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.
no subject
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.