The German National Anthem (also known as „Das Deutschlandlied“ and „Das Lied der Deutschen“) has been in use, with seperate verses sung at different times, since 1922. The melody was originally written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 as an anthem for the Austrian Emperor with the words “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser” (God save Franz, the Emperor) .
The poet Hoffmann von Fallersleben used Haydn`s melody to write the lyrics for “Das Lied der Deutschen” while living on the island of Helgoland in 1841. At that time a German National State did not exist; the “Deutsche Bund” was a loose alliance of 39 sovereign states of different sizes and political importance. This political patchwork inspired von Fallersleben to express his and his countrymen`s longing for political unity and liberty in three verses. The beginning of the first verse: “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles…” has often been misinterpreted even by Germans. Given the political situation of 1841 it could only mean to put all political bickering and egoism aside and to put the creation of a German nation above anything else (über alles). To avoid any further misinterpretation  it was decided that the text of the third verse should be sung whenever the anthem was played. However, Haydn`s composition and von Fallersleben`s lyrics did not become the National Anthem in 1871 when the “Kaiserreich” was proclaimed. Chancellor Bismarck and the Emperor decided by decree that it should be “Heil Dir im Siegerkranz” the melody of which is the same as “God Save the Queen”. Only after the First World War with the creation of the Weimar  Republic the “Deutschlandlied” became the official German National Anthem in 1922. It was chosen due to its strong link to the 1848 revolution, and the Weimar Republic was in spirit close to this time of democratic upheaval. When the Nazis took power only the first verse was sung. That they continued to use a song so clearly associated with a democratic revolution seems odd.
With the creation of two German states after the Second World War, the “Deutschlandlied”  remained the National Anthem and when “West Germany” participated in the 1952 Olympic Games president Heuss declared the third verse of the song as the official anthem. With the amalgamation of the GDR (German Democratic Republic, which had its own hymn, composed by Johannes R. Becher, lyrics by Hans Eichler) and the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany) it was declared by president von Weizsäcker in 1991 that Haydn`s melody and the third verse by von Fallersleben should be the National Anthem of a reunified Germany.


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. :|


Included here is our String Quartet score for Deutschlandlied - German National Anthem. The individual instrumental parts are included in the purchase of the full score of Deutschlandlied - German National Anthem. The full score and the individual parts can be previewed for your convenience.