Germany National Anthem — Deutschlandlied

The official third stanza distils the anthem into three ideals: "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" — unity, justice and freedom — for the German fatherland. It is a call for citizens to strive for these values together, "brotherly with heart and hand", and it names them the true foundation of happiness.

The choice of this stanza is itself meaningful. The song's first stanza ("Deutschland über alles") became associated with the Nazi era, so post-war and reunified Germany deliberately adopted only the third, values-driven verse as its anthem.

Haydn wrote the melody in 1797 as "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" for the Austrian emperor. Hoffmann von Fallersleben set his 1841 poem to it. The full song became Germany's anthem in 1922; after 1945 only the third stanza was retained, confirmed as the sole anthem of reunified Germany in 1991.

Few anthems carry such visible historical weight. Germany's decision to sing only the third stanza is a deliberate act of national memory — keeping the melody and the ideals of unity, justice and freedom while setting aside the verses tied to the country's darkest period.

Germany's national anthem is the "Deutschlandlied", one of the more historically layered national anthems. Its melody was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1797; the words were written by Germany's Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1841.

Only the third stanza is sung today. Both lyrics and music are long out of copyright and in the public domain.