Here are the lyrics to, and some history behind, the German national anthem, also known as the Deutschlandlied.
What is the German national anthem?
Germany’s national anthem is ‘Deutschlandlied’ or ‘Das Lied der Deutsche’ (‘Song of Germany’/’Song of Germans’) and has been used in some form since 1922.
By the way, we have lyrics and brief histories for a whole host of other national anthems on our website. To take just three examples, here are the lyrics to the Swiss national anthem, to the Hungarian national anthem, and to the national anthem of Scotland. But why not browse all of our national anthem lyrics?
‘Deutschlandlied’ German national anthem: lyrics in German
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!
German national anthem lyrics in English
Unity and justice and freedom
For the German fatherland!
Towards these let us all strive
Brotherly with heart and hand!
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the foundation of happiness;
Flourish in the radiance of this happiness,
Flourish, German fatherland!
Who composed the music of the German national anthem?
The tune to Germany’s national anthem is considerably older. And, fascinatingly, it started life as an anthem for another country – Germany’s neighbour, Austria. Called the ‘Emperor’s Hymn’ it was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1796 to celebrate the birthday of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (Haydn also used the tune in the second movement of his string quartet Opus 76, No. 3).
The first lines of this anthem – ‘God preserve Francis the Emperor, Our good Emperor Francis!’ – echoes those of the British anthem ‘God Save The Queen‘. It was used as Austria’s anthem until the fall of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1918
And who wrote the lyrics?
The words of the German national anthem started life as a poem written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841. The poem was a call to unify Germany, as the country was then made up of principalities and ducal kingdoms. In 1922 the song was officially adopted as Germany’s national anthem by the Weimar Republic.
What happened to the Deutschlandlied after World War Two?
But that’s not the end of the story. During the Nazi regime and the Second World War, the first verse – with its first line ‘Deutschland, Deutschland über alles’ (‘Germany, Germany above all’) – became heavily associated with the Nazi regime, meaning it was highly unsuitable as a national anthem in post-war Europe.
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This was alright for East Germany following the division of the country, as they soon produced their own ‘Auferstanden aus Ruinen’ (‘Risen from Ruins’), but West Germany was left anthemless until 1952 when the Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and President Theodor Heuss decided to reinstate the original anthem, using just the third stanza to avoid any Nazi association. When Germany unified in 1990 it was adapted by all of Germany.
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