German national anthem old version
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- German national anthem with english subtitles
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The German national anthem
Unity and right and freedom
For the German fatherland!
Let us all pursue this purpose
Fraternally with heart and hand!
Unity and right and freedom
Are the pledge of happiness;
|:Flourish in this blessing’s glory,
Flourish, German fatherland!:|
Since 1991, the German national anthem has officially consisted of the third verse of what is known as the Lied der Deutschen or the Deutschlandlied (Song of the Germans), which was written in 1841 by Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798-1874) on the island of Helgoland. The words of the Song of the Germans were written to the melody of the second movement of the Emperor Quartet by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).
History of the German national anthem
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany fails to mention a national anthem. As a result, following its founding in 1949, the state initially did not have an official national anthem. At the constituent sitting of the German Bundestag in its 1st electoral term, the Members sang Hans Ferdinand Ma&sz
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The two lives of Haydn’s ‘Kaiserlied’
‘How national is a national anthem? If you mean the melody, that’s a good question.’ With these words, scholar Alden Buker begins his short but thought-provoking article (1958) in which he highlights that many patriotic songs and anthems are sung to foreign melodies.
Buker’s article was written in a geopolitical landscape very different from today’s. But even in our age of globalisation and information (or disinformation), anthems continue to play a prominent role, being, according to sociologist Karen Cerulo, ‘the strongest, clearest statement of national identity’—and that’s despite so many national anthems’ not-so-national roots. Sounds rather confusing, doesn’t it? But history can play such tricks. Just as political borders and regimes change, so too do the meanings assigned to cultural artefacts.
The story of Haydn’s ‘Gott erhalte Franz der Kaiser’ (‘God save Franz the Emperor’; words by Lorenz Leopold Haschka) demonstrates this like no other. It is widely accepted that the anthem, also known as the ‘Kaiserhymne’, ‘Volkshymne’ and ‘
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German National Anthem
When did the third verse of the Deutschlandlied become the national anthem?
A few months after the reunification of Germany in 1990, Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker and Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl made the express decision in 1991 that only the third verse would be used as the national anthem. As a result, only this verse is specially protected as an official national symbol and a constitutional principle. Unlike in countries such as France or Poland, however, the German national anthem is not directly enshrined in the constitution or determined by law. Between 1952 and 1991, the national anthem consisted of all verses of the hymn, though only the third verse was sung on official occasions.
Why does the national anthem only consist of the third verse?
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben composed the Deutschlandlied (“Song of the Germans”) in 1841 on the island of Heligoland, which was British at that time. At this time in history, the German-speaking world was made up of numerous individual states, some of them large and some smal
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