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# Das Lied der Deutschen

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National anthem of Germany, written by [August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben]? in 1841 and set to a melody of [Franz Joseph Haydn]?, which had originally been written for an anthem to the Austrian Emperor Franz I, "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" ("God Save Emperor Franz").

     Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
     für das deutsche Vaterland!
     Danach laßt uns alle streben
     brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!
     Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
     sind des Glückes Unterpfand;
     |: blüh' im Glanze dieses Glückes,
     blühe, deutsches Vaterland. :|

Approximate Translation

`Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland;
Let us all pursue this purpose brotherly, with heart and hand.
Unity and justice and freedom are the pledge of happiness.
Flourish in this blessing's glory, flourish, German fatherland.`

This, however, is only the third stanza of the original text by Fallersleben. The other stanzas are as followed:

First stanza:

  Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,
  über alles in der Welt,
  wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze
  brüderlich zusammenhält.
  Von der Maas bis an die Memel,
  von der Etsch bis an den Belt,
  Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,
  über alles in der Welt!

  (Germany, Germany above anything,
  above anything in the world,
  if it always holds together brotherly
  for protection and defense.
  From the Meuse to the Memel,
  from the Adige to the Belt,
  Germany, Germany above anything,
  above anything in the world.)

I don't know the English names for "Memel" and "Belt"... The "Memel" is a river in the Baltic, "Belt" is the German expression for the part of the North Sea between Germany and Sweden.

Second stanza:

  Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue,
  deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang
  sollen in der Welt behalten
  ihren alten schönen Klang,
  uns zu edler Tat begeistern
  unser ganzes Leben lang. -
  Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Treue,
  deutscher Wein und deutscher Sang!

  (German women, german faithfulness,
  german wine and german songs
  should continue to be held in high
  esteem all over the world,
  and inspire us to noble deeds
  all our life. -
  German women, german faithfulness,
  german wine and german songs!)

Fallersleben wrote this text in a time when Germany was still a motley collection of quarreling kingdoms and principalities. He wanted to express his desire for a united, strong Germany. The line "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt" can be understood in this context as an appeal to the German sovereigns to put aside all other projects and concentrate their efforts on creating a united Germany. At Fallersleben'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.

After these rights had been introduced after World War I, all three stanzas became the German National Anthem in 1922. In the following years, however, the first stanza was increasingly used by right-wing parties like Hitler's NSDAP and reinterpreted to fit their ideologies. "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" accordingly was interpreted to mean "Germany should govern the world" and Fallersleben's idea of a united fatherland for all Germans was perverted into the "Heim ins Reich" initiative, which ultimately caused World War II.

In 1949, when West Germany was beginning to reconstitute itself as a new, democratic nation, it soon became apparent that all these connotations made it impossible to continue using all the stanzas. The song wasn't, however, completely rejected in memory of the democratic frame of mind it originated in, but reduced to its third stanza. The first two are not actually forbidden, but they are never sung on official occasions.

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Last edited July 21, 2001 12:15 pm (diff)
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