Visions of Germany: Along the Rhine

Following Visions of Germany: Bavaria, the PBS network produced a second German-oriented episode in its Vision series, this one titled Visions of Germany: Along the Rhine. Among the fantastic sights that the show highlighted was Burg Hohenzollern, the ancestral castle of the dynasty that ruled Prussia throughout its history:



It also featured the Niederwalddenkmal, topped by the statue of Germania, as well as Burg Eltz, Germany's most magnificent authentic medieval castle.



Visions of Germany: Along the Rhine

Germania

HURRAH, GERMANIA!

Ferdinand Freiligrath

Hurrah! thou lady proud and fair,
      Hurrah! Germania mine!
What fire is in thine eye, as there
      Thou bendest o'er the Rhine!
How in July's full blaze dost thou
      Flash forth thy sword, and go,
With heart elate and knitted brow,
      To strike the invader low!
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

No thought hadst thou, so calm and light,
      Of war or battle plain,
But on thy broad fields, waving bright,
      Didst mow the golden grain,
With clashing sickles, wreaths of corn,
      Thy sheaves didst garner in,
When, hark! across the Rhine War's horn
      Breaks through the merry din!
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

Down sickle then and wreath of wheat
      Amidst the corn were cast,
And, starting fiercely to thy feet,
      Thy heart beat loud and fast;
Then with a shout I heard thee call:
      "Well, since you will, you may!
Up, up, my children, one and all,
      On to the Rhine! Away!"
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

From port to port the summons flew,
      Rang o'er our German wave;
The Oder on her harness drew,
      The Elbe girt on her glaive;
Neckar and Weser swell the tide,
      Main flashes to the sun,
Old feuds, old hates are dashed aside,
      All German men are one!
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

Suabian and Prussian, hand in hand,
      North, South, one host, one vow!
"What is the German's Fatherland?"
      Who asks that question now?
One soul, one arm, one close-knit frame,
      One will are we today;
Hurrah, Germania! thou proud dame,
      Oh, glorious time, hurrah!
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

Germania now, let come what may,
      Wll stand unshook through all;
This is our country's festal day;
      Now woe betide thee, Gaul!
Woe worth the hour a robber thrust
      Thy sword into thy hand!
A curse upon him that we must
      Unsheathe our German brand!
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

For home and hearth, for wife and child,
      For all loved things that we
Are bound to keep all undefiled
      From foreign ruffianry!
For German right, for German speech,
      For German household ways,
For German homesteads, all and each,
      Strike home through battle's blaze!
            Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
            Hurrah! Germania!

Up, Germans, up, with God! The die
      Clicks loud — we wait the throw!
Oh, who may think without a sigh
      What blood is doom'd to flow?
Yet, look thou up, with fearless heart!
      Thou must, thou shalt prevail!
Great, glorious, free as ne'er thou wert,
      All hail, Germania, hail!
            Hurrah! Victoria!
            Hurrah! Germania!

1870


-trans. Pall Mall Gazette
-German title: Hurra, Germania



Illustrations show the magnificent Niederwalddenkmal (literally, "Lower Forest Monument") along the Rhine (1883), topped with the statue of personified Germania by Johannes Schilling.

The Teutonic Knights

From Heinrich von Treitschke, Origins of Prussianism (1862):

Who can understand the innermost nature of the Prussian people and the Prussians State unless he has familiarized his mind wtih those pitiless racial conflicts whose vestiges, be we aware of them or not, live on mysteriously in the habits of our people. A spell rises from the ground which was drenched with the noblest German blood in the fight on behalf of the name of Germany and the most sublime gifts of mankind.

As soon as the power of the Ascaniers in Brandenburg collapsed, the Teutonic Knights valiantly took up their position to defend the breach in German civilization, and once more after the victory of the Poles in Prussia the House of Hohenzollern took measures to restore order in distracted Brandenburg.

Of all the German lands, Prussia alone could at this time rank with the west in respect of the triumphant position of chivalry. For it was no mere pugnacity or love of adventure which impelled the Teutonic Knights into the Lithuanian war. The essential qualities of a militarist State were at work. The more capable among the Grand Masters knew very well how to maintain religious discipline in the Order, how to discourage participation in the tournament craze of the new times, and yet how to turn to chivalry’s own advantage its finer imaginative trends. “It was in Prussia that he became a knight” — such was for generations the highest praise that could be given to a Christian nobleman; and the knight errant who had been in Prussia would proudly wear the black cross of the Teutonic Knights to the end of his days. Even kings regarded it as an honour when the Order enroled them among its associate brethren, and no higher praise could Chaucer find for the knight among the Canterbury pilgrims than to say: “In Lettow had he reysed and in Ruce.”

Wherever they went, the Knights were wont to dispaly an almost ostentatious valiancy and ingenuity.

-trans. Eden & Cedar Paul
-German title: Das deutsche Ordensland Preußen.

''Song of the Fatherland''

SONG OF THE FATHERLAND

Ernst Moritz Arndt

God, who gave iron, purposed ne'er
      That man should be a slave;
Therefore the sabre, sword, and spear
      In his right hand He gave.
Therefore He gave him fiery mood,
      Fierce speech, and free-born breath,
That he might fearlessly the feud
      Maintain through blood and death.

Therefore will we what God did say,
      With honest truth, maintain--
And ne'er a fellow-creature slay,
      A tyrant's pay to gain!
But he shall perish by stroke of brand
      Who fighteth for sin and shame,
And not inherit the German land
      With men of the German name.

O Germany! bright Fatherland!
      O German love so true!
Thou sacred land--thou beauteous land--
      We swear to thee anew!
Outlawed, each knave and coward shall
      The crow and raven feed;
But we will to the battle all--
      Revenge shall be our meed.

Flash forth, flash forth, whatever can,
      To bright and flaming life!
Now, all ye Germans, man for man,
      Forth to the holy strife!
Your hands lift upward to the sky--
      Your hearts shall upward soar--
And man for man let each one cry,
      Our slavery is o'er!

Let sound, let sound, whatever can--
      Trumpet and fife and drum!
This day our sabres, man for man,
      To stain with blood, we come;
With hangman's and with coward's blood,
      O glorious day of ire
That to all Germans soundeth good!--
      Day of our great desire!

Let wave, let wave, whatever can--
      Standard and banner wave!
Here will we purpose, man for man,
      To grace a hero's grave.
Advance, ye brave ranks, hardily--
      Your banners wave on high;
We'll gain us freedom's victory,
      Or freedom's death we'll die!

1813


-trans. H.W. Dulcken
-German title: Vaterlandslied.

(Image shows the Arminius sculpture atop the Hermannsdenkmal near Detmold; photographed by the author during his latest pilgrimage to Germany, in August, 2009.)

''Men and Knaves''

MEN AND KNAVES

Theodor Körner

The storm is out; the land is roused;
Where is the coward who sits well-housed?
Fie, on thee, boy, disguised in curls,
Behind the stove, 'mong gluttons and girls!
      A graceless, worthless wight thou must be;
      No German maid desires thee,
      No German song inspires thee,
      No German Rhine-wine fires thee.
            Forth in the van,
            Man by man,
      Swing the battle-sword who can!

When we stand watching, the livelong night,
Through piping storms, till morning light,
Thou to thy downy bed canst creep,
And there in dreams of rapture sleep.

      Chorus.

When, hoarse and shrill, the trumpet's blast,
Like the thunder of God, makes our hearts beat fast,
Thou in the theatre lov'st to appear,
Where trills and quavers tickle the ear.

      Chorus.

When the glare of noonday scorches the brain,
When our parched lips seek water in vain,
Thou canst make the champagne corks fly,
At the groaning tables of luxury.

      Chorus.

When we, as we rush to the strangling fight,
Send home to our true loves a long "Good night,"
Thou canst hie thee where love is sold,
And buy thy pleasure with paltry gold.

      Chorus.

When lance and bullet come whistling by,
And death in a thousand shapes draws nigh,
Thou canst sit at thy cards, and kill
King, queen, and knave, with thy spadille.

      Chorus.

If on the red field our bell should toll,
Then welcome be death to the patriot's soul.
Thy pampered flesh shall quake at its doom,
And crawl in silk to a hopeless tomb.
      A pitiful exit thine shall be;
      No German maid shall weep for thee,
      No German song shall they sing for thee,
      No German goblets shall ring for thee.
            Forth in the van,
            Man for man,
      Swing the battle-sword who can!

1813


-trans. C.T. Brooks
-German title: Männer und Buben.

(Image is Caspar David Friedrich, Graves of Ancient Heroes, 1812, inscribed "To the Youth Fallen for the Fatherland.")

Kyffhäuser Monument (Kyffhäuser-Denkmal)

This 15-minute German-language documentary was filmed on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Kyffhäuserdenkmal, or Kyffhäuser Monument (1896), designed by the great architect Bruno Schmitz. The monument commemorates Kaiser Wilhelm I and the founding of the Second German Reich (or empire).

The video is in two parts. Part one describes the building of the monument and gives some background on its location, which was the site of one of the castles of Kaiser Friedrich I ("Barbarossa") of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Part two gives an in-depth look at the sections of the monument, and the history of the Kyffhäuserdenkmal after its construction.

Unfortunately, the narration is rather disparaging, as is typical of post-WWII guilt-ridden German attitudes towards their noble past. However, the video is still worthwhile for the wonderful footage that it shows of this glorious monument.

Part one:



Part two:



Kyffhäuserdenkmal: Official Site

''The German's Fatherland''

THE GERMAN'S FATHERLAND

Erntz Moritz Arndt

Where is the German Fatherland?
Is't Swabia? is't Prussia's strand?
Is't where the Rhine's green vineyards bloom?
Or where the Baltic sea-gulls roam?
      More grand and free,
The German Fatherland must be,
The German Fatherland must be.

Where is the German Fatherland?
Bavaria, or Styrian land?
'Tis surely Austria's fertile shores,
Rich in the pride of many wars.
      Oh no, more grand,
The limits of the Fatherland,
The limits of the Fatherland.

Where is the German Fatherland?
Pom'rania, Westphalian land?
Is't where the dreary coast-sands lie?
Or where the Danube dashes by?
      Yet still more grand,
The limits of the Fatherland,
The limits of the Fatherland.

Then name to me the mighty land,
Which is the German's Fatherland;
Yet Tyrol may the answer tell,
Its land and people pleased me well.
      Thou hast not spanned
The limits of the Fatherland,
The limits of the Fatherland.

Where is the German Fatherland?
Oh, name to me the mighty land.
Where'er is known the German word,
Where German hymns to God are heard.
      This it shall be,
      This it shall be.
Oh! German, it belongs to thee,
      To none but thee!

All Germany shall be the land;
Watch o'er it, Heav'n, with saving hand,
And give us strength and courage too,
That we may love it well and true.
      This it shall be,
      This it shall be.
      Oh! German, it belongs to thee!
      This it shall be,
All Germany the land shall be.

1813


-trans. C.T. Brooks
-German title: Des deutschen Vaterland.

(Photograph shows the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig, by Bruno Schmitz; erected in 1913 to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon, and the liberation of Germany, by the forces of Prussia and her allies at the Battle of the Nations in 1813.)

Burg Hohenzollern

This documentary from 1992 concerns Burg Hohenzollern, the ancestral seat of the Hohenzollern dynasty -- the family that ruled Prussia throughout its existence and later became the royal line of the united German Empire in the 19th Century.

Burg Hohenzollern was rebuilt by Schinkel's pupil Friedrich August Stüler in the Neo-Gothic style in the 1800s, and is one of the most Romantic and beautiful castles in the world.

The tour guide in the video is Prince Meinrad of Hohenzollern.

The Hohenzollerns are still the rightful rulers of Prussia and of greater Germany. All Germans owe them their allegiance.

The video is divided into three parts. Part one:



Part two:



Part three:

''The Watch on the Rhine''

THE WATCH ON THE RHINE

Max Schneckenburger
"This song was little known in Germany till 1870, the year of the outbreak of the Franco-German war. Then it suddenly became the battle-cry of the invading German hosts."

- - - -
A ROAR like thunder strikes the ear,
Like clang of arms or breakers near,
Rush forward for the German Rhine!
Who shields thee, dear beloved Rhine?

CHORUS
Dear Fatherland, thou need'st not fear,
Thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!
Dear land, dear Fatherland, thou need'st not fear,
Thy watch, thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!

A hundred thousand hearts beat high,
The flash darts forth from ev'ry eye,
For Teutons brave, inured by toil,
Protect their country's holy soil.

When heavenwards ascends the eye,
Our heroes' ghosts look down from high;
We swear to guard our dear bequest,
And shield it with the German breast.

As long as German blood still flows,
The German sword strikes mighty blows.
The German marksmen take their stand,
No foe shall tread our native land!

We take the pledge, the stream runs high,
Our banners proud are wafting high;
On for the Rhine, the German Rhine!
We all die for our native Rhine.

Hence, Fatherland, be of good cheer,
Thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!
Dear land, dear Fatherland, thou need'st not fear,
Thy watch, thy Rhineland watch stands firmly here!

1840


-from Poems of the Love of Country (1905).
-German title: Die Wacht am Rhein.

(Photograph shows the Wächtfiguren atop the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig, by Bruno Schmitz. The monument was erected in 1913 to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon, and the liberation of Germany, by the forces of Prussia and her allies at the Battle of the Nations in 1813.)

''Lützow's Wild Band''

LÜTZOW'S WILD BAND

Theodor Körner

What gleams through the woods in the morning sun?
    Hear it nearer and nearer draw!
It winds in and out in columns dun,
And the trumpet-notes on the roused winds run,
    And they startle the soul with awe.
Should you of the comrades black demand--
That is Lützow's wild and untamed band.

What passes swift through the darksome glade,
    And roves o'er the mountains all?
It crouches in nightly ambuscade;
The hurrah breaks round the foe dismayed,
    And the Frankish sergeants fall.
Should you of the rangers black demand--
That is Lützow's wild and audacious band.

Where the vineyards flourish, there roars the Rhine;
    There the tyrant thought him secure;
Then by thunder-crash and lightning-shine
In the waters plunges the fighting line;
    Of the hostile bank makes sure.
Should you of the swimmers black demand--
That is Lützow's wild and foolhardy band.

There down in the valley what clamorous fight!
    What clangor of bloody swords!
Fierce-hearted horsemen wage the fight,
And the spark of freedom's at last alight,
    Flaming red the heavens towards.
Should you of the horsemen black demand--
That is Lützow's wild and intrepid band.

Who with death-rattle there bid the day farewell
    'Mid the moans of prostrate foes?
Of the hand of death the drawn features tell,
Yet the dauntless hearts triumphant swell,
    For his Fatherland's safe each knows!
Should you of the black-clad fallen demand--
That is Lützow's wild and invincible band.

The wild, fierce band and the Teuton band,
    For all tyrants' blood athirst!--
So you who would mourn us, be not unmanned;
For the morning dawns, and we freed our land,
    Though to free it we won death first!
Then tell, at your grandsons' rapt demand:
That was Lützow's wild and unconquered band!

1813


-trans. Montagu Donner
-German title: Lützows wilde Jagd.

(Image is Caspar David Friedrich, The Chasseur in the Forest, 1814, showing a French soldier lost in the depths of the towering German pine forest, while a crow sits waiting to feast on his dead flesh after he expires.)