United Team of Germany

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United Team of Germany at the Olympic Games
Flag of Germany superimposed with the Olympic rings
IOC code: EUA
Summer Olympic Games appearances
1956 • 1960 • 1964
Winter Olympic Games appearances
1956 • 1960 • 1964

Athletes from the East Germany (German Democratic Republic; GDR) and West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany; FRG) competed together as the United Team of Germany (Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympics. The United Team's IOC code was EUA (from the official French-language IOC designation, Equipe Unifiée Allemande). The team used a flag similar to the black-red-gold tricolour flags of West Germany and of East Germany, but with Olympic rings in white placed upon the red middle stripe.

The two countries had fielded separate teams for the 1952 Winter Olympics, their first Olympic Games since before World War II. Only West German athletes took part in the 1952 Summer Olympics. Starting with the 1968 Winter Olympics, German athletes returned to competing as separate East and West teams (using the IOC codes GDR and FRG, respectively). This arrangement continued until German Reunification in 1990. The 1968 separation was a consequence of the Ostpolitik policy of Chancellor Willy Brandt and others. The Federal Republic's recognition of the GDR was cemented when the GDR football team played a highly-charged match against the host team in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany.