Bird of Prey
Eagle standard taken from a German Mercedes half-track staff car, 1944. NAM 1994-06-187
Ancient symbol
The eagle has been an emblem for empire builders throughout history. It was the Roman god Jupiter's bird and was associated from earliest antiquity with military victory, hence its adoption by Napoleon Bonaparte, Tsarist Russia and Imperial Germany. The Nazis also adopted the eagle as a national symbol to demonstrate continuity with previous German governments. The bird had been used as an emblem in Germany since medieval times.
A British soldier defaces a portrait of Hitler during the advance into Germany, 1945. NAM 1997-01-52-9
In this example, the eagle's claws grasp a wreath of oak leaves surrounding a swastika, another key symbol of the Nazi regime. This standard came from a German Army Mercedes half-track staff car captured on the Belgium-German border in late 1944. A soldier of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) brought it back to Britain.
Today’s German coat of arms also depicts an eagle, but that of the democratic Weimar Republic (1919-33). This was replaced by the Nazi eagle in 1935. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 the Weimar eagle was reinstated as a symbol of democracy.
