Das Lied der Deutschen
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Das Lied der Deutschen ("The Song of the Germans", also known as Das Deutschlandlied, "The Song of Germany") has been used, wholly or partially, as the national anthem of Germany since 1922. The music was written by Joseph Haydn in 1797, and as such was the anthem of Austria until 1918. The lyrics were written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841 on the island of Heligoland, a then British island in the North Sea (German Bight), which became part of Germany in 1890.
Audio Sample
- Image:Audiobutton.png German national anthem (5KB, MIDI) ("Das Lied der Deutschen")
Contents |
History
Earlier German national anthems
At the beginning of the 19th century, Germany was not a unified country, and the various smaller countries considered to be German each had their own anthem. The first pan-German anthem prior to 1866 was Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland ("What is the German's fatherland?"), with lyrics composed in 1813 by Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769-1860) and set to music by Gustav Reichardt (1797-1884) in 1825.
Following the unification of Germany in 1871, the Prussian anthem Heil dir im Siegerkranz — sung to the tune of the British anthem God Save the King — became the national anthem of Germany. Furthermore the anthem Die Wacht am Rhein ("The watch on the Rhine") was very popular as an unofficial national anthem in that time.
Tune
The tune of "Das Lied der Deutschen" was written by Haydn, but not as a national anthem; Haydn wrote it because he had been requested to provide music to the poem "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" ("God preserve Francis the Emperor"), an anthem to Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, and Archduke of Austria. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, "Gott erhalte..." came to be considered the unofficial national anthem of Austria.
For additional details on the tune and how it was composed, see "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser".
Text
Hoffmann von Fallersleben evidently intended "Das Lied der Deutschen" to be sung to Haydn's tune, as the first publication of the poem included the music. While it may today seem strange that Hoffmann chose a tune that was strongly associated with Austria for his song about Germany, this would not have seemed strange in 1841. First, at the time other countries likewise borrowed tunes for their patriotic songs, particularly the tune from Britain's God Save the King. Second, Austria was still considered a part of Germany: it was a member of the German Confederation until that was dissolved in 1866, after the Seven Weeks' War; the final separation between southern Germany and Austria did not occur until 1871.
The poem was written at a time when Germany was still a collection of more than 30 quarreling monarchies and republican free cities. Hoffmann wanted to express his desire for a united, strong Germany. His poem is in three stanzas, of which the first begins Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, 'Germany, Germany above all'. The anthem is still known in most of the English-speaking world by its first line, even though only the third stanza constitutes the official anthem for reasons that are explained below.
In its historical context, the line "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt" ("Germany, Germany above all, above anything in the world") can be understood as an appeal to the German sovereigns to put aside all other projects and concentrate their efforts on creating a united Germany. In Hoffmann's time, this text also had a distinctly revolutionary, liberal connotation, since the demand for a united Germany was most often uttered in connection with demands for freedom of press and other liberal rights (see The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states). It can also imply that loyalty to a larger Germany should replace loyalty to one's sovereign personally. This in itself is a revolutionary idea.
Use in unified Germany
Das Lied der Deutschen was not played at an official ceremony until Germany and Britain swapped the islands of Zanzibar and Heligoland in 1890, when it appeared only appropriate to sing it at the ceremony on Heligoland. It became very popular after the Battle of Langemark during World War I, when several German regiments consisting mostly of students no older than 16 attacked the British lines singing this song and suffered heavy casualties. The official report of the army described the attack as one of young German soldiers heroically sacrificing their lives for the fatherland (in reality the untrained troops attacked the British lines side by side and were mowed down by machine guns). This report, also known as the "Langemark Myth", was printed on the first page in newspapers all over Germany.
After World War I, President Friedrich Ebert made all three stanzas the German national anthem on August 11, 1922.
In 1921, Albert Matthai wrote a fourth stanza, which was popular at that time, but never became part of the official anthem. It reflects the situation after Germany's defeat in World War I. The text is also given below with an approximate translation. Today this stanza is largely forgotten.
In 1945, at the end of World War II, Das Lied der Deutschen was banned by the victors, and for a time West Germany simply did not have an official national anthem. Though the colours of the national flag were taken into Article 21 of the (West) German constitution, the national anthem is not part of the constitution. On April 29, 1952, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer asked President Theodor Heuss to accept Das Lied der Deutschen as the national anthem, with only the third stanza sung on official occasions. President Heuss agreed to this on May 2 1952, but the decision was never formalized. Thus, West Germany officially continued to have no national anthem, but used the third stanza at occasions where a national anthem was needed. On 7 March 1990, the Constitutional Court declared only the third stanza of Hoffmann's poem to be protected as a national anthem under criminal law; Section 90a of the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) makes defamation of the national anthem a crime, but does not specify what the national anthem is.
A popular myth stated that the use of the first two stanzas was illegal in West Germany, but this was never the case. The myth came into existence because singing them was considered an expression of extreme right-wing political views. The reproduction and open demonstration of all symbols of Nazism remains illegal in Germany.
East Germany adopted its own national anthem, Auferstanden aus Ruinen, which was written to fit the same melody, but later got its own.
Following reunification, in November 1991, President Richard von Weizsäcker and Chancellor Helmut Kohl agreed in an exchange of letters to declare the third stanza alone (still with Haydn's music) the national anthem of the reunited republic. However, this has not been formally ratified as a law yet.
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit ("unity and justice and freedom") from the third stanza is also the state's motto and is engraved into the rim of former 5-mark and current 2-euro coins minted in Germany; it also appears on soldiers' belts and in similar places.
Lyrics and translation
The following provides the lyrics of the Deutschlandlied as written by von Fallersleben. It should be noted, though, that due to its less controversial contents only the third verse is considered Germany's National Anthem, while the rest of the lyrics must be seen in the light of their historic significance (see upcoming section).
| German lyrics | Approximate translation |
|---|---|
| First stanza | |
|
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, |
Germany, Germany above all, |
| Second stanza | |
|
Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue, |
German women, German loyalty, |
| Third stanza | |
|
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit |
Unity and justice and freedom |
| Fourth stanza (1921) | |
|
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles |
Germany, Germany above all, |
Controversy
The song has frequently been criticized because of its generally nationalist theme, and because of the geographic definition of Germany given in the first stanza.
In the light of German military aggression and nationalist furor during World War II, it was easy to infer a sinister intent behind the exhortation to a "Deutschland über Alles" ("Germany above all"), and the words were so exploited in Allied propaganda. The song still rings with menace today in the ears of some. Many would agree that however valid the propagandists' interpretation may have been in regard to the Nazis, it does not reflect Hoffmann's original intentions. He had actually meant that in times of strife, Germany's sake must be put "above all else in the world." There was no real Germany at that time, only a large number of scattered German states. Hoffmann and many Germans longed for them all to finally unite, a wish that only came fully true (except for Austria) when the German Empire was proclaimed in Versailles in 1871.[1]
During the century after the song was written, the concept of nationalism changed drastically. In the middle of the 19th century, nationalism was a liberal, progressive idea aimed at overcoming monarchy. By the middle of the 20th century, nationalism had become, to the opinion of some, a conservative or even fascist concept aimed at territorial expansion.
Besides the degree of nationalism, the geography in the first stanza is open to major criticism and misuse.
|
Von der Maas bis an die Memel, |
In the early 1840s, when the text was written, there was no single German state and it was uncertain if there would ever be. Hoffmann bases his definition of Germany on linguistic criteria: he describes the approximate area where German speakers lived at the time. 19th century nationalists generally relied on linguistic criteria to determine the borders of the nation states they desired.
Thus the southern border is the Adige River in South Tyrol, nowadays Italy, which still represents the southern border of the German language area. To the north there is not as much difference to later real boundaries, but the Little Belt between Jutland and Funen is Danish territory now (see first and second war of Schleswig). In the north-west he names the Meuse, which is close to the transition between German and Dutch dialects. In the east East Prussia stretched to the River Neman, which represented the easternmost extension of German speakers. Now the Neman is the border between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast and Lithuania.
In the south and in the west, Hoffmann's definition of Germany coincided with the borders of the German Confederation as it existed then. The southernmost member of the Confederation was Austria; the westernmost members were Luxembourg and Limburg. However, Hoffmann went beyond the Confederation boundaries in the north and in the east; neither Schleswig nor East Prussia belonged to it.
External links
- Sound files and history (in German) from the German federal government
- Easybyte - free easy piano sheet music for Das Lied der Deutschen
- Site with lyrics and MP3s
- MIDI sound file
- Sheet music
