Federal Republic of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany adopted the Weimar eagle as its symbol in 1950. Since then it has been known as the Bundesadler ("federal eagle"). The legal basis of the use of this coat of arms is the announcement by President Theodor Heuss, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Interior Minister Gustav Heinemann of January 20, 1950, which is word for word identical to the announcement by President Friedrich Ebert and Interior Minister Erich Koch-Weser by November 11, 1919:
By reason of a decision of the Federal Government I hereby announce that the Federal coat of arms on a gold-yellow shield shows the one headed black eagle, the head turned to the right, the wings open but with closed feathering, beak, tongue and claws of red color. If the Federal Eagle is shown without a frame, the same charge and colors as those of the eagle of the Federal coat of arms are to be used, but the tops of the feathers are directed outside. The patterns kept by the Federal Ministry of the Interior are definitive for the heraldic design. The artistic design is reserved to each special purpose. —The Federal President Theodor Heuß, The Federal Chancellor Adenauer, The Federal Minister of the Interior Heinemann, Announcement concerning the federal coat of arms and the federal eagle.Since the accession in 1990 of the states that used to form the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Eagle has been the state symbol of the reunified Germany.
Official depictions of the eagle can be found not only in the federal coat of arms but also on the federal institutions flag, the standard of the President of Germany and official seals. These are designs by various artists of the Weimar period and differ primarily in the shape and position of the wings. A large and rather plump version of the eagle decorates the chamber of the Bundestag, the German parliament; it is sometimes called Fette Henne ("Fat Hen"), with a similar representation found on the German Euro coin. In addition to the official depictions, artistic renderings of the federal eagle are permitted and have found their way onto coins, stamps and the letterhead of federal authorities. The eagle logo now used by the federal institutions was designed by Rayan Abdullah.
| The federal coat of arms (Bundeswappen) of the Federal Republic of Germany. | The federal escutcheon (Bundesschild) used on the German State Flag and on military standards. | The standard of the Federal President. | The hexagonally shaped eagle used by federal governmental institutions and on German passports. | The eagle on the German Mark coin (until 2002). | The eagle on the German 1 euro coin. |
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