What's This German Flag Story Suddenly Going On?

 Well.....up in Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde, a small village in Germany's Sauerland region (Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia) with around 6,000 residents, is currently in the news for an overnight action where over 40 German national flags (black-red-gold) just suddenly appeared out of thin air....hoisted on public masts, paths, and even the local radio tower.

Yes....like aliens had come along...acquired flags from some Chinese firm, and put them up.

The incident, which happened in the night leading into 19 October 2025, is linked to a viral social media campaign called "#HissdieFlagge" (Hoist the Flag), often tied to right-wing or patriotic online groups promoting "national pride." 

As you would  imagine....local authorities view it as potential misuse of the flag symbol, which officially represents Germany's democratic order, and worry it could signal political agitation. 

The mayor (Birgit Tupat) called it a "misuse" and ordered the flags removed on Monday, using municipal workers since many were placed high up.

State police (Staatsschutz) are investigating for possible offenses like property damage or unauthorized use of public spaces, though flags on private property are fine and not an issue here. The village filed a formal complaint, and the case has sparked online debate about patriotism versus extremism in Germany, where displaying the national flag publicly can sometimes draw scrutiny due to historical sensitivities.

Up to this point (Sunday), no arrests have been made, and no group has claimed responsibility.  

It's not really page one news....if you ask around...maybe only 10-percent of folks have heard of the story so far. 

General public reaction?    I'd say three types of reaction.  The first...mostly up to 50-percent of folks....asking when is it a crime to show the German flag. Second, maybe a quarter of folks strongly condemning the action....saying it's a AfD tactic or maybe even a Putin strategy.  Finally, the last reaction....suggesting symbiology chaos is on display....that other symbols will start to freak people out (like crosses, soccer team symbols,  etc).

I'll just say from a personal prospective....on German personal property...it's not uncommon to have a flag pole in the backyard, and a flag displayed.  In my village....400 houses....there's probably six folks with flags  up (not necessarily always the German flag....sometimes a Brazilian flag or a Danish flag).  

Crazy times?  Yeah....you never know what will trigger folks to get 'crazy-crazy' just seeing something. 

Oh, and I'll add...in the German integration class....the flag is noted, and oddly enough....they even showed the old DDR (East German) flag to orientate non-German folks that it too...once existed.   If you tested those folks....they always confused the two flags.

On my BIG-DEAL index (1-10)....it's presently pretty low.....'3'.