Horst-Wessel-Lied facts for kids

The Horst-Wessel-Lied ("Horst Wessel Song") was a very important song for the Nazi Party in Germany. From 1930 to 1945, it was their official anthem. After the Nazis took power in 1933, it even became part of Germany's national anthem, sung alongside the first verse of the Deutschlandlied.

The words of the song were written in 1929 by Horst Wessel. He was a Nazi activist and a leader in the SA, which was the Nazi Party's private army. In January 1930, Wessel was killed by a Communist activist. The Nazi propaganda leader, Joseph Goebbels, then made Wessel a hero for the Nazi movement. The song became a special "Song of Consecration" for the Nazi Party. It was often sung at party events and by the SA during their street marches.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, a law made the Horst-Wessel-Lied a national symbol. Germans were even told to raise their arm in a "Hitler salute" when singing the first and last verses. After the Nazi government fell in 1945, the song was banned. Both its words and tune are still illegal in Germany and Austria today, except for teaching or research purposes.

What the Lyrics Meant

The words of the Horst-Wessel-Lied were first printed in a Nazi newspaper in September 1929. They were said to be from an "Unknown SA-Man." Here are the main ideas from the song:

The "Rotfront" (Red Front) was a group of Communist fighters. The Nazis' SA and the Communists' Red Front often fought violently in the streets. "Reaction" referred to the older, more traditional political parties and the democratic government of Germany at the time. The Nazis saw them as holding Germany back. The song also talks about "servitude," which meant how the Nazis felt Germany was treated unfairly by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. This treaty made Germany pay a lot of money and lose land.

Over time, some small changes were made to the song's words. For example, a line about "barricades" was changed to "every street." This was because the Nazi Party wanted to seem like a normal political party trying to gain power legally, not a group that would start street fights.

The Song's Melody

Horst Wessel used this melody for his songs. The tune is illegal in Germany, even without words.

After Horst Wessel died, the Nazis said he had also created the melody for the song. However, before 1933, many critics said the tune was much older. After the Nazis took power, no one could say this anymore.

The melody most likely came from a popular song sung by sailors in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. This song was known as Vorbei, vorbei, sind all die schönen Stunden or the Königsberg-Lied. Horst Wessel probably heard Navy veterans singing it in Berlin.

Another possible source for the melody was a song from 1865 by a composer named Peter Cornelius. He described the tune as a "Viennese folk tune."

(listen) This is one of the tunes that might be the original source of the song's melody.

The song's tune was simple, so it was easy for many people to sing, even those without much musical training. Amateur bands could play it easily. Often, loud fanfares were added to make it sound more like a military march.

(listen) Fanfares were sometimes used to introduce the Horst-Wessel-Lied, played by SA groups.

Other Groups Used the Tune

During the 1930s and 1940s, other fascist groups in Europe also used the tune of the Horst-Wessel-Lied for their own anthems. For example:

• The British Union of Fascists used the tune for their anthem. Their words were similar but focused on British pride instead of German pride.
• In Spain, the Falange fascist movement sang to the same tune. Their song was about fighting for "honour, Fatherland, and justice."
• In Vichy France, a radical fascist group called the Milice also used the tune. Their lyrics talked about punishing "Jews and Marxists" and avenging their fallen comrades.

Parodies of the Song

Between 1930 and 1933, German Communists and Social Democrats sang many funny or mocking versions of the Horst-Wessel-Lied. They did this during their street fights with the SA.

Some parodies simply changed the political message. For example, one version changed the "SA marches" to "Red Front marches" and mentioned comrades killed by the "Steel Helmet and Swastika." The Stahlhelm was another group that supported the Nazis.

Other parodies had completely new words. One famous one called on people to join the barricades and carry red flags, mentioning Ernst Thälmann, who was a Communist leader.

Once the Nazis came to power, these parodies were banned. But during the Nazi era, people still sang secret versions that made fun of the Nazi leaders and their corruption. One parody joked about high prices and closed shops, saying that Nazi leaders like Wilhelm Frick (Interior Minister), Joseph Goebbels, Baldur von Schirach (Hitler Youth leader), and Heinrich Himmler (SS head) were also hungry, but "only in spirit."

Even some members of the SA sang their own parodies. They were disappointed that the "socialist" part of National Socialism hadn't happened. One of their parodies complained about high prices and cartels (big businesses), saying that stockbrokers were now "Party Comrades" and that big money was protected by people like Kurt Schmitt, who was the Economics Minister.

Images for kids

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  Horst Wessel, who wrote the words for the "Horst Wessel Song."

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  Hitler Youth members giving the Hitler salute. Germans were required to do this when the "Horst Wessel Song" was sung.

See also

In Spanish: Horst-Wessel-Lied para niños