A lot of mistakenly think the “Deutschland Über Alles” was about Germany taking over the world.
When Haydn wrote the lyrics, Germany wasn’t united, it was about the idea of a united Germany above all of the little Germanic kingdoms.
> When Haydn wrote the lyrics, Germany wasn’t united, it was about the idea of a united Germany above all of the little Germanic kingdoms.
That’s a great reminder! There’s a Christiann hymne using the same music.
Laymen fault Germany for WWI but it was really the last gasp of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. An Empire that saved Europe from Islam, yet corrupt and in decline by then. Even by 1870 they were woefully out of date in military technology.
All my interest in this time was fueled by a book called the ‘The Great War’ by General Francis March I got from my grandfater. I believe it was a school book. I need to get it rebound.
-SB
A lot of mistakenly think the “Deutschland Über Alles” was about Germany taking over the world.
When Haydn wrote the lyrics, Germany wasn’t united, it was about the idea of a united Germany above all of the little Germanic kingdoms.
It is also the melody for the hymn “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken”. (The hymnal tune name is Austrian Hymn).
Once our church musical group did an instrumental rendering of this hymn during the passing of the offering plate. Afterward, a member of the congregation approached us, disgruntled, and asked why we had played a ‘Nazi song’. We explained, but decided not to do that one again, to avoid any further misunderstandings!