the title Reichspräsident and in its place instituted the title of Führer which henceforth could only be used when referring to him personally. Hitler decided on 19 August 1934 to adopt a standard for himself, which was called “Personal standard for Adolf Hitler as Leader and Chancellor of the German Nation” (also Standarte des Führers und Obersten Befehlshabers der Wehrmacht).
- The standard (guidon, vexilloid) was used for all purposes and consisted of a square of red material in a variety of regulated sizes. In the centre of the square was a white disk, containing a garland of gold-coloured oak-leaves. Set on the white disk was a black upright swastika. In each corner of the red field was a gold-coloured eagle emblem: In the upper left and lower right corner it was a “party eagle“, whereas it was a “Wehrmacht-eagle” in the upper right and lower left corner. The entire standard was edged on all four sides with a border of black and white bands.
- The flag was designed by Hitler personally. It was made in two forms: a normal cloth flag (which flew at the Reichs Chancellery when he was present), and a ‘solid’ type which was used on his car, at rallies, and other political events. Both types were also used at his residence at Obersalzberg.
- The SS-formation LeibstandarteSS Adolf Hitler (“LSSAH”) used a variant of the Führerstandarte as their regimental and battalion color that was introduced in September 1940.
- Illustration / colour plate / flag chart / page from Organisationsbuch der NSDAP issued by national party organization leader (Reichsorganisationsleiter) Robert Ley (1890 – 1945) and published by Zentralverlag der NSDAP, Franz Eher Nachf. in Munich, Germany in 1936. The official Nazi Party (NSDAP) handbook 1936, showing flags, emblems, signs, badges, ranks, insignia, uniforms, etc. Letters in Fraktur style typefaces.
- Nazi propaganda
— Page from Organisationsbuch der NSDAP by Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei / Robert Ley, Zentralverlag der NSDAP, Franz Eher Nachfolger, Munich, Germany 1936. Scanned book found at https://archive.org/details/organisationsbuc00nati (Internet Archive). Collection/contributor: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D. C. No known copyright restrictions; the artist/designer/illustrator is uncredited, and the editor died, the organization ceased to exist, and the publisher closed down in 1945, more than 75 years ago in 2021. — License: Public domain
Introduction: A Global Turning Point
World War II remains the most widespread and deadliest conflict in human history, a cataclysm that reshaped the globe. For decades, our collective memory of this era has been framed in stark black and white. Newsreels, newspapers, and the most iconic photographs have presented the war in monochrome, a visual language that can make the events feel distant, almost abstract. Yet, hidden in archives and private collections are thousands of real color photographs from WWII, images that shatter this grayscale perception. These pictures, captured on early and expensive color film stocks like Kodachrome and Agfacolor, offer an unfiltered, shockingly vibrant window into the past.
Seeing the war in color is more than a novelty; it is a fundamental shift in perspective. It closes the historical distance, transforming grainy figures into living, breathing people. The faded olive drab of a uniform becomes a specific, tangible shade. The bright red of a national flag against a war-torn sky becomes a symbol of defiance. The diverse skin tones of soldiers from across the globe—from the Indian subcontinent to North Africa, from China to the Caribbean—underscore the true nature of this conflict as a genuinely global event. This article explores these rarely seen color photos, moving beyond the familiar European and American narratives to reveal the interconnected, worldwide story of a planet at war.
