Deutschlandlied

The "Deutschlandlied", officially titled "Das Lied der Deutschen", 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 Republic, replacing the de facto anthem "Heil dir im Siegerkranz". The first stanza of "Deutschlandlied" was used alongside the "Horst-Wessel-Lied" during the Nazi regime from 1933 until the end of World War II. On the proclamation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the entirety of the song was still the official anthem, though only the 3rd verse was sung. Since the Reunification of Germany in 1991, only the third stanza was reconfirmed as the national anthem. It is discouraged, although not illegal, to perform the first or second stanza.

Its phrase "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ('Unity and Justice and Freedom') is considered the unofficial national motto of Germany, and is inscribed on modern German Army belt buckles and the rims of some German coins.