Black, red and complicated

This post was originally published on Politico.

BERLIN — Across most countries in this year’s World Cup, the national flag is a natural way to support the home team.

In Germany, it’s… complicated.

There is plenty of excitement about the German team surging through Group E: One Berlin bakery chain is advertising slices of black, red and gold cake; shops are hawking tricolor plastic leis, noisemakers and face paint; fans gathering to watch the games don German team jerseys.

But as Germany takes the field against Ecuador today, what is less visible around the country is the black, red and gold of the German flag. That’s because,