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The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
(NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, along with the first stanza of the "". The "" has been
banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meanin ...
in Germany and Austria since the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.


History

The lyrics to "Horst-Wessel-Lied" were written in 1929 by '' Sturmführer'' Horst Wessel, the commander of the Nazi paramilitary "Brownshirts" ('' Sturmabteilung'' or "SA") in the Friedrichshain district of
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. Wessel wrote songs for the SA in conscious imitation of the Communist paramilitary, the Red Front Fighters' League, to provoke them into attacking his troops, and to keep up the spirits of his men.


Horst Wessel

Wessel was the son of a pastor and educated at degree level, but was employed as a construction worker. He became notorious among the Communists when he led a number of SA attacks into the Fischerkiez, an extremely poor Berlin district, which he did on orders from Joseph Goebbels, who was then the Nazi '' Gauleiter'' (regional party leader) of Berlin. Several of these incursions were only minor altercations, but one took place outside the tavern which the local German Communist Party (KPD) used as its headquarters. As a result of that melee, five Communists were injured, four of them seriously. Communist newspapers accused the police of letting the Nazis get away while arresting the injured Communists, while Nazi newspapers claimed that Wessel had been trying to give a speech when Communists emerged and started the fight. Wessel's face was printed together with his address on Communist street posters. The slogan of the KPD and the Red Front Fighters' League became "strike the fascists wherever you find them." Wessel moved with his partner Erna Jänicke into a room on
Große Frankfurter Straße Karl-Marx-Allee ( en, Karl Marx Alley) is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx. It should not be confused with the ''Karl-Mar ...
. The landlady was the widowed Mrs Salm, whose husband had been a Communist. After a few months, there was a dispute between Salm and Wessel over unpaid rent. Salm requested Wessel's partner to leave but Jänicke refused. Salm appealed to Communist friends of her late husband for help. Shortly thereafter on 14 January 1930, Wessel was shot and seriously wounded by two Communist Party members, one of whom was Albrecht "Ali" Höhler. Wessel died in hospital on 23 February from blood poisoning, which he contracted during his hospitalisation. Höhler was tried in court and sentenced to six years' imprisonment for the shooting. He was taken out of prison under false pretenses by the SA and shot dead three years later, after the Nazi accession to national power in 1933.


Nazi Party anthem

Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi ''Gauleiter'' and owner and editor of the newspaper '' Der Angriff'' (The Attack), had made several attempts to create Nazi martyrs for propaganda purposes, the first being an SA man named Hans-Georg Kütemeyer, whose body was pulled out of a canal the morning after he attended a speech by Hitler at the
Sportpalast Berlin Sportpalast (; built 1910, demolished 1973) was a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Schöneberg section of Berlin, Germany. Depending on the type of event and seating configuration, the Sportpalast could hold up to 14,000 people ...
. Goebbels attempted to spin this into an assassination by Communists, but the overwhelming evidence showed it to have been suicide, and he had to drop the matter. Thus, Goebbels put considerable effort into mythologizing Wessel's story, even as the man lay dying. He met with Wessel's mother, who told him her son's life story, his hope for a "better world", and his attempt to rescue a prostitute he had met on the street. Goebbels saw Wessel as an "idealistic dreamer". Wessel himself had undergone an operation at St. Joseph's Hospital which stopped his internal bleeding, but the surgeons had been unable to remove the bullet in his cerebellum. Wessel was brought to his mother's home to die. In his diary, Goebbels described Wessel's entire face as being shot up and his features distorted, and claimed that Wessel told him "One has to keep going! I'm happy!" After a period where his condition stabilized, Wessel died on 23 February. Goebbels consulted Hermann Göring and others in the party on how to respond to Wessel's death. They declared a period of mourning until 12 March, during which party and SA members would avoid amusements and Wessel's name would be invoked at all party meetings. Wessel's unit was renamed the Horst Wessel Storm Unit 5. From a mashup of fact and fiction, Goebbels' propaganda created what became one of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
's central martyr-figures of their movement. He officially declared Wessel's march, renamed as the "" ("Horst Wessel Song"), to be the Nazi Party anthem, which aided in promoting Wessel as the first of many in the Nazi cult of martyrdom. Wessel was buried on 1 March 1930. Contrary to Nazi claims, there were no attacks on the funeral procession. His funeral was filmed and turned into a major propaganda event by the NSDAP. The "Horst Wessel Song" was sung by the SA at the funeral, and was thereafter extensively used at party functions, as well as sung by the SA during street parades.


Co-national anthem

When Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, the "Horst Wessel Song" became a national symbol by law on 19 May 1933. The following year, a regulation required the right arm be extended and raised in the "
Hitler salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...
" when the (identical) first and fourth verses were sung. Nazi leaders can be seen singing the song at the finale of
Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
's 1935 film ''
Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; hi ...
.'' Hitler also mandated the
tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
at which the song had to be played. Some Nazis were extremely sensitive about the uses to which the "Horst Wessel Song" was put. For instance, a
bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...
who wrote a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
version of the song was forced to leave Germany, and when
Martha Dodd Martha Eccles Dodd (October 8, 1908 – August 10, 1990) was an American journalist and novelist. The daughter of William Edward Dodd, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first Ambassador to Germany, Dodd lived in Berlin from 1933–1937 an ...
, the daughter of
William E. Dodd William Edward Dodd (October 21, 1869 – February 9, 1940) was an American historian, author and diplomat. A liberal Democrat, he served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937 during the Nazi era. Initially a holder of ...
, at the time the US ambassador to Germany, played a recording of an unusual arrangement of the song at her birthday party at the Ambassador's residence in 1933, a young Nazi who was a liaison between the
German Foreign Ministry The Federal Foreign Office (german: Auswärtiges Amt, ), abbreviated AA, is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. ...
and
Hitler's Chancellery Hitler's Chancellery, officially known as the ''Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP'' (" Chancellery of the Führer of the Nazi Party"; abbreviated as KdF) was a Nazi Party organization. Also known as the ''Privatkanzlei des Führers'' ("Private Chanc ...
, turned off the record player, announcing "This is not the sort of music to be played for mixed gatherings and in a flippant manner." The song was played in some
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
places of worship, as some elements of the
Protestant Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in German ...
had accepted the Horst Wessel cult, built as it was by Goebbels on the model of Christian martyrs of the past.


Post World War II

With the end of the Nazi regime in May 1945, the "Horst Wessel Song" was banned. The lyrics and tune are now illegal in Germany, with some limited exceptions. In early 2011, this resulted in a
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
State Police investigation of Amazon.com and Apple Inc. for offering the song for sale on their websites. Both Apple and Amazon complied with the government's request, and deleted the song from their offerings. A special marine commando unit within the Chilean Navy uses the same melody as the Horst-Wessel-Lied with different lyrics called "Himno de la Agrupación de Comandos IM no. 51".


Lyrics

The words to the "Horst Wessel Song" were published in September 1929 in the Nazi Party's Berlin newspaper, ''Der Angriff'' (The Attack) which Joseph Goebbels owned and ran. Die Fahne hoch! Die Reihen fest geschlossen! SA marschiert mit ruhig festem Schritt. Kam'raden, die Rotfront und Reaktion erschossen, Marschier'n im Geist in unser'n Reihen mit. Die Straße frei den braunen Bataillonen. Die Straße frei dem Sturmabteilungsmann! Es schau'n aufs Hakenkreuz voll Hoffnung schon Millionen. Der Tag für Freiheit und für Brot bricht an! Zum letzten Mal wird Sturmalarm geblasen! Zum Kampfe steh'n wir alle schon bereit! Schon flattern Hitlerfahnen über allen Straßen. Die Knechtschaft dauert nur noch kurze Zeit! (repeat first stanza) Raise the flag! The ranks tightly closed! The SA marches with calm, steady step. Comrades shot by the Red Front and reactionaries March in spirit within our ranks. Clear the streets for the brown battalions, Clear the streets for the storm division man! Millions are looking upon the hooked-cross full of hope, The day of freedom and of bread dawns! For the last time, the call to arms is sounded! For the fight, we all stand prepared! Already Hitler's banners fly over all streets. The time of bondage will last but a little while now! The ''Rotfront'', or "Red Front", was the '' Rotfrontkämpferbund'', the paramilitary organization of the Communist Party of Germany. The Nazi SA, also known as the "brown shirts" and the Communist Red Front fought each other in violent street confrontations, which grew into almost open warfare after 1930. The "reactionaries" were the conservative political parties and the liberal democratic German government of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...
period, which made several unsuccessful attempts to suppress the SA. The "time of bondage" refers to the period after the 1919
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...
, in which the victorious powers imposed huge
reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from ...
on Germany, stripped her of her colonies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Ocean, some of which became
League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administ ...
s, gave parts of Germany to Belgium, Denmark, France, Poland, and Lithuania, and occupied the Rhineland. The line is technically ambiguous. It could either mean ''Kameraden, die von Rotfront und Reaktion erschossen wurden'' ("Our comrades who were shot dead by the Red Front and Reactionaries") or ''Kameraden, welche die Erschießung von Rotfront und Reaktion durchführten'' ("Our comrades who have shot the Red Front and Reactionaries dead"). In spite of this obvious syntactic problem, which was mentioned by Victor Klemperer in his '' LTI – Lingua Tertii Imperii'', the line was never changed. The following line (March in spirit within our ranks) however indicates that the aforementioned comrades are deceased, advocating the first interpretation. Some changes were made to the lyrics after Wessel's death: After Wessel's death, new stanzas were added, composed in his honour. These were frequently sung by the SA but did not become part of the official lyrics used on party or state occasions.


Melody

After Wessel's death, he was officially credited with having composed the music as well as having written the lyrics for the "Horst Wessel Song". Between 1930 and 1933, however, German critics disputed this, pointing out that the melody had a long history. " How Great Thou Art" is a well-known
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...
of Swedish origin with a similar tune for example. Criticism of Horst Wessel as author became unthinkable after 1933, when the Nazi Party took control of Germany and criticism would likely be met with severe punishment. The most likely immediate source for the melody was a song popular in the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, which Wessel would no doubt have heard being sung by World War I veterans in the Berlin of the 1920s. The song was known either by its opening line as or as the "", after the German cruiser , which is mentioned in one version of the song's lyrics. The opening stanza of the song is: In 1936, the German music critic Alfred Weidemann published an article, in which he identified the melody of a song composed in 1865 by Peter Cornelius as the "Urmelodie" (source-melody). According to Weidemann, Cornelius described the tune as a "Viennese folk tune". This appeared to him to be the ultimate origin of the melody of the "Horst Wessel Song".


Far-right use outside Germany

During the 1930s and 1940s, the "Horst Wessel Song" was adapted by fascist groups in other European countries.


British Union of Fascists

One of the marching songs of the
British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...
, known as ''The Marching Song'' or ''Comrades, the Voices'' was set to the same tune, and its lyrics were to some extent modelled on the song, though appealing to British Fascism. Instead of referring to martyrs of the party, it identifies Britain's war dead as those marching in spirit against the " red front and massed ranks of reaction". Comrades, the voices of the dead battalions, Of those who fell, that Britain might be great, 𝄆 Join in our song, for they still march in spirit with us, And urge us on to gain the fascist state! 𝄇 We're of their blood, And spirit of their spirit, Sprung from that soil, for whose dear sake they bled, 𝄆 Against vested powers, Red Front, and massed ranks of reaction, We lead the fight for freedom and for bread! 𝄇 The streets are still, the final struggle's ended; Flushed with the fight, we proudly hail the dawn! 𝄆 See, over all the streets, the fascist banners waving, Triumphant standards of our race reborn! 𝄇


Croatian Fascists

In modern
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
, members of various far-right movements consider the adaptation written by
Jan Zadravec Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...
, called " Hrvatski Stijeg" (The Croatian Banner), to be their unofficial anthem.


Falange fascist movement

In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
, the
Falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...
fascist movement sang ''Camisa azul'' to the same tune: (Note that this was a traditional Falange march, not a march of the original Falange. It was sung by some of the volunteers of the 250th division, the División Azul, after the death of José Antonio Primo de Rivera.)


Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism

In
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...
the members of the Légion des volontaires français sang:


Golden Dawn

In modern Greece,
Golden Dawn Golden Dawn or The Golden Dawn may refer to: Organizations * Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a nineteenth century magical order based in Britain ** The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., a modern revival founded in 1977 ** Open Source ...
, an extreme right-wing party, uses the "Horst Wessel Song" with Greek lyrics in its gatherings or events such as the occasional public distribution of food "to Greeks only", while its leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, often uses the song's key stanzas (e.g. "The flags on high!") in his speeches. The lyrics of their version are:


All-Russian Fascist Organisation

The
All-Russian Fascist Organisation The All-Russian Fascist Organization (VFO) (Всероссийская фашистская организация; ''Vserossiyskaya Fašistskija Organizatsiya") was a Russian white émigré group led by Anastasy Vonsyatsky. It was based in Putna ...
, founded in 1933, largely consisted of émigrés of the White Movement. It was led by
Anastasy Vonsiatsky Anastasy Andreyevich Vonsyatsky (russian: Анаста́сий Андре́евич Вонся́цкий, pl, Anastazy Wąsiacki; June 12, 1898 – February 5, 1965), better known in the United States as Anastase Andreivitch Vonsiatsky, was a Ru ...
and was based in
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
, USA. The organisation dissolved after the United States entered World War II. Vonsyatsky was arrested for violating the 1917 Espionage Act. The lyrics of their version are:


Patriotic People's Movement

The fascist Lapua Movement and its successor
Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen kansanliike, IKL, sv, Fosterländska folkrörelsen) was a Finnish nationalist and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1 ...
of Finland sang a song to the tune of Horst Wessel Lied, translated by Otto Al’Antila:Otto Al'Antila, Lakeus, 15.07.1936, nro 157, s. 1, Kansalliskirjaston digitaaliset aineistot
/ref>


Parodies

Before 1933, the German Communists and the Social Democrats sang parodies of the "Horst Wessel Song" during their street battles with the SA. Some versions simply changed the political character of the song: '' Der Stahlhelm'', or "The Steel Helmet", was a
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
veterans' organisation closely aligned with the German National People's Party. The
Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...
substituted completely new lyrics: Ernst Thälmann was the KPD leader. These versions were banned once the Nazis came to power and the Communist and Social Democratic parties prohibited. However, during the years of the Third Reich the song was parodied in underground versions, poking fun at the corruption of the Nazi elite. There are similarities between different texts as underground authors developed them with variations. Below are several versions. Wilhelm Frick was the Interior Minister, Baldur von Schirach was the
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
leader and Heinrich Himmler was head of the SS and police. Another version was: Die Preise hoch, die Schnauze fest geschlossen, Hunger marschiert in ruhig festem Schritt. Hitler und Göbbels, uns're beiden Volksgenossen, Hungern im Geist mit uns Proleten mit. Im Arbeitsamt wird SOS geblasen, Zum Stempeln steh'n wir alle Mann bereit. Statt Brot und Arbeit gibt der Führer uns nur Phrasen, Und wer was sagt, lebt nur noch kurze Zeit. Die Straße stinkt nach braunen Batallionen, Ein Pöstchen winkt dem Sturmabteilungsmann. Vielleicht verdient als Bonze morgen er Millionen, Doch das geht uns 'nen braunen Scheißdreck an! The prices high, the snouts firmly closed, Hunger marches with a quiet, steady step. Hitler and Göbbels, our two comrades, Starve in spirit along with us proles. In the unemployment benefits office
SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...
is sounded, All we men stand prepared to register as unemployed. Instead of bread and work, the
Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princip ...
gives us just phrases, And whoever says anything lives but a little while. The street stinks of the brown battalions, A cushy job winks at the Stormtrooper. Perhaps tomorrow he'll be a fat cat and get millions, But that means jack-shit to us.
In the first year of Nazi rule radical elements of the SA sang their own parody of the song, reflecting their disappointment that the socialist element of National Socialism had not been realised: Kurt Schmitt was Economics Minister between 1933 and 1935. One of the best-known parodies was included in
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
's play '' Schweik in the Second World War'' (1943). Hanns Eisler composed a score for the "Kälbermarsch" (Calves' March): After Nazi Germany's capitulation on 8 May 1945, which ended
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, as well as Germany's occupation of Eastern Europe, Germany was divided into four occupation zones (British, French, US-American and Soviet). In the Soviet zone, a version of 'Die Preise hoch' became popular, targeting Communist functionaries: The most notable English-language parody was written by Oliver Wallace to a similar melody and titled " Der Fuehrer's Face" for the 1942 Donald Duck cartoon of the same name. It was the first hit record for Spike Jones. The opening lyrics give the flavor of the song: When der Fuehrer says we is de master race We "Heil!" (pffft), "Heil!" (pffft) right in der Fuehrer's face Not to love der Fuehrer is a great disgrace So we "Heil!" (pffft), "Heil!" (pffft) right in der Fuehrer's face Each "Heil!" is followed by a Bronx cheer.


In popular culture

*The
New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a tuition-free music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Cha ...
, after it discovered that a piece it had commissioned included a 45-second musical quote of the "Horst Wessel Song", abruptly canceled a Carnegie Hall performance of ''Marsh u Nebuttya'' (Ukrainian: "March to Oblivion"), a 9-minute piece composed by
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
n-born Jonas Tarm, a 21-year-old junior at the New England Conservatory of Music. The composer would not explain his purpose in using the song in his piece, saying " can speak for itself", but the orchestra said that the usage was not appropriate. *German composer
Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groundb ...
's electronic and concrete work titled, '' Hymnen'' includes a sample recording of the "Horst Wessel Song". It premiered in Cologne, Germany, on 30 November 1967. It was also performed in New York's Philharmonic Hall (now David Geffen Hall) and London's English Bach Festival among other international performances. *The tune is used in Lukas Foss' ''Elegy for Anne Frank'' (1989) as a contorted march about three-quarters of the way through the work. This leads to an abrupt silence after which the earlier theme returns. *The neofolk band
Death in June Death in June are a neofolk group led by English musician Douglas P. (Douglas Pearce). The band was originally formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as a trio, but after the other members left in 1984 and 1985 to work on other projects, the grou ...
released a recording of the "Horst Wessel Song" under the name "Brown Book" on their 1987 album of the same name. *The title theme for '' Wolfenstein 3D'' has a rendition of the "Horst-Wessel-Lied", recomposed by Bobby Prince and released for DOS on 5 May 1992. *In 2003, a high school marching band from Paris, Texas, played the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" while waving a
Nazi flag The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the ...
at a football match at Hillcrest High School in Dallas. The performance coincided with the
Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainst ...
of Rosh Hashanah. The performance, which was meant to symbolize the history of World War II and also included musical selections and flags from Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was greeted with boos from the audience which threw objects at the band. The school superintendent apologized to the Dallas school district and removed the flag from future performances of the composition.


See also

* " Giovinezza", hymn of the Italian
National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
* " Cara al Sol", anthem of the fascist Spanish
Falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...
* " Maréchal, nous voilà !", unofficial anthem of unoccupied
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...
* Music in Nazi Germany *
Nazi songs Nazi songs are songs and marches created by the Nazi Party. In modern Germany, the public singing or performing of songs exclusively associated with the Nazi Party is now illegal. Background There is often confusion between songs written specifica ...
* German laws against modern use of Nazi songs * "
Sturmlied The "Sturmlied" ("Storm Song" or "Assault Song") was the de facto anthem of the SA until it was gradually supplanted by the "Horst-Wessel-Lied". History The lyrics for this Nazi song were written by National Socialist poet Dietrich Eckart, ...
" * "
Vorwärts! Vorwärts! Nazi songs are songs and marches created by the Nazi Party. In modern Germany, the public singing or performing of songs exclusively associated with the Nazi Party is now illegal. Background There is often confusion between songs written specifica ...
", anthem of the
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...


References

Notes Bibliography * * * * * * *


Further reading

*Boderick, George
"Das Horst-Wessel-Lied: A Reappraisal"
''International Folklore Review'', vol. 10 (1995): 100–127.


External links



(MIDI format)
song
(MP3 format)
song
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Text of the German Criminal Code – Section 86 and Section 86a
(in English) {{authority control 1930 songs Horst Wessel Nazi songs Symbols of Nazi Germany Nazi symbolism Fascist symbols Historical national anthems