WWI German National Anthem

FliegerJG1 · 12 April 2009, 07:29 AM

Link to lyrics & music

This is such a quiet forum so here's a little something I found to liven things up a bit in here. Enjoy!

FliegerJG1

frontflieger · 15 April 2009, 01:12 PM

please keep in mind that you are singing... ähm... writing about the German Empire. These days we have a different one. 'cause the is no Kaiser left to praise

Thorsten

expositor · 7 July 2009, 01:42 PM

far be it from me to butt in here, but jg1's anthem was that of prussia, not the empire; the south germans never accepted it even though mad ludwig himself proclaimed wilhelm kaiser of the germans. the unofficial anthem of the 'associated gov'ts of the german empire' was the 'deutschlandlied,' which became the anthem of weimar and also of the current reublic, though i believe
they only sing the third verse...that first verse has been misunderstood by millions, including germans....but hey, what do i know...?

Sagittarius · 7 July 2009, 02:22 PM

The problem with the first verse is: it has nothing in it which could be misunderstood. It is a quite clear statement of overexaggerated nationalism which is simply unsustainable.

Edit:
I know very well that the lyrics have been written in a time where they had been - regarding to the political situation - in a totally different context. It was a work closely related to its time and it not only lost its meaning during the years - it has simply been misused.
Personally I would love to have the "Ode to Joy" as germans national anthem. It is a way more positive and peaceful statement to the world (although it has been misused as well...).

expositor · 8 July 2009, 01:58 PM

sagitarius, your impression is the one most believe; but if i remember my history,
in the aftermath of 1848, the ideal for the german nationalists was one germany over all the numerous germanies, not germany over the world. in the gutter nationalism of the nazis, that (new) view would naturally be the one extolled. remember, the violent nationalism of the balkans, which led directly to the great war, would help cause a vengeful resurgence in german nationalism to points which would have been inconceivable in 1914.
however, as i'm only an english american austrophile, i would tend to accept your view as the prevailing one of most germans....
if only benedek had supported the afternoon attack at sadowa....well, another great, 'what if...!'

Gurgast · 12 July 2009, 08:49 PM

While on the subject of embarrassing national anthem lyrics let me observe that the Germans have no monopoly here. The dirge we British have to suffer has several verses that don't see the light of day very often, most notably verse two which goes:

O lord God arise,
Scatter our enemies,
And make them fall!
Confound their knavish tricks,
Confuse their politics,
On you our hopes we fix,
God save the Queen!

Enough said ...

crankcase · 13 July 2009, 01:55 AM

"Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!" (S. Decatur)
marc

Sagittarius · 13 July 2009, 05:33 AM

@expositor:

Excuse my late answer. I got no notice the thread got replies.

Quote:

but if i remember my history, in the aftermath of 1848, the ideal for the german nationalists was one germany over all the numerous germanies, not germany over the world.

Youre absolutely right about this. However, this was exactly what I meant with the context of the lyrics regarding to the time where they have been written. Nowadays this context is completely obsolete. So the meaning of "one united germany" can easily misunderstood or misused as "germany over the world".

Let me give you an example: By far the most members of the aerodrome for example are historically pretty well informed. So the chance of misinterpreting the meaning of the "Deutschlandlied" is very low. But in less informed circles such a catchy phrase can easily been misinterpreted and misused.

Hope I made my point clear

expositor · 13 July 2009, 11:24 AM

sagittarius,

though we agree and don't in any way doubt the historical acumen of our cohorts in this forum, it is true here in the usa that most educated people
have no idea of the former conflict between german nationalism and regionalism.
i'm sure we've both read books that mention the 'imperial german army,' by authors who should be more familiar with their subject, as the 'kaiserliche marine' was the only major imperial military establishment, aside from the minor colonial ones. here, people still believe that bigot president wilson's 'make the world safe for democracy' propaganda....it is in that context that i mentioned the confusion engendered by the lyrics of the 'deutschlandlied.'

cheerio!

Thomas Trauner · 14 July 2009, 01:37 AM

Well – just adding some more information:

The national anthem nowadays is using only the third verse of the “Deutschlandlied”, without the infamous “Deutschland über alles”.
During WWI there was no official national anthem, only the “Kaiserlied” was used, following the tunes of “God save the king/queen”.

In the Weimar Republic the Deutschlandlied was introduced as the National anthem.
But – and there is a big But – strictly in the history of the 1848 revolution.
The Weimar Republic also used the (still used) black/red/gold tricolore (Bundesflagge) as the national flag. The Bundesflagge show the colours of a certain Students-club of 1830-48.

All this, the flag and the song go back to the 1848 European revolution, which has its roots in the 1830 revolution in France and other European states.
Both revolutions tried to remove the results of the rollback of the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15 restoring the pre-Napoleonic situation with all the little states on German soils, a French kingdom an all that.

So Hugo von Fallersleben, the author of the anthem wrote the text with anything in mind but a mighty Germany suppressing all the other states around. The 1830/1848 movement, especially supported by the students wanted a united Germany, and get rid of all the Kings, Queens and whatever ruled in Germany.
They had some success, indeed. The “Bundesflagge” was used for some time, some of the various kings had to reduce their power a bit but this was it.
All this did not happen within a vacuum. The same uprisings took place in Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Austria and Bohemia.

The first verse of the anthem includes the infamous: “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles…“ and „Vom Rhein bis an die Memel, von der Etsch bis an den Belt“.
(Meaning: Germany over anything, reaching from the Rivers Rhine to the Memel (Eat Germany) and from the rivers Etsch (Southern Tirolia) up north to the „Belt” the Danish border.)
It does not mean an imperialistic Germany but a united “Germany” wherever German was spoken as a language. Even “over anything” means that the national question is paramount over all other political questions.

So – it is a “nationalistic” anthem, doubtless. But not an imperialistic one.
It was written during a timein which a lot of other “nations” in Europe wanted to have a united nation, not being suppressed by foreign kings and lords and whatever.
It was the result of the roll-back made by the conservative forces after the Napoleonic wars.

Just my two melodies…..

Thomas