The very first German registration plates, from 1913 to the end of the 1920s, were rectangular, with a white background and with the name or initials of the colony in red followed by the registration number; however, special military service plates were used with the initials SOM (Somalia) or T (Tripolitania) in front.
East German vehicle registration plates were issued in the former German Democratic Republic between 1953 and 1990. Vehicles whose cylinder capacity was less than 50 cm were exempt from registration. The plates remained legal until the end of 1993, when all vehicles had to be re-registered to the West German system. 
