Germany
Deutschlandlied
1841
1922
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
Joseph Haydn
🤝 Unity 🕊 Freedom 🏛 Identity |
Context
Only the third stanza is used as the anthem today. The first stanza, with its opening 'Deutschland uber alles' ('Germany above all'), was originally a liberal call for German unification in 1841, not a supremacist slogan. But the Nazis adopted it so effectively that the first two stanzas were dropped after World War II. The melody was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1797 as 'God Save Emperor Francis' for the Austrian Empire.
Lyrics
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!
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Interesting facts
- • The melody was composed by Joseph Haydn as a birthday anthem for the Austrian Emperor, making Germany's anthem musically Austrian
- • The notorious first verse 'Deutschland uber alles' was originally a liberal democratic plea for German unification, not a supremacist slogan, but Nazi appropriation made it unusable
- • After reunification in 1990, there was debate about whether to adopt an entirely new anthem, but the third stanza was reconfirmed in a letter exchange between the Chancellor and President