Verse strikes a chord with nationalists

Berlin:TO the Kaiser it evoked a dream of a glorious Reich embracing all German speakers. For the architects of the ill-fated Weimar Republic its words resonated with unfulfilled promise, while for Adolf Hitler it seemed a hymn tailor-made for his meglomania. Now the the German national anthem - in particular the controversial first verse which has the words "Germany, Germany, above all, above all else in the world" - has again triggered debate. Last month Guenther Oettinger, chairman of the right-wing Christian Democratic Union in the Baden Wrttemburg, sang the first verse of the this Song of the Germans at a student fraternity event.

Never have so few words meant so much to so many. Since the end of the second world war and the founding of the modern German republic the utterance of these words, penned by Heinrich Hoffman von Falllersleben in August 1841, have been as taboo as walking down the street in an SS uniform or commenting at polite dinner parties that the Nazis weren't really all that bad. But now many Germans feel it is right to embrace a song which, they say, is not about German triumphalism but celebrates Germaness.

This didn't stop Oettinger getting a tongue-lashing from more right-on colleagues in parliament yet it has triggered a movement among some intellectuals to bring back the first verse permanently. Not that many Germans would know. A poll showed that little over half the population knew the third verse - the only one used on state and official occasions. The verse goes: "Unity and rights and freedom for the German Fatherland."

But there is more than just the Germany above all else in the first verse. In its entirety it talks about ecompassing Germans from the River Adige in Italy to the Belt in Denmark and from the Memel in Lithuania to the Maas deep inside France.

Do Germans really want to croon about such naked expansionism at football matches and the like? Clearly some do. Niko Rauen, spokesman for the Germania Halle student association that partakes of the ancient Teutonic customs of excessive drinking and fencing, said: "Despite several attempts to establish a different national anthem after WW2 the will of the German people proclaimed the Song of the Germans the national anthem of the Federal Republic.

"If a politician like Mr Oettinger sings the entire song and not just the mutilated version then all we can do is congratulate him and urge all our countrymen to follow his example."

Konrad Hombacher, a Munich right-winger, says he will petition parliament later this year to try to change the anthem back to include all three verses.

He said: "The song retains its validity. Just because borders were changed by war doesn't mean we cannot express what we believe to be true: that we should encompass those areas where German is spoken, nurture German folk, proclaim our Germaness. Hitler may have corrupted the meaning of the song but that is no reason why we cannot restore its besmirched honour."

But the government is adamant that the anthem will not be changed and wants to nip this particular verse in the bud before it blossoms into an operatic chorus of dissent. Wolfgang Thierse, president of the Bundestag, said: "Hitler rendered the first verses of the Song of the Germans unacceptable.

"Since that time they stand for Nazi Germany's claim to power and bear no relation with the nave, romantic pathos of Hoffman von Fallersleben. And Mr Oettinger knows this. It is unbearable when parliamentarians, representatives of today's peaceful, democratic Germany choose to simply ignore this historical burden.

"The Federal Republic is one European state among many, not above or below others. If anything, Germany has a special responibility because of its past, its standard of living and its abilities. We do not need debates about anthems. We need politicians capable of bearing this responsibility."

There is no statute governing the singing of the anthem either as a regulation or in the constitution. "It is just a given thing that the first verse is replaced by the third," said a government spokesman.

Erika Steinbach, a member of parliament, said: "Chancelllor Konrad Adenauer did well to choose the third verse as the anthem for official occasions but no-one is or was prohibited from singing all three versions at his own events."

The world can perhaps take solace that at least it is unlikely to be crooned by German football supporters at the moment, given the dismal performance of the national team at the recent Euro 2000 championships.

Copyright 2000
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.