Children's Hymn
Encyclopedia
Children's Hymn is the English
name of a poem by Bertolt Brecht
, Kinderhymne, written in 1950 and set to music by Hanns Eisler
in the same year.
The Hymn was Brecht's response to the introduction of the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied, which he believed to be corrupted by the Third Reich', as national anthem
of West Germany
in 1950. There are several allusions to the West German hymn (e.g. 'From the Meuse to the Memel, From the Adige to the Belt' <=> 'From the ocean to the Alps, from the Oder to the Rhine' or 'Germany, Germany above all' <=> 'we desire to be not above, and not below other peoples').
The verse form and the rhyme scheme are similar to both the Deutschlandlied and Auferstanden aus Ruinen
, the national anthem of East German. Accordingly, all the three lyrics can be combined randomly with the melodies.
In order to create a new all-German national anthem during the German reunification
, several public campaigns supported the use of the Children's Hymn. However, those suggestions were overruled; the hymn remained the same.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name of a poem by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
, Kinderhymne, written in 1950 and set to music by Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
in the same year.
The Hymn was Brecht's response to the introduction of the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied, which he believed to be corrupted by the Third Reich', as national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in 1950. There are several allusions to the West German hymn (e.g. 'From the Meuse to the Memel, From the Adige to the Belt' <=> 'From the ocean to the Alps, from the Oder to the Rhine' or 'Germany, Germany above all' <=> 'we desire to be not above, and not below other peoples').
The verse form and the rhyme scheme are similar to both the Deutschlandlied and Auferstanden aus Ruinen
Auferstanden aus Ruinen
' was the national anthem of East Germany during its existence from 1949 to 1990.-History:...
, the national anthem of East German. Accordingly, all the three lyrics can be combined randomly with the melodies.
In order to create a new all-German national anthem during the German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, several public campaigns supported the use of the Children's Hymn. However, those suggestions were overruled; the hymn remained the same.