That would have been my mother's experience exactly. To this day I can't be sure she knows the lyrics.
The song was written in 1848 and is rather saccharine, but quite harmless. It was before there was a Germany (Union in 1871 when Prussia sort of forced the issue).
But in 1848 it was a time of revolution and great hope and change. So "Deutschland Ueber Alles" - still the official first stanza believe it or not, though only the third is sung at events - was quite harmless at the time. It signified hope about change at a sensitive time (revolution all over Europe). It took on its sinister overtones later.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-06-21 02:12 am (UTC)The song was written in 1848 and is rather saccharine, but quite harmless. It was before there was a Germany (Union in 1871 when Prussia sort of forced the issue).
But in 1848 it was a time of revolution and great hope and change. So "Deutschland Ueber Alles" - still the official first stanza believe it or not, though only the third is sung at events - was quite harmless at the time. It signified hope about change at a sensitive time (revolution all over Europe). It took on its sinister overtones later.