Deutschlandlied

Lore & Background

The music is derived from "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", composed in 1797 by Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II. In 1841, Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics as a new text for that music, counterposing the national unification of Germany to the eulogy of a monarch. The first stanza was used alongside the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" during the Nazi regime from 1933 until the end of World War II. On the proclamation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the entirety of the song was still the official anthem, though only the 3rd verse was sung.

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hum with anticipation as the final whistle of the warm-up echoes. The crowd falls into a hush, then erupts in a unified roar. As the first notes of Haydn's melody rise from the speakers, thousands of voices join in, singing the third verse with a raw, collective passion. On the grass pitch, players stand shoulder to shoulder, heads bowed or eyes fixed on the flag, feeling the weight of history and the hopes of a nation before the game begins.

Reader's Guide

Only the third stanza is used as the modern German national anthem. It is discouraged, although not illegal, to perform the first or second stanza. The phrase "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ('Unity and Justice and Freedom') is considered the unofficial national motto of Germany, and is inscribed on modern German Army belt buckles and the rims of some German coins.

Did You Know?

• The first line "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" originally meant that the most important aim of 19th-century German liberal revolutionaries should be a unified Germany overcoming loyalties to local kingdoms.
• Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the text in 1841 while on holiday on the North Sea island Heligoland, then a possession of the United Kingdom.
• The melody was originally written in 1797 to provide music to the poem "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" by Lorenz Leopold Haschka.