Deutschlandlied

"The Song of the Germans"

Handwritten lyrics of the anthem.

**National anthem of  Germany**

"**Deutschlandlied**" is the national anthem of Germany. The lyrics are based on a poem written by Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841. The music is derived from a tune composed by Joseph Haydn in 1797, which was originally used for the anthem of the Holy Roman Emperor. The melody has since been widely employed in other contexts: in works of classical music, in Christian hymns, and in alma maters.

After World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany, only the third stanza has been used as the national anthem. Its incipit "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.

The music was composed to honour the Holy Roman Emperor, and the accompanying text counterposes the national unification of Germany to the eulogy of a monarch. The lyrics were considered revolutionary at the time. Along with the flag of Germany, which first appeared in its essentially "modern" form in 1778, it was one of the symbols of the March Revolution of 1848.

In recognition of its republican and liberal tradition, "Deutschlandlied" was adopted as the national anthem of Germany in 1922, during the Weimar Republic. West Germany retained it as its official national anthem in 1952 for similar reasons, with only the third stanza sung on official occasions. Upon reunification in 1990, only the third stanza was reconfirmed as the national anthem. It is discouraged, although not illegal, to perform the first (and in some cases the second) stanza, due to association with the Nazi regime, who used the first stanza as part of their national anthem along with the Nazi Party’s anthem: the Horst-Wessel-Lied.

## History

The Holy Roman Empire, stemming from the Middle Ages, was already disintegrating when the French Revolution and the ensuing Napoleonic Wars altered the political map of Central Europe. However, hopes for human rights and republican government after Napoleon's defeat in 1815 were dashed when the Congress of Vienna reinstated many small German principalities. In addition, with the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819, Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich and his secret police enforced censorship, mainly in universities, to keep a watch on the activities of teachers and students, whom he held responsible for the spread of radical liberalist ideas. Since reactionaries among the monarchs were the main adversaries, demands for freedom of the press and other liberal rights were most often uttered in connection with the demand for a united Germany, even though many revolutionaries-to-be held differing opinions over whether a republic or a constitutional monarchy would be the best solution for Germany.

The German Confederation of 1815 to 1866 was a loose federation of 35 monarchical states and four republican free cities, with a Federal Assembly in Frankfurt. They began to remove internal customs barriers during the Industrial Revolution, and the German Customs Union (*Zollverein*) was formed among the majority of the states in 1834. In 1840, Hoffmann wrote a song about the *Zollverein*, also to Haydn's melody, in which he praised the free trade of German goods which brought Germans and Germany closer.

After the March 1848 Revolution, the German Confederation handed over its authority to the Frankfurt Parliament. For a short period in the late 1840s, Germany was economically united with the borders described in the anthem, and a democratic constitution was being drafted, and with the black-red-gold flag representing it. However, after 1849, the two largest German monarchies, Prussia and Austria, put an end to this liberal movement towards national unification.

## Lyrics

After the fall of the Nazi regime, only the last stanza (in **bold**) is officially used as the national anthem.

### German original

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! 𝄇

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! 𝄇

**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! 𝄇**

Дойчланд, Дойчланд ибер аллес,
Ибер аллес ин дер вельт,
Венн эс штетс цу шуц унд труце
Брюдерлих цузамменхелт.
Фон дер Мас бис ан ди Мемель,
Фон дер Эч биз ан ден Бельт,
𝄆 Дойчланд, Дойчланд ибер аллес,
Ибер аллес ин дер вельт. 𝄇

Дойче фрауэн, дойче тройе,
Дойчер вайн унд дойчер занг
Золлен ин дер вельт бехальтен
Ирен альтен шёнен кланг,
Унс цу эдлер тат бегайстерн
Унзер ганцес лебен ланг.
𝄆 Дойче фрауэн, дойче тройе,
Дойчер вайн унд дойчер занг! 𝄇

**Айнигкайт унд рехт унд фрайхайт**
**Фюр дас дойче фатерланд!**
**Данах ласт унс алле штребен**
**Брюдерлих мит херц унд ханд!**
**Айнигкайт унд рехт унд фрайхайт**
**Зинд дес глюккес унтерпфанд;**
**𝄆 Блю’ им гланце дизес глюккес,**
**Блюэ, дойчес фатерланд! 𝄇**

[ˈdɔʏ̯t͡ʃ.lant ˈdɔʏ̯t͡ʃ.lant ˈyː.bɐ ˈa.ləs]
[ˈyː.bɐ ˈa.ləs ɪn dɛɐ̯ vɛlt]
[vɛn ɛs ˈʃtɛt͡s t͡sʊ ʃuːt͡s ʊnt ˈtʁʊ.t͡sə]
[ˈbʁyː.dɐ.lɪç t͡sʊ.ˈza.mən.ˌhɛːlt]
[fɔn dɛɐ̯ maːs bɪs an diː ˈmeː.məl]
[fɔn dɛɐ̯ ɛt͡ʃ bɪs an dɛn ˈbɛlt]
𝄆 [ˈdɔʏ̯t͡ʃ.lant ˈdɔʏ̯t͡ʃ.lant ˈyː.bɐ ˈa.ləs]
[ˈyː.bɐ ˈa.ləs ɪn dɛɐ̯ vɛlt] 𝄇

[ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃə ˈfʁaʊ̯.ən ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃə ˈtʁɔʏ̯.ə]
[ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃɐ vaɪ̯n ʊnt ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃɐ zaŋ]
[ˈzɔ.lən ɪn dɛɐ̯ vɛlt ˈbɛ.hal.tn̩]
[ˈiː.ʁən ˈal.tn̩ ˈʃøː.nəŋ klaŋ]
[ˈuns t͡sʊ ˈɛd.lɐ tat bə.ˈɡaɪ̯.stɐn]
[ˈun.zɐ ˈɡan.t͡səs ˈleː.bən laŋ]
𝄆 [ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃə ˈfʁaʊ̯.ən ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃə ˈtʁɔʏ̯.ə]
[ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃɐ vaɪ̯n ʊnt ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃɐ zaŋ] 𝄇

**[ˈaɪ̯.nɪç.kaɪ̯t ʊnt ʁɛçt ʊnt ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t]**
**[ˈfyːɐ̯ das ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃə ˈfaː.tɐˌlant]**
**[da.ˈnaːx last ʊns ˈa.lə ˈʃtʁeː.bən]**
**[ˈbʁyː.dɐ̯.lɪç mɪt ˈhɛɐ̯t͡s ʊnt ˈhant]**
**[ˈaɪ̯.nɪç.kaɪ̯t ʊnt ʁɛçt ʊnt ˈfʁaɪ̯.haɪ̯t]**
**[zɪnt dɛs ˈglʏ.kəs ˈʊn.tɐ.p͡fant]**
**𝄆 [blyː ɪm ˈglan.t͡sə ˈdiː.zəs ˈglʏ.kəs]**
**[ˈblyː.ə ˈdɔʏ̯.t͡ʃəs ˈfaː.tɐˌ.lant] 𝄇**

### In other languages

English

German Land is high above all

Above all in all the world

If in constant guard and struggle

It unites in brothers' hold

From the Maas up to the Memel

From the Etsch to the Belt shore

𝄆 German Land is high above all

Above all in all the world 𝄇

German women, German good faith

German wine and German song

Have to save and keep forever

Their highest chime of all

And inspire us all to good deeds

Through our lives all the way long

𝄆 German women, German good faith

German wine and German song! 𝄇

Unity, the Right and Freedom

All for German Fatherland!

Let us all be working for it

With fraternal heart and hand

Unity, the Right and Freedom

Are the base of our good fate

𝄆 Bloom in this bliss of good fortune

Bloom on, German Fatherland! 𝄇

Esperanto

Germanio antaŭ ĉio

Antaŭ ĉio en la mond’

Ĉu por atako aŭ defendo

Sin tenas en frata rond’.

De la Mozo ĝis Memelo,

De la Adiĝo ĝis la Belt’,

𝄆 Germanio antaŭ ĉio

Antaŭ ĉio en la mond’. 𝄇

Inoj, fidelo germanaj,

Kaj germanaj kant’ kaj vin’

Konservu en mondo famojn,

Belajn, altajn; kaj anim’

Pro ili al noblaj agoj

Fervoru dum nia viv’.

𝄆 Inoj, fidelo germanaj,

Kaj germanaj kant’ kaj vin’. 𝄇

Unuiĝ’, liber’, justeco,

Por germana nia land’

Tiucele ni fratece

Strebu per kor’ kaj man’!

Unuiĝ’, liber’, justeco

De feliĉo estas gard’ ;

𝄆 Floru la feliĉ' brilece

Floru la germana land’. 𝄇

Italian

La Germania sopra tutto,

sola al mondo senza par,

se fedele, se concorde,

le sue lotte sosterrà.

Dalla Mosa fino al Memel

e dall’Adige al mar Belt:

𝄆 la Germania sopra tutto,

sola al mondo senza par! 𝄇

Donne e fede sian tedesche

e tedeschi il canto e il vin:

tutto ciò nel mondo serbi

la sua antica fama ognor.

Ispirati nobilmente,

forti imprese compirem.

𝄆 Donne e fede sian tedesche,

e tedeschi il canto e il vin! 𝄇

Fra i tedeschi sia concordia,

sia giustizia e libertà:

ciò desia fraternamente

ogni braccio ed ogni cor.

Di giustizia e di concordia

pegno sia la libertà.

𝄆 Salve patria dei tedeschi,

sia il tuo fior felicità! 𝄇

Latin version by Martini Bachmaier (2016)

O Germania sacrata,

mundi cor carissimum,

dum germane foederata

sibi det praesidium!

Balticis a fretis, Mosa,

Athesique, Memela

𝄆 marginata, luminosa

nobilis Germania! 𝄇

Carmen, vinum, fides, atque

femina Germanica

servent sonum, crebrescatque

fama vetus candida!

Animemur semper rite

sequi liberalia

𝄆 carmine, vinoque, fide,

femina Germanica! 𝄇

Fas, concordia, libertas

patriae Germanicae!

Has petamus metas certas

corde vique dexterae!

Fas, concordia, libertas

sunt salutis pignora.

𝄆 Cuius in splendore vertas,

floreas Germania! 𝄇

Ukrainian version by S. Pavchak

Німеччина, Німеччина: В світі понад все, що є,

Як ми тільки по братерськи: Підкладем своє плече.

Нам ж від Маасу до Мемелю,

Етчу й до Бельту стає, —

Німеччина, Німеччина: В світі понад все, що є!

Німців жінки, німців вірність,

Німців спів і наші ж вина —

На цім держиться у світі

Милая старосвітщина.

Нас шляхетність вдохновляти: Все життя звідси повинна,-

Німців жінки, німців вірність,

Німців спів і наші ж вина!

Для німецької Вітчизни —

Єдність, право і свобода, —

Братнім серцем і рукою —

В цім всі прагнення народу.

Єдність, право і свобода —

В цім поруку щастя визнано.

Тож у блиску цього щастя

Квітни, німецька Вічизно!

Russian version by Eugene Vinogradov (2019)

О, Германия, превыше

Ничего на свете нет!

Братство крови нас скрепляет

Для защиты и побед!

Слева Маас, справа Мемель

Снизу Эчи, сверху Бельт.

О, Германия, превыше

Ничего на свете нет!

Жены немцев, верность немцев

Песнь, вино, немецкий дух

Сохранить должны для мира

Столь прекрасный древний звук

Нас к поступкам благородным

Вдохновляют и ведут

Жены немцев, верность немцев

Песнь, вино, немецкий дух

Право, братство и свобода

Для Германии родной!

Будем к этому стремиться

Сердцем нашим и рукой!

Право, братство и свобода

Путь наш к счастью навсегда

Расцветай в сиянии счастья

Процветай, Германия!

## Trivia

* The lyrics to "Deutschlandlied" has the same number of syllables as those of "Auferstanden aus Ruinen", the anthem used for East Germany until 1990; thus, it can be sung using that anthem's tune.

## References

1. ↑ Germany. *NationalAnthems.info*.
2. ↑ Das Lied der Deutschen: German National Anthem. *Mr. Shea*.
3. ↑ Das Lied der Deutschen. *Watzmann.net*.
4. ↑ GERMAN LYRICS. *NationalAnthems.info*.
5. ↑ Das Lied der Deutschen - Die Geschichte einer Hymne. *Planet Schule* (2010–11).
6. ↑ German National Anthem - The German Land Song (1922-1991) (2016-10-02). Posted by sandring on LyricsTranslate.
7. ↑ "Kanto de la Germanoj", esperantigis R. Platteau.
8. ↑ Visonà, Gino. *Inni nazionali e canti patriottici* (1915). Carlo Bortolan, Vicenza. pag. 22.
9. ↑ Martin Bachmaier: Die deutsche Nationalhymne – Das Lied der Deutschen auf Latein – Carmen Germanorum.
10. ↑ Песнь немцев (2019-10-09). vevvev via LyricsTranslate.