The song of the Germans
Why aren’t all of the players on Germany’s soccer team singing the country’s national anthem? Germany’s largest daily, Bild, is drawing attention to the refusal of most members of the country’s ethnically diverse national team to sing the Fatherland’s national hymn, “The Song of the Germans.” Some have argued that Germany would need to rethink its ethnic citizenship model if it desires more patriotic players.
The news that only 6 of the 23 players sang before the last international match has spawned a torrent of debate among Germans. And Bild has singled out the players who refrain from singing, drawing attention to their mostly foreign names. The newspaper also published a pocket-size copy of the lyrics, and recommended that the players cut it out for use as a crib sheet before games.
German soccer hero Franz Beckenbauer, nicknamed “Der Kaiser,” weighed in on the issue last week with staunch disapproval. “All of them should sing the anthem,” he said. “It can’t be that the fans in the stands or watching at home sing along but those on the field don’t.”
Christian von Scheve, a sociology professor at Berlin’s Free University, said “Germans seem to have a rather different relationship when it comes to patriotism, and that’s truly rooted in our history. In the ’70s, if you watched the coverage, nobody sang the anthem.”
But the last few years have seen a Germany undergoing change. The 2006 World Cup nurtured a strong sense of patriotism in the nation, not seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Germans hung flags from homes, cars and buildings, painted their faces in the national colors of black, red and gold, and cheered for Deutschland zealously.
During the 2006 World Cup, the Trumpet wrote:
Over the past 60 years, Germany has tended to de-emphasize its own history—embarrassed by its central role in two world wars. German historians now believe this educational void has precipitated an identity crisis, especially with the young. Too many Germans, they believe, simply don’t know “who they are.” But seeing the enthusiasm among the nation’s young today as they celebrate the new Germany indicates that this trend is shifting rapidly.
The growing influx of immigrants into Germany is accelerating this shift as it polarizes the country and contributes to a steady revitalization of nationalism in native Germans. In light of the widespread destruction that resulted from the last wave of German nationalism, it is clear that this trend in today’s Germany is one worth monitoring. To watch it unfold from the perfect vantage point, read Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
