Friday Flag - Kurland

With the victory of the Central Powers in the Great War the German Empire established the new country of Kurland. This German puppet included the cities of Riga in the north to Brest-Litovsk in the south. The islands of Ösel and Dagö.

Inspiration for this flag came from the Atlas of World War I by Martin Gilbert (ISBN 0-19-521077-8). On page 46 was a map of 'German War Aims In Eastern Europe 1914-1918' which showed Kurland, a tiny landlocked Poland, and Ukrainian People's Republic.

The lion rampant is from the coat of arms of Courland. The colors are from the German and Latvian flags.

Money Monday #5 - 100 Mark Note

After victory of the Central Powers in the Great War Germany grows in power an influence across Europe, and the world. With the formation of the Confederation of Europe in the 1970s Germany was able to fortify itself as the most powerful economy in Europe. The strength and relative stability of the European economy makes the Mark one of the three most popular reserve currencies (The US Dollar and British Pound being the other two).

In the 1990s a redesign of the German Mark put Kaiser Wilhelm II on the 100 Mark note.

By 2015 the Mark began slipping further behind the dollar and pound as a general economic downturn and ongoing war in the Middle-East stagnates the European economy.

Friday Flag - Deutsch Kuba

In the 1890s the German Empire acquired Cuba as a colony from Spain. Despite protests from the United States and other nations the crisis never evolved into armed conflict. While the Kaiser believed the new colony would aid in economic expansion into Latin America it did not bring much into the imperial coffers. The sporadic rebellions and needed infrastructure upgrades were a drag on the colony's economy.

Germany remained in possession of Cuba until the end of the Great War. After the war Cuba gained its independence.