Deutschlandlied
Template:Infobox Anthem Expanded The Deutschlandlied (English: Song of Germany), also known as Das Lied der Deutschen (English: Song of the Germans) as well as by its first line, Deutschland Über Alles (English: Germany Above All), is the national anthem of the Kingdom of Germany and the former national anthem of Großgermania. The music was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1797 to be played during the birthday celebrations for Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and was accompanied by the lyrics of Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser. The current lyrics, advocating a unified Germanic state, were written by Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841. Considered revolutionary by the nobility of his native Brunswick-Lüneburg, the lyrics resulted in his exile. Von Fallersleben spent much of the remainder of his life in Heligoland, at the time a British possession.
History
The Deutschlandlied was widely used during the 1848 Revolutions as a symbol of German unity alongside other currently-used symbols of Großgermania, including the coat of arms. The melody, coupled with the poem Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, became the anthem of Austrian Empire in 1806, and was maintained by Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918. When the Weimar Republic was formed in 1919, it initially had no anthem, but adopted the Deutschlandlied in 1922.
With the Nazi Party's rise to power in 1933, the song was maintained as the official national anthem of the Großdeutsches Reich, though in practical use only the first stanza was sung, followed by the Horst-Wessel-Lied. The first line was utilized by Nazi propaganda to advocate German and racial supremacy, and for this reason only the third stanza was subsequently used by the Federal Republic of Germany as its anthem. The German Democratic Republic used a separate anthem, Auferstanden aus Ruinen, until its reincorporation into a unified German state in 1991.
Upon the rise of the Germanic reunification movement in Central Europe, spearheaded by the German National Unionist Party, use of the first stanza began to increase dramatically. Upon the creation of Großgermania in December 2008, the anthem, in its full form, was reintroduced as the national anthem (though individual regions maintained their own anthems), using the name Das Lied der Deutschen to emphasize the empire's status as the home of the German people, not as Germany itself. The Kingdom of Germany also reintroduced it as its anthem, maintaining the name Deutschlandlied. However, despite the change of the title, many ethnic minorities, as well as the governments of numerous constituent countries, complained that the song continued to reference Germany, not Großgermania, and a movement to change the anthem's lyrics was born.
In December 2009, Das Lied der Deutschen was officially abandoned as Großgermania's national anthem, with a new version of Auferstanden aus Ruinen replacing it.
Lyrics
While serving as Großgermania's national anthem, the song had ten versions for official use in Großgermania, as well as a government-endorsed English translation for use internationally. A Prussian-language translation of the song has never been made, as the song was replaced as the national anthem prior to the adoption of Prussian as a regionally-recognized language of Großgermania. At federal and international events, only the German-language version was usually sung, however all versions were sung at the first convention of the Reichstag, as well as at the opening of Unification Day ceremonies.
The following were the official lyrics as approved by the Imperial Government of Großgermania and the governments of the various provinces that have each of the languages as official. As the anthem is now only used in the Kingdom of Germany, only the German-language version is now official.
Das Lied der Deutschen (de) | Tyskernes Sang (da) | Píseň Němců (cs) |
---|---|---|
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, |
Tyskland, Tyskland over alt, |
Německo, Německo především, |
Le Chant des Allemands (fr) | Chanzun d'il Tudestg (rm) | Il Canto dei Tedeschi (it) |
Allemagne, Allemagne avant toute chose, |
Germania, Germania particularmain |
Germania, Germania, soprattutto |
Pieśń Niemców (pl) | Песнь немцев (ru) | Lidd vum Däitsch (lb) |
Niemcy, Niemcy ponad wszystko, |
Германия, Германия превыше всего, |
Däitschland, Däitschland besonnesh, |
La Canción de los Alemanes (es) | Song of the Germans (en) | |
Alemania, Alemania sobre todos, |
Germany, Germany above all, |