Check the features first, then choose the number.
Look at the centre of the round emblem: it contains a hammer and an open drawing compass. Ears of grain form the surrounding wreath. These shapes together identify the emblem even without the letters “GDR”.
The question asks for a coat of arms, not a flag. An emblem can appear on a flag while remaining a separate symbol. Remembering black, red and gold alone is therefore insufficient for this question.
The other three answers
All three wrong images can be ruled out by their shapes.
1
Image 1 shows a black eagle on a yellow shield. It does not show a hammer and compass within a wreath of grain, so it is not the GDR emblem sought here.
2
Image 2 consists of overlapping dark letter-like shapes. It lacks the round wreath of grain and the hammer-and-compass combination.
3
Image 3 is a broad cross with a light border. Its shape does not match the round GDR emblem with the three identifying components.
1955 for the emblem, 1959 for the flag change.
The House of History chronology dates the law on the state emblem to September 1955; it took effect on 1 November. The emblem was added to the GDR’s black-red-gold flag in 1959. These two steps should not be collapsed into one date.
The unchanged image in the quiz is part of the existing question bank. The two additional illustrations show present-day study objects and a fictional learning scene; they are not historical evidence of the emblem’s design.
GDR state symbols · House of History ↗Hammer + compass + wreath of grain: number 4 in the original image.
Say the three visible features before naming the number. This keeps the identification meaningful even if an illustration is arranged differently.
Three words for this question
- das Wappencoat of arms / emblem
- A pictorial symbol identifying a state or another community.
- der Zirkeldrawing compass
- A two-legged tool for drawing circles, not a navigational compass.
- der Ährenkranzwreath of grain
- Ears of grain arranged in a ring.