Germania is the personification

National personification

A national personification is an anthropomorphization of a nation or its people; it can appear in both editorial cartoons and propaganda.Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations of the majestic wisdom and war goddess Minerva/Athena, and often took the...

 of the German Nation

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 or the Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 as a whole, most commonly associated with the Romantic Era and the Revolutions of 1848

Revolutions of 1848

The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...

, though the figure was later used by Imperial Germany. She is usually shown wielding the "Reichsschwert" (imperial sword

Imperial Sword

The Imperial Sword , is one of four Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. During the coronation, it was given to the emperor along with the sceptre and the Imperial Orb...

). Additionally, she is sometimes shown as carrying or wearing the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire

The Imperial Crown , is the hoop crown of the King of the Romans, the rulers of the German Kingdom, since the High Middle Ages. Most of the kings were crowned with it. It was made probably somewhere in Western Germany, either under Otto I , by Conrad II or Conrad III during the late 10th and early...

. She is often depicted as wearing armor, with long, flowing, reddish-blonde hair, and possesses a medieval-style shield. Sometimes, the shield bears the image of a black eagle on a gold field.
In pre-1871 images, she is shown holding the black-red-gold flag of modern Germany

Flag of Germany

The flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold....

, but in post-1871 depictions she is shown holding the black-white-red flag of the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

.

Meanings of some symbols

Attribute	Significance
Broken chains	Being freed
Breastplate with eagle	Symbol of the German empire - strength
Crown of oak leaves	Heroism
Sword	Symbol of power
Hemp branch around the sword	Willingness to make peace
Black, red and gold tricolour	Flag of the liberal-nationalists in 1848, banned by the dukes of the German states
Rays of the rising sun	Beginning of a new era

See also

• Deutscher Michel
  Deutscher Michel
  Der Deutsche Michel is a figure representing the national character of the German people, rather as John Bull represents the British. Such figures differ from those that serve as personifications of the nation itself, as Germania does the German nation and Marianne the French...