() was an
anti-British
Anti-British sentiment is the prejudice against, persecution of, discrimination against, fear of, dislike of, or hatred against the British Government, British people, or the culture of the United Kingdom.
Argentina
Historically, anti- ...
slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...
coined by German poet
Ernst Lissauer
Ernst Lissauer (16 December 1882 – 10 December 1937) was a German poet and dramatist best known for coining the anti-British slogan ''Gott strafe England'' during World War I. He also wrote the ''Hassgesang gegen England'' ("Song of hate a ...
in 1917 during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The slogan immediately gained widespread popularity in the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
, which had been at war with
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
since 1914, and was widely reproduced in Germany's
popular culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art f. pop art
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
. The
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
also adopted the slogan as a motto for its soldiers.
History

In August 1914, after the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, German poet
Ernst Lissauer
Ernst Lissauer (16 December 1882 – 10 December 1937) was a German poet and dramatist best known for coining the anti-British slogan ''Gott strafe England'' during World War I. He also wrote the ''Hassgesang gegen England'' ("Song of hate a ...
published the
anti-British
Anti-British sentiment is the prejudice against, persecution of, discrimination against, fear of, dislike of, or hatred against the British Government, British people, or the culture of the United Kingdom.
Argentina
Historically, anti- ...
poem ''Hassgesang gegen England'' ("Song of hate against England"), which in the words of Austrian writer
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world.
Zweig was raised in V ...
"fell like a shell into a munitions depot". The poem became an instant success in the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
as a result of "the rhetorical power with which it encapsulated a national emotional response to the outbreak of war".
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by the Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Rupert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last heir ...
, the commander of the
Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
's
6th Army, ordered copies of the poem to be distributed to his troops, and
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
conferred the
Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...
upon Lissauer.
Three years after writing the poem, Lissauer coined the slogan ''Gott strafe England'' ("May God punish England"), which achieved similar levels of popularity in Germany, appearing in
popular culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art f. pop art
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
such as
cufflink
Cufflinks are items of jewelry that are used to secure the cuffs of dress shirts. Cufflinks can be manufactured from a variety of different materials, such as glass, stone, leather, metal, precious metal or combinations of these. Securing o ...
s and
postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare.
In some places, one can send a postcard f ...
s and being adopted as a motto by the German army. The slogan, which was commonly chanted by
jingoistic
Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...
crowds in German cities, was met with disapproval among some in the German intelligentsia, with
Helmut Herzfeld anglicising his name to
John Heartfield
John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld; 19 June 1891 – 26 April 1968) was a German visual artist who pioneered the use of art as a political weapon. Some of his most famous photomontages were anti-Nazi and anti-fascist statements. Heartfield a ...
in protest. The German government was accused of issuing a stamp with the slogan, which they denied, though a number of unofficial stamps bearing the slogan were produced by
non-governmental organisations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
such as the
Federation of the Germans in Lower Austria.
The slogan was humorously adopted by English-speakers to create the term "
strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...
", which refers to the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using
automatic weapon
An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firea ...
s;
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer
William Gott
Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart Gott, (13 August 1897 – 7 August 1942), nicknamed "Strafer", was a senior British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general while ...
, who served in World War I and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, was nicknamed "Strafer" by his comrades after they were exposed to the slogan.
In 1946,
British occupational authorities in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
issued eviction orders to make room for a new headquarters. In response, 4,000 residents of the city gathered in protest, singing the outlawed ''
Deutschlandlied
The "", officially titled "", is a German poem written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben . A popular song which was made for the cause of creating a unified German state, it was adopted in its entirety in 1922 by the Weimar Repub ...
'' and knocking the hats off fellow Hamburgers who kept their heads covered. The crowd chanted a variety of slogans, including "We’re not
Indians
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Associated with India
* of or related to India
** Indian people
** Indian diaspora
** Languages of India
** Indian English, a dialect of the English language
** Indian cuisine
Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
, not
coolie
Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...
s, we must be treated like Germans",
antisemitic slogans and "Gott strafe England". The final slogan led the
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...
to arrest eleven members of the crowd.
In popular culture
Czech writer
Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czechs, Czech writer, Humorism, humorist, Satire, satirist, journalist, Bohemianism, bohemian, first anarchist and then communist, and commissar of the Red Army against the Czechoslovak Legion. He is best k ...
made derisive references on the phrase several times in his 1921 novel ''
The Good Soldier Švejk
''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who appears to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungary i ...
'':
English poet
J. C. Squire satirizes the phrase in his poem "God Heard the Embattled Nations":
American artist
George Bellows
George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realism, American realist painting, painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art ...
, who made several anti-German works during the war, created a lithograph titled ''Gott Strafe (England)'' depicting German troops
crucifying Allied soldiers.
Louis Raemaekers
Louis Raemaekers (April 6, 1869 – July 26, 1956) was a Dutch painter, caricaturist and editorial cartoonist for the Amsterdam newspaper ''De Telegraaf'' during World War I, noted for his anti-German stance.
Early life
He was born and grew up ...
created a cartoon titled "Gott strafe England".
''Raemaekers' Cartoons''
BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009,
See also
* ''Gott mit uns
('God swith us') is a phrase commonly used in heraldry in Prussia (from 1701) and later by the German military during the periods spanning the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and until the 1970s on the belt buckle ...
''
* ''Ten German Bombers
"Ten German Bombers" is a children's song with the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain". It has been adopted as a football chant by English football fans, and is sung mainly at football matches during international competitions, namely t ...
''
References
{{reflist
1917 quotations
Anti-British sentiment
German Empire in World War I
German words and phrases
Germany–United Kingdom relations
Quotations from military
Slogans
World War I propaganda
de:Liste geflügelter Worte/G#Gott strafe England!