Husband/Wife Historians React to - Rammstein - Deutschland (Official Video)
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- Опубликовано: 18 ноя 2023
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There is only one way to explain German pride:
_A German is not proud to be German, he is glad to be German._
That's how I feel and that's what I think is appropriate.
I can only be proud of things I have achieved or at least influenced in a positive way.
But I am glad and thankful to be German and to live in this country.
Ich bin stolz darauf
Pride ist one of the cardinal sins, so yes, no pride of being German. But happy. to be one.
Du hast es scheinbar NICHT verstanden deshalb nochmal auf deutsch: Du kannst dankbar dafür sein, dass du als Deutscher geboren wurdest. Stolz kannst du nur auf Sachen sein, die du selbst erreicht hast.@@Floh-yf7yz
You can only be proud of something that you have achieved by your own. So being proud of your nationality is entirely nonsense as you usually didn't do anything for it. You were just born there.
Hello.
I'm from Germany so let me give you some thoughts from someone who's born here. First of all, first time I watched the video I was shocked and deeply moved. The song/ video takes a very deep look into our german souls and how a lot of us feel about our country. It's a love- hate- relationship. The video is loaded with tons of symbols, that as a German you catch onto.
Let's start: in the intro you see Germania ( Personification of Germany) during roman/ germanian tribes time.
The red Lazer represents the "red thread" of the story/ history.
Astronauts from the future bringing Germania in a glass coffin (snow-white) so she can lead through the/her german history.
Next you observe the twenties(Weimar Republic).The prison scene representing the rough, violent times especially for the majority of the population struggling to survive. Money raining down/ the great depression. And Germany's first try as a democratic state. In between Germania is dressed in knight's armor awaking her knights/band with the Lazarus spear.
Next Germania is pushed in a wheelchair by the band through the Berlin Holocaust Memorial with burning bodies. (Imagine the statue of liberty being shown like that)
Next vignette the office scene showing east Germany and west Germany reunited (1990).
Then you're being taken back to mideveal times, monks/ church are feasting off of Germania. In most scenes you'll see some church man involved. No coincidence.
The concentration camp scene in the background you see V2 rockets ignition. The inmates are wearing different types of stars on their chests and a sign on the gallows reads: no photos. Germania wears an eye-patch first on her left, than on her right eye.
Than a quick shot of Germania dressed modern with lots of gold leading german shepherds., representing Germany's wealth.
The 70's scene shows the RAF- extremists holding Germania/ Germany hostage.
Next vignette is the witch burnings shifting to the book burning. If you have a close look, at minute 4:45 you see a church man holding up a cross hugging a Nazi, symbolising the churches over all position to the horrific events happening during 1933-1945.
The birth scene. Germania is giving birth to dogs respectively "Leonberger" a breed preferred by Kings and Queens. The Breed almost went extinct during WW1 and WW2. A cardinal/ Constitutional judge (dressed in red) dressed in red helping a new Germany being born.
At minute 5:50 you see the riots against refugees homes in the 90's in Hoyerswerda. Molotovs are being thrown and a car is being pushed over with the help of a man dressed in Nazi uniform.
Than the scenes/ time vignettes start shifting faster and faster, showing how many times, when circumstances becoming too extreme everything is falling apart and Germania ( dressed in knight's) armor is crying.
The outro is the piano version of the song "Sonne" which completes how we feel thinking of our past: a sense of sadness.
To sum it up. Germany has a long, wild, violent, unique history, because we as a state of today exist only since 1990. Yet the roots go back a very long time. "Young and yet so old" I hope that helped a little to understand the video and with that us Germans. We don't have a strong feeling of patriotism, but a strong sense of unity.
With love from country of Poets and thinkers.❤
Great information!! Thanks a lot!
Oh yeah the "Leonberger breed". Many didn't understand the meaning behind it even here in Germany after the video dropped. Well as a Leonberger ( I live there - southwest part of Germany right next to Sindelfingen/Böblingen - funny enough my last name is also Berger) it's a pretty well known part of local history !
Speak for yourself. You are not a representation of anyone than you. Btw you write like a bot.
Wow, thanks for this explanation. I am huge Rammstein fan and love this song but I didn't notice a lot of what you mentioned here
danke für die aufklärung.. tut schon weh, wie man das missverstehen kann.
That "thin ice" is precisely what this song is about. What he sings in the chorus is "Germany, I want to love you, I want to damn you. Germany, your love is a blessing and a curse. Germany, my love I cannot give to you". A lot of people interpret this song as being about a love/hate relation with their country, but it's about being unable to love their country. Not just because of the history itself, but precisely because it was nationalism that led to it. Germany like no other has seen what loving your own country can lead to.
Well... If you dig a bit deeper, you will find some other aspects. Did you ever hear about Jean Jaures...?
She represents Germania
Germania represents Germania? Can't get that...
Hi, I'm from Germany.
Rammstein is playing a classic "Industrial Metal" style. A 50-50 mix of synthesizers and hard metal guitars.
A big part of the German history in one video. The black woman as Germania. Germania is the personification of the German nation. It isn't and wasn't a goddess or Joan of Arc.
The glass coffin: It is Little Snow White from the Grimm-fairytales....and from their own video "Sonne". Only with black skin and in space.
The piano song at the end is the song "Sonne", too.
The words "Germania Magna" at the beginning are a Roman name for the area of Germany, that wasn't conquered by the Roman Empire at that time.
Germania Superior and Germania Inferior were the Roman conquered areas (Roman provinces) of Germany.
The line in this song "So jung und doch so alt" (So young and yet so old) means:
Germany as a unified state is very young. A unified German nation is only existing from 1871 onwards. Before that year of unification Germany was made of countless, little mini-states and the people identified first and foremost as Prussians, Hessians, Saxons etc, etc, etc. and only in a second line of thought they had a lose sense of being somehow Germans, too, as a kind of unifying second identity.
So the area & the landscape where the Germans are living and the Germans themselves as a people...are thousands of years old. But only recently, in 1871, there was a unified Germany as one single state.
So Germany as a unified state is very young...and at the same time it is thousands of years old.
The battle of the Teutoburg forest against the Romans (and Rammstein as Roman soldiers and Germans alike).
That battle is of ABSOLUTE importance for the German history.
The hanged bodies in the trees were the beaten Roman soldiers, who were gruesome sacrificed to the Germanic gods...and were partly nailed to the trees.
The Varus-(Teutoburg)-Battle was already in 9 AD. In 16 AD were the vengeance campaigns of commanding field general Germanicus under Emperor Tiberius Augustus. Therefore we see here the arrival of the Roman troops of Germanicus and they are watching their dead comrades hanging in the trees or getting their heads chopped off (for nailing them to the trees).
In reality the Romans under Germanicus found only the bones of the Varus army in the various ways they were slaughtered, sacrificed and displayed at the trees. Slaves were liberated even decades after the battle.
After the scenes with the Romans we saw the Hindenburg Zeppelin disaster (the burning Zeppelin in the background).
The moustaches and clothing from the fight scene are from WWI and post WWI years. From the working class people in WWI and the roaring 20's. In the WWII years later on this kind of big bushy moustache was already out of fashion.
The falling banknotes in the prison are not about corruption. That scene is about the hyper-inflation of the 1920's, that took away the savings of the Germans and left them in deep poverty and desperation.
One had to pay a loaf of bread with a handcart full of nearly worthless banknotes back then and it hit the German people deep down inside and in their souls. Especially the poor ones and the simple workers.
The V2 rocket (first manmade object in space) as technical triumph of the German spirit...and at the same time the killing of the concentration camp prisoners in the bunker factories below the mountains during the production of that rocket.
This scene in the video could be a representation of a very specific concentration camp. It was "Mittelbau-Dora" below the Kohnstein mountain.
A mixture between a big, huge bunker factory for V1 and V2 rockets and a concentration camp.
The concentration camp inmates had several different markings for different kinds of convicts and their "crimes" sown to their chests, like it was in reality, too. A pink triangle for homosexuals, the star of David for Jews and two of them were marked with the double-triangles for Jehovas Whitnesses.
The book burnings of the Nazis and the burning of the witches of the church. In the same scene with the book burning there is EVEN MORE going on. The cooperation of the church with the Nazis, when the priest with the cross embraces the Nazi SA-man.
The scene with the sign with the Hammer and a pair of compasses in a circle of wheat is the sign of the GDR (DDR). The socialist German state in the east that existed before the German reunification.
Therefore it was Karl Marx in the background in the scene with the tank (not the scene at the concentration camp).
The scene with Rammstein wielding guns (the pumpgun) and taking Germania hostage was about leftwing terrorism of the 1970's. The terrorists were called the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion).
My interpretation of the red scanner-like beams: There are two different kinds of beams. The massive straight red light beam that goes up into the heavens AND there were those smaller, thinner "scanner" beams.
Aliens (or humans from the future) are scanning the whole German history. Like some real scientists are scanning and excarvating ancient Mexican or Egyptian statues, for example.
The massive red light beam is the red ribbon of time that ties together all the historical events.
PS: As for the dogs: Germans are fanatical dog lovers. We are a dog-owner nation. The dog is a firm part of Germany.
PPS: They didn't eat the body of the woman and her inner organs, even if it really looked that way. They were eating the national dish of Germany, that was put on the body of the black woman: Sauerkraut, Kassler & sausages.
In my opinion it symbolizes the church eating itself fat on the goods and values and food of Germany during the simple people (farmers, simple workers etc) lived a long time in a kind of hell of poverty and serfdom (the red fetish area below the table with Germania on it).
But that eating scene could indeed have a double meaning. It could represent the 30 years war, that was fought for religious reasons and depopulated large areas of Germany. It forced the people to commit canibalism because nobody was there anymore to produce food. Except the fat, wealthy people of the church, of course. They were still able to eat enough. Only the simple people at the bottom (farmers etc) died from hunger and had to fight and die in that war.
The 30 years war was the biggest catastrophe in Germany until WWI happened.
PPPS: The short scene with the dogs and their gas masks = WWI, where in reality animals (messenger dogs & horses) AND soldiers were wearing gas masks, too.
PPPPS: The puppies at the end are Leonberger dogs. The Leonbergers nearly went extinct during WWI and WWII.
PPPPPS: The black woman in the prison was dressed in a Prussian uniform with a Prussian helmet.
Till sings the famous, often misinterpreted, line of the "Deutschlandlied" (Song of the Germans), that is not forbidden in Germany but simply isn't sung anymore in our modern national anthem.
Till sings in his version the line "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everybody) What is a BIG change to the real line in the orginal Deutschlandlied-song. In the original Deutschlandlied song it is written as "Deutschland über alles" (Germany above everything).
The real, whole line of that old Deutschlandlied goes "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles. Über alles in der Welt" (Germany, Germany above everything. Above everything in the world).
This line is often misinterpreted by many people as chauvinism and as a looking down upon all other countries on this planet. But that is wrong and not many people know about that in Germany and elsewhere.
The writer of that famous line didn't meant it in a chauvinistic way.
When that song was written, Germany was divided into umphteenth mini-states, what made Germany relative powerless and defenseless. Therefore the task of German unification was the goal above any other goal for all Germans (at least the writer of the song meant it that way).
So the main goal for all Germans had to be the united Germany. The goal of "(united) Germany above everything else".
That was, how that line was meant by the writer of the song.
The line isn't forbidden, like many people wrongly think. It's simply not sung anymore and not part of the official anthem of modern Germany anymore.
This has NOT its reason in the seemingly chauvinist meaning of "Deutschland über alles", like many people wrongly think. This whole stanza of the Deutschlandlied isn't sung anymore, because in other parts of the stanza are borders and landscapes mentioned, that aren't German borders and landscapes anymore.
We want to live in peace with the people and countries, who are now living in those former German lands and therefore we don't sing about those old borders and landscapes anymore.
It has nothing to do with the "Deutschland über alles" line in that stanza, like many people wrongly are thinking.
Finally:
The scenes I'm now talking about are pretty dark and low light. The WWII submarine in the submarine bunker during the astronauts are walking by with the glass coffin.
I think, the choice of the black woman as main actress was made, because:
a) it makes any accusations of racism and fascism against Rammstein useless
b) she represents one colour of the German flag and she is wearing the rest of the colours of our German flag as makeup and jewellery and clothes on her body: Black, Red and Gold
c) it provokes many people EVEN MORE 😄
Greetings
Mega
PS: RUclips didn't allow me to integrate this information into the bigger text (above) for unknown reasons, therefore I'm posting it here:
The troops, who smashed the Jewish shops during the Kristallnacht (not shown in the video) were SA (Sturmabteilung) in brown uniform and not the later SS (Schutzstaffel) in the black uniform. The SA did all the dirty work at the beginning of the Nazi rise to power...until the "Night of the long knives", an inner-Nazi power struggle, happened. The head of the SA (Ernst Röhm) was killed and from then on the SA was turned more and more into the SS under Himmler.
The book burnings were part of the early Nazi years, too, and were done by the SA, too. One can see the SA burning the books and Till is watching it in a brown SA uniform.
Both, Kristallnacht and book burnings were different things and happened at different times. The book burnings happened over a longer timespan at different locations at different times during the Kristallnacht was one big "event" that happened at one single day.
Kristallnacht means "Crystal Night" and was called that way, because the smashed shop windows of the Jewish shops looked like thousands of crystals on the ground. But in the Rammstein video I've only seen the book burnings.
PPS:
The two beer drinking soldiers to the left side of the table, where Germania is lying on and where the priests are eating Sauerkraut & Sausages from her body, are not French soldiers and they aren't representing the French revolution. Those two beer drinking soldiers are Prussian soldiers and they are emphasizing the importance of Prussia for the German history.
As far as I could see: They were from the era of Friedrich der Große (The Old Fritz), who was of extraordinary importance for German history. Amongst many other achievements he was the one, who brought the potato to Prussia and Germany. That saved many Germans from hunger and the potato became one of the most beloved foods in Germany on that way.
PPPS: The name Rammstein comes from the German town Ramstein (with one "m"). There is an US-airbase and there happened a big, tragic airshow disaster, when two jets collided and fell into the audience.
Therefore all the flames and the burning coat during the song Rammstein and all the fire in their shows in general. But that rather tasteless name and the negative press echo were too much even for Rammstein. So they changed their name later in Rammstein, what indeed means "battering stone".
They delivered a half assed explanation for it decades ago. I've forgotten, what they said. A fact is, that they called themselves after that town and that airshow disaster. Probably for provocation purposes.
Their old song "Rammstein" even tells in other words the story of that disaster and it tells about a fine day with a warm shining sun...and burning people.
Neue Deutsche Härte was always a pretty unsatisfying new name for the music they made mainly: Industrial or Industrial Metal/Rock.
The scene with the head of Karl Marx and the tank is a symbole for the "Aufstand vom 17. Juni" the East German uprising of 17 june 1953 which was violetly suppressed by the Soviet forces in East Germany
The box fight at the beginning of the video symbols the political fight between the left/socialism and right/fascism which was going as political "fight" in the years between the two WWs
Great info!!
@@HistoryBuff
👋🙂
The dog breed is a LeonBerger, they almost went instinct during both world wars. :)
and they were saved by german breeders; after WWII there were only 8...
Leonbergers are the best water-rescue dogs in the world. So thats why, imho, it shows that from all things Germany produced, the Leonbergers are the only thing they kept.
@@baskoning9896 You guys are fantasizing. It is supposed to be obedient german shepherds. Do you actually believe Rammstein would send a secret Leonberger message as in it means something good to give birth to dogs?
@@nyoodmono4681 Good story bro. Why are they Leonbergers. Because they are the only thing thats good that comes out of Germany. Its not a secret. Its right there on screen. They are NOT german shepherds. Do you know how dog breeds look? Or no.
@@baskoning9896 No one cares about Leonburgers, it is you that cares. It is mental gymnasics to think that the depiction of germania giving birth to dogs is something meant to be positive. The true meesage here is that Germany is dead, nothing left but obedient fools.
Sorry I have to correct you: their words are not simple....they mostly have a double or even triple meaning and are very lyrical! But as you said you don't know German and just check the translated versions, which is mostly a interpretation of trantranslater itself😊 if you could understand their German you would be shocked or amazed (or both😊) how well they are "playing" with the varity of this language
I should've better explained myself. I meant "gramatically" simple. A lot of pronouns and conjunctions. Very Hemingway. Their lyrics are always incredibly profound and l, like you said, can offer multiple meanings. Especially like how they use a string of "Uber-" words that all have extremely different positive/negative meanings.
@@HistoryBuff the string of "Über"-words end also in "Deutschland, Deutschland über allem" what is a variation ("alles" instead "allem") of the beginning of the (forbidden after WW 2) first verse of the German National Anthem (only the 3rd verse ist used since then) and some of them for example "überlegen" have more than one meaning according to context ("overpowered" and "to think about") but the context is not given.
@@outdooropaholger9998 Sorry, The context for "überlegen" is definitively given...
@@outdooropaholger9998 the first verse is not forbidden, it is just not part of the official hymn because of very outdated listed borders.
@@12tanuha21 correct, not forbidden as per in the StGB86a but yet "...über alles" is a clear Nazi reference and its use is highly discouraged.
Another point: have you noticed that on stage the band lets the audience sing along and thereby lets the audience sing "alles" (nazi reference) or "allen" (song version) as they wish. and i can tell you, in the concert this divides the audience like a sword⚡️ such cynicism!
The song is about the ambivalent relationship of Rammstein and many Germans to their country, because of the violent and cruel history with extensive human crimes ("red line of violence through german history"), especially in recent history. Therefore the video features various events from German history, including Roman times, the Middle Ages, witch hunting and burning, Protestant Reformation, the November Revolution, the "Golden Twenties" and hyperinflation, Nazi book burnings, the Hindenburg disaster, the First and Second World Wars, the Holocaust, the Weimar Republic, the Red Army Fraction (violent anti-capitalist and anti-american terror alliance of young people and students against Nazis in high state and economy positions in post-war Germany), and the division of the country into West and East Germany including the Uprising June 17 in East Germany. The black woman represents Germany and one of the Colors of the German flags, sometimes as a victim, but mostly as a perpetrator. With her black skin she is also a provocation to all stupid racists
A lot of people do not understand the scenes with the dogs. This breed of dogs are not German Shepards, but Leonberger. This breed of dog narrowly escaped extinction during the First and also Second World Wars and is symbolic of the German people, whose existence was also strongly threatened in those wars (Morgenthau-Plan) - both now have a second existential chance, just like the new German democratic constitution, which in future must be protected as strongly as if it were under quarantine (Judges in red robes, Rammstein members in protective suits with the dogs)
The Holocaust was for this reason the greatest human crime because it was the first industrially organized mass murder in human history, by a country that was culturally at its highest point at this time and called itself the country of poets and thinkers. But it is precisely the high cultural and scientific level of Germany that unfortunately caused others to be viewed as subhuman who can be killed without pity, just like animals. Seeing other people as inferior has always brought a lot of suffering to people
we germans are not shy to talk about our past, its ppl from other countrys that have that problem. we know our past, we learned and we moved forward and not stepping backwards like the USA and some other countrys at this day.
greetings
You german, manipulation style : "we- form" guys.. !
#manipulation #we
And most of us are tired of bowing our heads in constant reprimand to our history. No other country is held down in regards to their history - and in all truth - I don't owe anyone anything - I did not inherit the sins of my forefathers - I am proud to be German - but not proud about the guilt that has been indoctrinated to the following generations - which totally crippeled the politics and their actions due to this, and it shows the current situation we are in and the laughingstock our Country has become.
I wouldn't say no other country. The left in America is desperately trying to drag us through the mud as well.
@@HistoryBuff Well, it's the left (dems) that can save you, otherwise in 50 -60 years you'll be making videos like this one. And it will be late to shed tears for the many victims. Think about it, if you let it, history tends to repeat itself.
The black lady is not a god, she is Germany and everything we do we do at least apparently in her name, i.e. for Germany.
We use her and we take advantage of her. We shift the responsibility to her, so as not to take responsibility for our actions ourselves. We justify our actions by saying we do it for our country.
Lie
@@annacova04 wich part in his statement is a lie?
Just came across your video and wanted to see the comments. I am very impressed about the quality of the contributions. Not a single stupid entry! You can be very proud of your channel and your audience. I also recommend watching the explanation video of three arrows already mentioned before.
Thank you and welcome!! There have been a few hairy ones this time around. The first time I covered this song alone, it got so bad I had to disable the comments. It's just a very inflammatory topic and I have the gumption to say more than most reactors. Either way, thank you for the kind words!
As a German, I wanted to give some more insight into the historical events behind the video. However, there are two spot-on comments already. That was pretty fast, verdammt! 😁
I love seeing people's reactions to stuff like this. Cool video format!
I am from France ! In my point of view this video, is an historical time line of Germany ( Red Laser ) ! with the most heroic side and the most dark side of German history . I loved how they keep a form of neutralty about the good and the bad. Germany evolving with is time , and must live with her past. But ! Past is the past ! The futur is an other history ( On reference to the space part of the video ) . In conclusion: the purpose of this video is to show how all country have a light and dark side, in all case it is History ! and History is the memory of man kind, and culpability can not be transmit through generatrions ( Sorry for my poor English 😉)
Thanks! Your English is way better than most Americans
"They keep a neutrality about the good and the bad" your quote.
My opinion to this: This kind of thinking is used by Satanists to do their evil and glorify sactifes.
@@annacova04rather narrow minded opinion. What the original commenter likely meant in showing 'neutrality' is that Rammstein is just presenting history here...no bias, just the facts of what has transpired in Germany's long, turbulent, often very violent past. They aren't 'spoon feeding' us a morality lesson - we should already know the good/bad of it. If one doesn't, then I have a whole list of questions for them!!
And as was clearly mentioned - English isn't this commenters first language - I thought they presented things very clearly!
I don't see much 'good' in the video. It basically shows all the horrible events in history, without any of the good or heroic things. Just death, blood, and destruction.
@@HistoryBuff lol...
Just discovered this channel, fantastic :) I am from Norway with a masters in history and law. I am currently working on a doctorate degree in american constitutional history. When watching this video, I've noticed I do not know very little about Germany history (pre WW1), beside some University history... Good video, love both Rammstein and this channel now, keep up the good work :)
"The church" hugging the Nazis is a symbol of the church's role during the Nazi era, which is not very glory. It also shows the similarities of religion and fascism. Mindcontrol, bookburnings, inquisition and the hollokaust
@pyrointeam What you talk about is called clerical fascism. Croatia mastered those in 40ties. Priests were concentration camps directors and some even personally executed people on most disturb ways. From using wood saw to chop of head while person is alive to burn people like they are BBQ.
During war in the 90ties that same retoric came back but fortunately clerical fascism did not last more than in a year into war. People who survived WW2 knew where it leads and people born after WW2 were raised not religiously so extreme religious and nationalistis could not last for too long, there was no support from people. All crimes done were mostly done by seriously disturbed individuals, who were already distured before the war. Fortunatly in most of Croatian territory there was no filtration camps for non croats, but Herzegovina was another story. Most of Croats born in Croatia don't accept and see Herzegovians as croats. That is probably why thru Croatian history the biggest nationalists and biggest organised crimes were done by them, from Praljak in more recently history to Pavelić ( President of nacistic Croatia in 40ties) to known butcher sycos like francetic, even convicted war criminal from 90ties glavaš is Herzegovians. If you look into past even Hitler wasn't German, but Austrian. It is like some people go to insane disgusting extreme to prove how they are true and real insert what ever nationality you want.. same was in former Yugoslavia in all involved sides...
Imagine rammstein preform live at the NFL super bowl half time show and it will blown peoples minds
Thank You for reacting!
Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: introducing Germania
Rammstein’s Deutschland takes us on a thrilling, violent, and moving journey through German history. At over nine minutes, it gives us a panorama of events and historical and mythical figures, and there are so many references and Easter eggs that fans and commentators will be poring over it for some time to come.
The video opens in AD 16, on the ‘barbarian’ side of the limes, the border of the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers creep through the woods in the aftermath of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. The Romans were ambushed by an alliance of Germanic Tribes, led by a chieftain called Arminius (the original Hermann the German). Three legionary standards were captured, a loss symbolic and moral, as well as physical, and decades were spent trying to recover them. Rome never again attempted to take the lands east of the River Rhine, known as Germania.
‘Germania’ refers not just to a place, somewhere partly defined by where it isn’t (Rome) as well as where it is, but also to a national figurehead, traditionally representing the German people. Germania (opens in new tab) is a strong woman, usually armour-clad and battle-ready. Various symbols appear with her, among them a breastplate with an eagle, a black, red, and gold flag, and a crown. Look out for these in the video - they come up again and again - and the colours of the contemporary flag are there in every scene.
We get our first glimpse of Germania here (played by Ruby Commey), who stands holding Till Lindemann’s severed head. Next, astronauts appear carrying a metal and glass box shaped like a coffin. In the background we see a U-boat - a German submarine, used in World Wars I and II. Then we move to a scene set at a boxing match which takes us to Weimar Germany (1918-1933), a period known for its political instability but also greater cultural liberalism. Here, Germania appears in the cabaret costume of a flapper girl, and the boxers fight with knuckle-dusters as a crowd cheers them on.
Rammstein Deutschland video still
Ruby Commey as Germania
Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: Marx, Lenin and the GDR
We see the former East Germany, complete with busts of Marx and Lenin, the national emblem of East Germany (opens in new tab), and a lookalike of the long-serving, insular, and repressive GDR leader Erich Honecker. There’s another astronaut, or rather a cosmonaut: Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space, who flew with the USSR’s space program (and who’s also a character in the 2003 film, Good Bye Lenin!). Medieval monks feast grotesquely on the supine Germania, tearing sauerkraut and sausage from Ruby Commey’s body, prison inmates are beaten by guards dressed in police and military uniforms from different historical periods.
The most obviously shocking scene references the Holocaust and the Nazi period. Four members of the band, in the striped uniforms of camp inmates, wait at the gallows, about to be hanged. They wear the cloth emblems used to identify their ‘crimes’: a pink triangle for homosexual prisoners, a yellow star for Jewish prisoners, a red and yellow star for Jewish political prisoners.
This sequence, teased in an earlier promo video, has already caused controversy. Have Rammstein the right to do this? Do they trivialise the suffering of Holocaust victims? How can they justify using Holocaust imagery to promote their new video? These are important questions that are part of a much bigger debate about the ethics of using the Holocaust in art and media.
Other scenes include the band walking away from a flaming airship, referring to the 1937 Hindenburg Disaster, in which 36 people died. Rats scuttle across the floor when the monks first appear, suggesting the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a legend with origins in the 13th century.
Germania walks towards the camera in a leather jacket, gold jewellery and a string of bullets across her chest, resembling the chariot drawn by four horses (the ‘Quadriga’) on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The band members’ heads are shown as white marble busts, taking us to the 19th century Walhalla memorial in Bavaria, built as German Hall of Fame, its sculpted heads of German worthies on display to this day.
In the prison, hundreds of banknotes fall from above, suggesting the devastating hyperinflation Germany suffered in the 1920s. Nazis burn books, intercut with religious fanatics burning witches. We recognise members of the Red Army Faction (also known as the Baader-Meinhof group), a militant organisation active in the 1970s in West Germany. And in a blink-or-you-miss-it exchange, we are reminded of the much-criticised relationship between the churches and the state during the Third Reich.
Rammstein Deutschland video still
Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: the finale
Each scene captures in a moment the icons of an era, and the video cuts between them more and more frenetically as it goes on. Events bleed into each other, linked by the presence of the band members and the red laser beam that appears throughout the video, a ‘roter Faden’ (red thread or central theme), connecting each event.
Germany engages with its history in a very particular way. Try to imagine the video about Britain, with Britannia played by Ruby Commey. What would the equivalent events be? Quite a few of the tableaux might be similar - Romans, Crusaders, monks, 18th-century soldiers, collarless shirts and bareknuckle boxing - but would it have the same impact?
There’s no affection, and perhaps not much hope: its pessimistic tone seems to be quite an off-brand message for post-1989 Germany, which wants to acknowledge its past critically, while also looking to its future as a state at the heart of Europe. And actually, while we get a lot of medieval and twentieth-century history, the video’s tour through the past seems to stop in the late 1980s, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and Reunification of East and West Germany. Instead, we jump into the future, where the space-suited band take Germania into the unknown, travelling in that coffin-shaped glass box.
There’s an echo of the video for Sonne, where Snow White is trapped in a glass coffin. In fact, a piano version of Sonne plays over the end credits of Deutschland. This is a useful link for understanding something of what Rammstein is doing here. In Sonne, where the band’s characters free themselves of Snow White (naturally, they’ve been her sex-slaves), only to realise that they have made a mistake and long for her return, the overwhelming feeling of Deutschland seems to be that when it comes to Germania (or Germany): you can’t love her, and you can’t live without her.
PS: I did not write the comment myself the Credit for it goes to:
Ingovonderluhe174 i just copyied for you, cause he did the best explanation that i saw on YouToube!
I know I’m a bit late but I wanted to say that while the video itself is great, I do wish I could hear you guys better while it’s playing 😊
The lyrics are not simple...in particular not the one of "Deutschland". Even "Du Hast" is widely misunserstood since non native speakers are not aware of the fact that "has(s)t" / du hast mich has got 6 meanings also dependent on the context. Till Lindemann is a poet and known for playing with words and frequent references to real life / non fiction events.
The black lady = Germania, Germany itself! She is no goddess.
Germany like all Northern European nations is not religious. More than 60% of people are agnostics.
She is black, the scenario is red and her harness is gold = the colors of the German flag.
The cannibalism shows that Germany was prey, eaten up and divided in the course of wars of the past and the current time.
Burning books was a crime committed during Nazi time to erade intellectualism and to control education.
The video shows, KZ prisoners hanged up...no, not just Jews, but also political enemies (see the triangle badge at the jacket ), intellectuals, artists, authors, journalists, critical thinking christs, gay people, handicapped people, gypsies, soldiers not loyal to Hitler but to the old, not infiltrated armed forces etc.
All scenes show historic events. The rocket science in Penemuende. Later, the scientist were hired by US agencies. German Nazi scientists build up Nasa and Boeing.
By the way, Germany followed Hitler (who was financed by JP Morgan and the Rockefellers in fear of the growing socialism and an alliance with Russia till 1945) because of the unfair peace of Versaille / WWI (no, Germany was not in charge and paying reparations for 60 yrs, losing valuable territory and core industries!?), the humiliation and following oppression, massive economic crisis & isolation.
The winners rewrite history, as usual.
Or does UK teach its children that Churchill initially closed a deal with Hitler (an Austrian migrant funded by USA and UK)? Hitler promised Churchill to attack Russia. Thus, the Brits were mad when Hitler closed a non-attack deal with Stalin...he broke later on.
The 70ties look alike gang is the RAF group ( Red Army Fraction), German terrorists group in the 70ties, who kidnapped and killed industry leaders / politicians representing The Money, predator capitalism alike exploitation, anti-social tendencies and corruption at the cost of the common people.
The fist fight when the music & lyrics start represents the Weimarer Republic (that led to the rise of tje Nazi party) with it extremely diverse political landscape incl. 2 communist parties of different directions, a socialist party, conservative royalists, militaristic groups, democrats, republicans etc. and a lot of political fights & intrigues.
The core message: Germany is a desparate, fragile but deep forever-love or love-hate relationship.
The video eas critisized because it highlights the dark parts of history only...exemption: the initial scene of the battle in the Teuteburger forrest, when the Germans led by Arminius = Hermann (a German leader who was collaborating with the Romans before and knew their strategies etc) finally stopped the expansion of the Roman empire in Europe.
Germania is a fictional character created by the romans. She is intended to be a patreon GODESS of all Germans and was marketed as such during the sping of nations and the unification movement in the 19th century.
Also mate... who rewrote history?! WTF? Everyone knows about the Treaty of Versaille and the reparations. If you had some actualy knowledge about history you would know that the situation prior to WWII wasn't nearly as black and white as you portray it and you would not make an arse out of yourself here.
After WWI Germany had to pay a lot of reparations and was blamed for the "War to end all wars" sure, but the treaty was what was expected at the time. It was actually more mild than what the French had hoped for because each nation of the Entente was following their own goal. France wanted revenge and punish Germany for the treatment they received after the franco-prussion war in 1871. Sacking Paris and demanding huge amounts of reparations and concessions in land.
Yes German did the EXACT SAME THING to the French in 1871, that you blame the French for after WWI. Not only that, but they wanted to use the reparations to repair the damage the war had created in THEIR COUNTRY.... because WWI was never fought on German soil only the French and the Belgian one. So if people would actually know what they are talking about they would understand that the Treaty of Versaille in hindsight was bad, but it was considered normal for the time.
Now the British wanted some reparations for the damage and the dead, but they didn't want to punish Germany to harshly, because they wanted Germany as a counterbalance to the French on the coninent. They were allied to the French in WWI, but they are historically enemies and the British did not want the French to solely dominate the continent.
The US were led by Willson at the time who was a questionable personality and head some kind of god complex. He wanted to be the savior of humanity and thought he could mediate between the parties. So both the Brits and Americans wanted less harsh punishment for Germany leading to a bad compromise that ensured WWII would happen.
But although Germany had to pay huge amounts, most people forget that there still were the Golden 20s when daily life was great, the society was open and the economy was on an upswing. There was hope and a chance
It was the biggest economic desaster in history, the Great Depression starting with the stockmarket crash in the US that made Germany crumble, leading to hyperinflation and a massively instable political situation.
Still... till the end the Nazis never got a majority in parliament. The reasons why the Nazis got popular though were, that they had the support of most major industrialists in the country because they underestimated Hitler and were scared of a communist revolution similar to the one that happend in Russia. Yes... before the Nazis took over there was a moment in time when Germany was about to become communist. Then for the blue collar workers who suffered from the great depression the Nazis offered an easy scapegoat... the Jews.
Arminius was not collaborating... he was taken from his family at a young age as it was custom for people conquered and forced into an alliance by the Romans. They took the children of the nobles and educated them to become Roman to ensure that the conquered will stay loyal. They brought to Rome where he was brought up as a Roman and then enrolled into the Legion. It was when he was redeployed to Germania that he met his father and saw the opportunity to unite the German tribes. Arminius only fought the Romans because he thought he could become king of Germany after beating them, but he misteriously died later. It is likely that the other leaders understood that Arminius tried to take over and poisoned him. Also to call them "Germans" during the time of the Roman Empire is a huge stretch. They were tribes who fought each other. They would've never considered themselves as "Germans" at the time.
Till's smile as Ulrike Meinhof
means more than it shows.
RAF
Through an Armenia resolution of the German Bundestag (Parliament), the former board member of the Turkish Parents' Association Hamburg published hate posts against Germans and Germany on Facebook. In reference to many Germans' love of pets, especially dogs, he called the German people "Koeterrasse" (stray, dirty dogs).
Found this in another reaction and this is truly the best analysis I've seen and totally subscribe as a German to it. By Viking: "German is my first language - so as a native pls let me explain as concise as possible many of the hidden symbols and meanings in this great song: In advance - please apologize the mistakes that I have certainly made as English is not my first language :-) Before I go through it just some general remarks: the black lady’s persona in the video is “Germania” and she represents Germany (the nation / the people) and in many scenes where she appears the colors black, red and gold (colors of the German flag) are dominant. The video as well as the lyrics are a critical review on Germany’s history. Main scenes of the video: The first scene with the roman soldiers refers to the battle of Teutoburg forest, the first time the German tribes untied under Arminius against the Romans and ambushed them on their march back to their winter camp + completely annihilated several legions - the romans would never return and fortify at the Rhine - this could be seen as the birth of the German identity. The red laser beams throughout the video I think are guiding thread (German expression “roter Faden”" translates to “red thread” and translates to guiding principle / guideline of a story) When Germania (black lady) in golden armor (black red gold as main colors of the scene pushes the standard into the ground she raises all the dead medieval knights - a reference to the strength of the German people who recovered time after time throughout history from catastrophes (especially, but not only) in the middle ages (crusades, Hunnic invasion, plague, etc.) - the additional meaning i think is the fact that German people several times followed their countries call for War - even if they were already beaten up (e.g. after WWI going into WWII) Next scene (fistfight) is from the roaring twenties, the period between the two world wars where upper class society was decadent on the backs of ordinary people + entertainment industry was born. Next scene shows the Hindenburg disaster (famous German Airship which blew up in flames) during a time of growing industrialization 1930s. Next Scene is from the communist elite in eastern Germany who was indulging in party and Champaign while ordinary people were poor and the main idea of communism should be equality of the people. Then the scene in the middle ages - where the monks (representing the church) feast on Germania (the land) and suppress the common folk (underneath the table). The scene in the prison again refers to the roaring twenties, as Germania is dressed in a Prussian uniform suppressing the German people. Additionally money is thrown away by everybody, a reference to the big inflation in Germany after WWI. Then the rockets (Nazi German was working on the first warfare rockets called V1 and V2 (V standing for “Vergeltung” which translates to retaliation - fitting to the picture with the rockets, the lyrics are an alliteration on “über” a german pre-syllable/prefix meaning over. “Überheblich (overbearing / presumptuous), Überlegen (superior) Übernehmen (taking over), Übergeben (handing over), überraschen (surprise), Überfallen (ambush), „Deutschland, Deutschland über allen“ (Germany, Germany above everyONE). The line „Deutschland, Deutschland über alleN“ (Germany above everyONE) is a reference to one of the verses of former national anthem of Germany which was in use from 1922 to 1945 and got excluded after WW2 for being too nationalistic. In this verse there was a line “Deutschland, Deutschland über alleS“ (a subtle difference to the line in Rammstein’s version translating to “Germany, Germany above everyTHING”). The actual verse with this line was already written in 1842, long before the formation of Germany as a Nation (which only happened in 1871) - therefore “Germany, Germany above everything” was relating to the importance of uniting the several German ministates, kingdoms and Duchies into one nation. After WWI this verse got taken into the national anthem of Germany as it spoke to the patriotism of the German people but later officially excluded fomr the anthem since it was deemed too nationalistic. Today this verse/line is generally frowned upon and would be associated with Neo-Nationalism. Using this line in the scene with the concentration camps including the subtle change from “Germany above everyTHING” (which has already the nationalistic connotation) to “Germany above everyONE” which carries an even more nationalistic / racist meaning is a very clever double-reference to the doctrine of racial supremacy in the Third Reich. The Concentration camp prisoners have symbols sewn on their jackets for the groups the Nazis hunted and killed (yellow star for Jews, Pink triangle for Homosexuals, red symbol for political adversaries (communists). Germania is on the side of the Nazis and has an eyepatch (representing the blind eye that many Germans turned on the atrocities of the Nazi regime. The Scene where Till is dressed as a woman refers to the left wing terrorist group called “Rote Armee Fraktion” - a terrorist association in the 1970s responsible for several political assassinations and murders as well as a famous kidnapping of German Diplomats in Stockholm. Then there is the scene with the stake at which books are burned by the Nazis and people are burned by the church (inquisition). Later the monk (church) and the Nazi soldier hug (as the church did not go against the Nazis when they came to power and both organizations were responsible for a lot of intolerance and suffering in their times. The scene where Germania is dressed in white with a Halo I think refers to the positive, the strength of the German people who recovered time after time from several catastrophic disasters in their history. Later she gives birth to puppies representing the German people. The puppies are from a rare breed of dogs (Leonbergers) who’s population got almost extinct in both world wars (symbolized with the dogs wearing gas masks) but recovered after the wars. In these scenes the band members wear space suits - in my view a reference to the (hopefully) better future of the German people. In the very last scene of the outro you can once more see Germania with national colors (black, red gold) with black lipstick, red eyes and golden armor before a red/ black background holding an eagle, the heraldic symbol of Germany. Finally, please find below the lyrics of the song as the perfectly convey the message of the problematic relationship many Germans have to their homeland, wanting to be proud of it but not being able to due to it’s difficult history: One further remark to one of the more important lines of the lyrics: The line in this song "So jung und doch so alt" (So young and yet so old) refers to the fact that the German people with their idenitify have been around for thousands of years, however the actual state of Germany as a nation was only founded very late (1871) thorough the unification of several mini states (Prussia, Hessia, Saxonia, Bavaria, etc.) Here now the lyrics (copied from the internet): [Verse 1] You (You have, you have, you have, you have) Have cried a lot (Cried, cried, cried, cried) Separated in spirit (Separated, separated, separated, separated) United in heart (United, united, united, united) We (We are, we are, we are, we are) Have been together for so long (You are, you are, you are, you are) Your breath's cold (So cold, so cold, so cold, so cold) The heart in flames (So hot, so hot, so hot, so hot) You (You can, you can, you can, you can) I (I know, I know, I know, I know) We (We are, we are, we are, we are) You (You stay, you stay, you stay, you stay) [Chorus] Germany - my heart in flames Want to love and damn you Germany - your breath's cold So young, and yet so old Germany! [Verse 2] I (You have, you have, you have, you have) I never want to leave you (You cry, you cry, you cry, you cry) One can love you (You love, you love, you love, you love) And want to hate you (You hate, you hate, you hate, you hate) Presumptuous, superior Take over, hand over/puke Surprise, invade Germany, Germany above everything [Chorus] Germany - my heart in flames Want to love and damn you Germany - your breath is cold So young, and yet so old Germany - your love Is a curse and a blessing Germany - my love I can't give you Germany! Germany! [Bridge] You I We All of you You (superior/overpowering, unnecessary) I (Übermenschen (translates to “superior humans” - a term the Nazis implicitly used for themselves as the calles other races “Untermenschen” - translating to “inferior humans”), weary) We (The higher you climb, the further you fall) You (Germany, Germany above everything) [Chorus] Germany - your heart in flames Want to love and damn you Germany - my breath's cold So young, and yet so old Germany - your love Is a curse and blessing Germany - my love I can't give you Germany!
The Piano version of Sonne always gives me goosebumps
The red line represents time.
the red beams are a representation of the thread of fate/time that unites everything
Hi! The red light you see in the entire video symolises a "red thread". Maybe a red thread (a connection) of violence or resistance through the entire history of germany. Where the red light / thread appears their will be changing history. good reaction video :>
Very thin ice at the end there 😅 With very American glasses on 😑
I like the way how historians Look at this Video. They know how to separate fiction from facts, its all about interpretation.
I think the cannibalistic feast of the monks consuming "Germania" refers to the Thirty Years War ("Dreissigjähriger Krieg") which started as a religious conflict between catholics and protestants - with "The Defenestration of Prague" as its final cause - and soon became a battle with seemingly everyone involved. Even the king of Sweden with his troops took part in it (and died there). It was a gruesome war and left people and region i.e. Germania so exhausted and devastated that the many sides had to come to an agreement to end it : The Westphalian Peace. Not really out of consideration of tortured residents and destroyed land -- that never bothered rulers and religious leaders active in this conflict beforehand - but total economic collapse. "Germania" was emptied down to the bone, nothing left to distribute and gain anymore. The commanders went broke, so to say.
The "irony" with the Nazis and their german pride is : besides the immense destruction they are accountable for they also destroyed this german pride profoundly. Up until today a sound patriotism as common in any nation is a fragile thing for many germans. As a young man I almost felt relieved and thankful if someone of a different heritage behaved in a friendly manner towards me - I didn´t take it for granted.
The song shows, that an industrialmetal band can be really deep. Many described already a lot of the historical facts behind the scenes, but I think it goes deeper:
The black lady is Germania, she not only personifies Germany, but also the national idea. The battle of the Teutoburger Forrest (the greatest defeat of the Roman empire), was the foundation of the Germanic idea and is somehow also the beginning of the red thread. Before, the large area (Germania Magna) was inhabited by rivaling Germanic tribes. Herminius united them, allowing them to defeat mightily THE world power (3 Legions perished to exist). Events like these repeated:
- in time of external threat the tribes united and overwhelmed the threat. E.g. Karl Matell defeating the Arabs lead to Charlemagne becoming emperor of Northern Europe, as Person claimed by France and Germany likewise.
After Charlemagne the empire split into parts (the red beams are multiplying
Then King Otto defeated the Hungarians in 955ad using the holy lance (which became part of the empires key symbols) and was elected Emporer (Kaiser) of the Holy Roman Empire of German nations 7 years later - officially following the Roman Empire, hegemonially. However, it remained a federal empire, consisting out of multiple countries, dukedom’s, and so forth, with an emporer elected by their leaders.
The fact that a united Germania immediately became Europe’s hegemonial power, but was regularly weakened by it‘s fragmented structure. The other powers (Sweden, Spain, France, England) became nations far earlier and tried to prevent the formation of a German nation. It formed in 1871, after the Franco Prussian war. The struggle over the question who is the strongest nation in Europe culminated into the hegemonial WwI, consequentially leading into WWII.
For me, snowwhite in her coffin shows the sleeping hegemonial ambitions …
).
The very first thing I noticed when I saw this video was that the black woman who wore red and gold of course was a symbol for Germany. She's embodied the colors of the German flag.
If youre interested in seeing a breakdown video of this, Three Arrows does a great breakdown of thr history and symbology in this video.
If they wanted a conversions piece, yes! It’s going to be studied and studied over and over. It’s compelling. There are many sides to this video. Very interesting.
As far as I understand it, she is supposed to represent 'Germania' the personification of Germany
National personifications is a bit interesting with Germany having "Germaina", Britain have "Britannia". but then you can also have personifications for specific things "Miss Colombia" is for all of the USA but "Lady Liberty" is also common, but then there is "Uncle Sam" and that is just the federal government and "Lady Justice" is for the judicial system. Several countries also have a mother figure like Norway, Sweden, Serbia, Russia. In other cases it is a real historical person like for Mongolia and Hawaii.
Aja. And the she gets abused and this gets glorified
@@annacova04 who is geting abused and glorified?
@@ThomasVanhala getting
The black Lady has the role of "Germania" she is a "pure mythical figure"...her roots are from the ancient Roman Empire times but she never was "a Goddess/deity" but an installed "Numen"/"divina mens"/personification of divine will for the Roman "Magna Germania"...in medi eval times she became "the glorified symbol of the German virtues and the symbolic personification for land and people" kinda like "a Guardian of the German Holy Roman Empire" kinda similar role like the femal figures "Hibernia" for Irland or "Caledonia" for Scotland.
About religion demographic in Germany since the 30 years war till today = the North is foremost Protestant (Lutherian) but the South is foremost Catholic...also a reason besides way more relevant political reasons why the Prussians and the Austrians didn´t get along later on in time.
Aha.
A small correction: the main thing that drove Germany into National Socialism was the Treaty of Versailles. You have to understand that there was no internet or anything like that back then, and it was quite easy for the Pied Pipers to manipulate people. That's why I don't really understand the 'Trumpiots'.
You must be an "Bideniot" and you speak about manipulation. You are a joke.😂😂😂
Thank you, I wanted to comment the same.
Well the treaty was a great factor, but to say it was the main thing, I think is a bit to strong. The legacy of the first world War at all, and that's way more than just the treaty if versay (don't forget Trianon, which was the treaty for former Austrian Hungary, the Isolatism of USA after the war, dividing approaches of how to Handel Europe from Britain and France, creation of Fascism in Italy, political situation of Germany with its political factions. All that was influence to how the ww2 came to be, the treaty of Versailles is just one factor in a complex net of factors, but ofc a big one.
@@Tarnatos14 I don't want to go into individual points here, but the consequences of the treaty of Versailles were extremely high unemployment, followed by the Great Depression. All of this together is a damn explosive mixture and is just scratching the surface.
@@Steeler-wg5zo the treaty of Versailles was not a big influence of the great depession, in fact the Reperations Germany has to pay where lower than the American credits/debits Germany received in the 20s. Also the treaty of Versailles was not a huge factor for the industry, despite the Ruhrkrieg with France, but that also was only one factor, which didn't lead directly to the Nazis, more into the very openly situation of Weimar Republic turmoil at all. The great depression came from the US, and the US didn't backed the treaty, which made France and GB weaker in both There attempts to change it, while Germany had more possibilities (as Stresemanns and Italys politic and the treaty of Locarno in the 20s showed)
The song starts at 3:20.
So is that your polite way of saying you don't like my intros?
@@HistoryBuff great intros, but sometimes the pre-song chat goes for a bit too long. Just my opinion though. Your channel - your choice.
@LastofAvariBelarus I know. I'm just playing. I always say I need to put more time stamps in my videos but always forget.
Are those decorative books with empty pages? :)) they do loook good
It seems to me that Ramstein, as artists, did a lot of internal work, requiring a lot of honesty and inner strength, and created the greatest music video - and not only of their entire career. To understand all the layers of this video and text, you need to know the history of Germany well (in the context of entire eras) and remember that the Germans are the greatest thinkers of Western civilization.
The dogs being born from futuristic Germania (the black woman) are the Leonberger race, which went virtually extinct - until recently they were/are bred once again.
The prison scene is about the Weimar republic.
The monks represent the Catholic Church/Holy Roman Empire, when the clergy devoured the land (not exactly the people).
The more modern scene is about the RAF - Rote Armee Faction/Red Army Faction in the 70s or 80s
And I believe you guys missed the Hindenburg fire (scene where the band members walked a wharf which caught fire in the background)
The Big Explosion in the Background was the Hindenburg Zeppelin Disaster.
In The The Year 1937... From 98 People , 62 survived.
I'll just add that the suit of armour that Germania, represented by the Black woman, is wearing is very similar to that worn in a poster representing Hitler himself as Germania. I don't think there's a coincidence there, although I'm not an expert on German imagery and it's significance.
The tree at the beginning of the video, where the Romans find the boy who cuts off the head, this tree is the most sacred tree of the Germanic tribes. The tree is called "Irminsul". This tree is the direct contact to the gods. Charlemagne had this tree felled during his battles with the wild tribes.
I think her in the golden armour and the knights standing around her represtend the HRE and the prince electors
The black woman is Germania, the personification of Germany throughout time.
The video is filled with metaphors from 2000 years of German history and loaded to the brim with our deepest feelings about our country.
We dont hide our bad pasts, neither do we try to. All of our past made us what we are today. And every bit of it was neccessary for "us" being "us" today. We lead by example - and we dont mind being a bad example in some regards, we're not too fancy for that.
We are the sum of our pieces, and just as the newborn Leonberger Puppies in the end, every Generation of Germans is born innocent of their past and has a chance to find "their" place in a history to come.
I really recommend you watching the analysis of the song by the channel "three arrows" (its in English). It might help you understand a lot of the deep metaphors, because every frame of the video, every thing, person and act has a deeper meaning to a German watching this than it has to anyone else.
Really, check it out, it will blow your mind. (I promise)
Your comment gave me chills down my espine...
I noticed a small- but potentially significant- detail at the 8:40 mark: Germania is now shown in a black uniform with an eye patch over her right eye. The next time we see her is a similar shot, but the eye patch is on the left side. Is this a continuity error (not bloody likely with those production values) or is it a signal that different parts of Germany- or parts of the population- were not being told the entire story of what was going on during the WW2 period? Or they saw what they were allowed to see (or wanted to see) at the time? I leave history to judge the guilt or innocence of those involved, but I'm wondering if this was intentional or a simple error? Either way, this is an amazing film- I almost hate to call it a mere 'music video'- and sets the bar pretty darned high for all others to come.
For those German viewers and commenters, a big shout out- my family goes back to Koln at least to 1650, and we left in 1720 for the Americas. Although I don't claim to be German for all practical purposes, I can't help but feel a little tug on the heart when I consider my family's roots.
So in the book burning scene it is the monk and the nazi officer hugging (not the lady), and i think is tying the witch burnings of the dark ages by the church with the book burnings by the nazis, and showing that evil has many faces.
Did you guys reacted to the Egyptian pharaoh Golden parade and the Egyptian Luxor sphinx road avenue opening if not plz do it ❤🎉
The long version plz 😂
the first clip is germans defeating the romans in teutoburger forest. the event is considered the start of the germans by some historians.
The video shows scenes from over 2,000 years of German history; from the Germanicus campaigns to Germania magna in 16 AD, about knights, the witch hunts, the November Revolution at the end of the First World War, the hyperinflation in the early years of the Weimar Republic, the Golden Twenties, the book burnings in 1933, the “Hindenburg “catastrophe, the Second World War, the Holocaust, the history of the German Democratic Republic, the Red Army Faction, right up to the May riots. Ultimately, all periods end with violence, which runs like a common thread through the centuries. The members of the band always take on different roles in different eras.
At the beginning, when the Roman Legion arrives, the dark-skinned Germania, accompanied by wolves, cuts off the head of the band's obviously dead singer, Till Lindemann, who plays a Roman. This opening scene alludes to the uprising of the population against the Roman occupiers. Later, Germania reappears in different costumes from all eras, often surrounded by German shepherd dogs. She is repeatedly shown carrying the dead man's head with her. She often seems to only passively accompany the events, but occasionally she also intervenes actively, for example by handing brass knuckles to two men during the Weimar Republic, when she brings knights back to life after a battle, or by riding an army on horseback leads. Occasionally she is also a victim of events; So she lies as food with sauerkraut in front of monks who eat her, is burned on a pyre by knights, is shot in the face by the concentration camp prisoners as an SS general or is a fearful hostage of the RAF terrorists. In addition, through her costume, she is repeatedly mixed with historical figures of the respective era, such as Saint Mauritius, to whom the imperial insignia was traced back, or with the dancer Josephine Baker, who lived in Berlin in the 1920s. After kissing the dead Roman's head, she becomes pregnant and later gives birth to several Leonbergers by an obstetrician. At the end, in a future scenario, the supposedly dead, or perhaps just sleeping, Germania is sent into space in a glass coffin reminiscent of Snow White. During the end credits, a piano version of the Rammstein piece Sonne played by Clemens Pötzsch plays, in whose music video Snow White played an equally ambiguous role, ending up in a coffin and later emerging alive again. So too much to describe and explain properly but I hope this helps you.
I am from Germany and this is always triggering me in many levels. The most intense thing is that we as Germans were thought to deny our nationality or at least be ashamed. Even as we younger folks have nothing to do with the time before. I can’t even tell where this point is addressed directly in the video or the song but I feel it is there below the surface and it triggers me.
Whats funny, is I directly address this the time I covered this video alone. In fact, the thumbnail even says, "pride vs shame". I pretty much said EXACLY what you just said and it created a firestorm in the comments, leading me to eventually disable them for the first and only time on my channel. Check it out!
Everybody who does Not Know, a lot About Germany . Allways will get to 2nd World War. No Doubt.
But there are so many Easter Eggs. In this Video. Some Parts from Blockbuster Movies the Opening Scene: Gladiator.. and Hundreds of Years German History . To put in the Black Women. Was a very clever Chess Turn. Otherwise , it would be probably Banned from YT, because of Nazi / Jewish Content....
The Dog breed (Leonberger) is German and German history left a mark on it's creation and existence on both a positive and negative way, but it's not just found in Germany. They aren't that uncommon in parts of the US and Canada either for example and together with the Newfoundland dog it's the most popular and best water rescue dog.
Amazing how many 'Historians" don't get the Baarder Mienhof, 1970's reference. Amazing
They don't even get the Weimar Republic transition when half of Germany was Communist, is our education system so fucked up...
Amazing how people can be so ignorant to how historical studies work that they can make rude, blanket statements like this. People literally only know what they specialize in. Myself, medieval western Europe with a pretty good knowledge of WWI. If this was covered in my studies (which I doubt it was because it would fall under modern history), it would've been a sentence in my intro level western civ class 25 years ago. Similar situation for my wife as she's more American history from colonial to the prohibition. My true expertise is in the medical field and I know foot doctors who don't know the 4 chambers of the heart and cardiologists who dont know the names of the ankle bones. Consider all that, and youre pissed we missed a few scenes in a very complicated, flashy video that we saw for the first time (ok, me second). But hey, whatever helps you feel smarter.
It actually wasn't a rude comment nor a personal dig at yourselves, it was just an observation from many views of reactions to this particular video. To call someone ignorant without due diligence nor context is ignorant in itself, once again just saying not judging. I'm sure you are secure in your fields of expertise. Once again I apologise if I came across as arrogant. @@HistoryBuff
I appreciate the apology. Comments like these are pretty common on these types of videos and It gets a little old. Especially when I cover WW2, which I know relatively little about. Meanwhile, people study the heck out of it just for fun, so know way more than I. I've really thought about ditching the Historian title for this reason. I'm definitely using the term loosely. But, by definition, I've studied for 6 years and have a masters, several publications and many presentations at various research conferences. Problem is, this was over a decade ago and I never pursued a career in it. I don't even study anymore, so I'm INCREDIBLY rusty. Similar for my wife, but she has 2 masters degrees and specializes in archival studies, restoring rare books/manuscripts, etc. Same thing, she never pursued a career in it. Besides this YT channel, I sadly wouldn't even call it a hobby anymore.
@@HistoryBuff Thank you for the acknowledge. Your wife should maybe branch to her historic manual work, I would find that super interesting. Thanks again guys. Keep me in the loop.
A quick note on the Nazi relationship with religion. Hitler was actually very anti-Christian; he considered it a religion 'fit only for slaves' and said its teachings were 'against the natural law'. Early on he paid it some lip service, but later recanted these statements. He also disliked atheists. His mother was a Catholic; the Catholic church was quite active in opposing Nazism (as were Christians, for obvious reasons). A great many Romani (who were murdered by the Nazis much like the Jews) were Catholic. The Nazis paid some lip service to generalised 'spirituality' and also meddled in the occult. This will come as no surprise to anyone, but they were a weird bunch with weird views.
God damn, thank you for your great reaction. I liked the interest you had in the actual history of our country.
What always amuses me is that almost no American recognizes the biggest aviation disaster before WWII that happened in New Jersey. Of course, most Germans know it since it was one of the Zeppelin airships that caught fire during landing at NAS Lakehurst the Hindenburg.
In one point you are not informed well: Hitler was katholic - he really was. And the katholic church supported him well. Today they dont want to hear that and lie on that but they did. As we say "they put their flag into the wind"...
That dog is a leonberger and a kind and loving breed, ppl assume its meant as a symbol of germanys change.. but im not sure
From what people explained, it's a German breed that was almost made extinct during the wars. I'm thinking it represents how Germany was almost snuffed out after each war, but is re-emerging and renewed.
That last one is directly from the lyrics. As she's floating over the earth, it's literally Germany above all else.
Also, in the Nazi hanging scene, each band member had a different patch. One was a Jew, one was homosexual and I'm not sure about the rest.
Ähm...Julius Caesar? Julius Caius Caesar? In Germania? Sure, that's why he wrote 'de bello germanico'
the romans in the beginning are a call back to the battle of the Teutoburg Forrest, several decades after Julius Caesars death and a central point in the national mythos of Germany.
'The medieval... would have marched through Germany on their way to the holy land'? The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and is like a half of the territory of medieval Europe. They don't need some stray crusaders to explain their relationship to medieval knights. The Teutonic Order is one of the great Crusader Orders after all.
Very good video,greetings from germany. 🖤❤💛
I think she is not a godess, but it is the country itself she is Dutchland
the "lionheart" outfit -> frederick barbarossa?
It also shows how rich German history is... we don't just have the 12 dark years that every small-minded guy just talks about.
Did you react to sabaton yet?no bullets fly will make you cry,the red baron,bismarck, all great,but please always choose the animated story, it adds a lot.perfect for history buffs,amazing.
I did a while back
I think its very funny that the video is directed by specter and some german rappers were extras in the video xD #AggroBerlin
Ihr seid süss und gutes Video. LG
Well, for a historian, one could have guessed that Till Lindemann in the image of Ulrika Meinhof, perhaps a historian of America, of course. Fun fact - the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow is older than the USA🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
17:20 … When you mention other bands singing in English, I want to see your response to Amerika next; which is almost Rammstein's reaction to that phenomenon.
I actually covered it about a year ago. "I don't speak my native tongue."
👍❤
We shall not feel pride, our new migration is our new future, thats the message i feel is screaming in my face.
NICE. I Love seeing and hearing people's opinion on this song.vid . Especially when they know whats going on and I Learn n==more from your reaction.... you two need to do more together... may i recommend
Zeit Radio Auslander then invite the whole family and have a 'comic relief' but still serious subject and watch ( Offical for all vidz) Zick Zack...
Check ya later...eh.
the Lady in the video symbolizes Germania
Another tip from Rammstein would be “Radio” and “Zeit” or “Dicke Titten”.Another German group is currently making a big splash: Electric Callboy from Germany. Take a look at their music videos, first of all "Pump it".
Lol, oohhhh, I'm extremely familiar with them. I've covered we got the moves because it just came out, but I'm a big fan
Guys, you have no idea you are talking about. What the linguistic and historical skills
K
Yes..their statements were a whole bunch of nothing.
I guess in america everybody can call himself a "historian" when he simply can list all their presidents..
We are catholic and lutheran the north is lutheran and the south is Catholic in Germany
Great reaction, and astute observation & analysis! As a Canadian with German heritage (mother, grandparents immigrated in the 50's), I've studied, extensively, German history. What Rammstein presented here is nothing short of a masterpiece of sound, word & visuals - it's basically cinema, in a
Lol, thanks! You don't have to go very far in the comments to find someone who heartily disagrees with you on how astute we were.
@@HistoryBuffno problem! You knew more history than some that 'claim' to know history - that's good enough for me! Shows at the very least you did some homework - especially where language was concerned.
Great song, great band, glad you & your lady enjoyed!
i want to mention the scene in 13:05. Some people still think Rammstein are nazis, so this scene is especially against it.
I’m South African of German decent, this is the most beautiful work of art ever created. Makes me cry in the end without fail every single time i watch it
THE LADY is Germany, It is not catholicism but Christianity.
Cool reaction! Thank you. If you want some extra details to the historical content and what represents what, then watch this: "Deutschland by Rammstein: An Analysis" by Three Arrows.
Remarks:
- The black lady IS Germany (aka Germania)
- Unfortunately your comments during the song cannot be understood.
Moin und liebe Grüße aus Schleswig-Holstein.
Interesting fact, currently German troop have been deployed to Poland as in reaction to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
They were not eating the people alive, they were portraying eating from the land as she represents germany
The black lady is Germany (Germania). No god figure in this video ;-)
Lol, funny. Because many people have said in the comments she is the "goddes Germania". And let's just be honest. Nearly all gods are just simply a personification of something bigger.
@@HistoryBuff No Goddess !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come on, you claim to be historian.
And by the way: Wat is bigger than a God? (Don't say "Captain America"!)
@sarcasticconsultant378 god/goddess can be nothing more than a personification of something like nature, wind, chaos, etc. In fact, check the comments, many people say she is the "goddess germainia". Just chill a bit and life will be simpler
@@HistoryBuff Is that how american historians work? Asking the crowd to do their work, while chilling and having a simple life?
All those "many people"(majority) are turning quite quickly into "some"(minority):
"A personification is an abstract representation of a concept or idea in human form. In contrast, a deity is a supernatural entity that is worshipped by humans and is often associated with certain qualities or powers."
"Although Germania is depicted as a personification, there are some historical contexts in which she was considered a goddess. For example, in Roman antiquity, she was depicted as Numen, a type of deity associated with a particular place or thing"
by the way: Nicely self-constructed definition of god/goddess. Congrats for that.
You just proved my point with that quotation. Sometimes she is referred to as a goddes. And yes, doing these reaction videos, without preparing, you tend to say the first thing that pops in your head, often saying things that may not always be exact. This is a bit different than us teaching a specialized class that we are well versed and prepped for. But please, if you want to continue to be a selfagrandizing asshat, I'll just go ahead and block you.
Is this how all Americans see Rammstein..? It’s hilarious but way more complicated to translate.. just like Du “hast” und “hasst” there’s no way to explain Rammstein in another language.. 🤭
you two are ADORABLE
I wonder what the books are behind you ?
Approximately 250 easton press classics. I got most of them from my grandfather when he passed, but I've added to the collection since. I have a patreon video where I go through then and show everything that's there. I have a very old collection directly behind me as well
@@HistoryBuff That is really nice collection Be careful with book bugs, I don't want such a collection to be damaged.
☺
@@VanirSq thanks!
Peeps younso into this I wish u watch Laibach - Sympathy to the devil( stones cover) videoclip. I bet it would be intresting
Julius Ceasar was stationed in Gallia (France)
Nope... He made also "trips" to England and to the right side of the Rhine...
7:50 probably death or nothingness that keeps us continuing and doing the things we do. Or ypu can call it dark mater around us in space, the energy, dark energy
No godness but she represents Germany in Black-Red-Gold (quite obvious, ain't it?)
To someone who is familiar with the video....yes. yes it is.
This will be the first negative comment I have ever left on a Utube vid ever. I have watched many reactions to "Deutschland", and many were superficial, maybe just focusing on the awesome cinematics.
But this particular video is about *content*. History. Not easy to unpack, some details only become apparent in super-slo-mo, or even freeze-frames.
But never mind *that* level. Of the hundreds (yes, plural) referrals to history, you both failed to pick up on a single one. History buffs? Germania cries.
K
Julius Caesar has been dead for 60 years by this, lol
It really bums me out how nobody American, even (apparently) historians, don't recognize the images in this video of the 1960's-era Stasi, the east German socialist security service the members of this band grew up and lived under. Like, the cosmonaut is literally right there. And if you don't recognize the Stasi, you definitely won't get the strong statement they make in the video about how the 'good socialist' police were drunk on their own privilege and used their position for excess and debauchery. People don't notice the 1970's West German terrorists and that they're dragging Germania away naked and terrified and strapped with explosives. Like, there are no 'good' images from history in this video. Everything historical you think might be beautiful in this video is, if you look closer, deliberately awful.
Well, I never really studied German history outside of the fall of western Rome and a little about the holy Roman empire. Some of WW1 (nope, dont know a bunch about WW2). Other than that, everything you're talking about may have been a paragraph in a book I glazed over. That's pretty much how it works. I'm sure this was very important, powerful stuff to many, especially the people whose family lived through it.
Alright this is not about the video itself but about what you said at the end. Hitler was NOT elected because of German pride. It was a mixture of multiple circumstances that all came together. Germany at the time was economically broke. The French had occupied the West of Germany and carried everything of value to France as war reparations for WW1. Unemployment was extremely high. People were suffering. At the same time our government was split into 20 different parties who couldn't agree on anything. Hitlers smart move was to appear as a socialist party and at the same time made deals with the industrie giants. Financed by the industry (and yes there was a lot of American money too it was not only German companies, Ford and Rockefeller were huge supporters just to name two) he was able to do an election rally never seen before. It was Hitler who "invented" a rally driven by plane so that he could have 2 or 3 speaches per day. At the end he was not elected with an absolute majority he "only" got just above 30% of the votes, but his NSDAP was the strongest party, so Otto von Bismark made him the Reichskanzler I think after he faked some terror attacks. So it was NOT the case that just out of the bue and because of national pride a majority of Germans elected Hitler. Not at all. It is really a very complex story.
My personal opinion, the message is acknowledgment and rebirth of innocence. Rebirth of innocence was symbolized by the dogs. Dogs are innocent creatures symbolically, so that is the only answer that makes sense for me. The people were holding the dogs, looking at relics from the past.
Dude, love your name! Are you a fan, or just picked it for its edgy connotation? If you look above my head, I have a complete works on the shelf and a lifetime membership for the HPL historical society on the wall and tons of other stuff. In fact, I've been talking to the founders to get them on for an interview really soon.
@@HistoryBuff 🤣 I don’t read his books or anything, but I do like his impact on horror. I just used the name for the meme lol. See if I can piss anyone off or see if anyone got curious enough to google the name. I’ve been banned on livestreams for this name lol.
@@hplovecraftscat2255 lol, I bet. Some people can't take a joke. Refresh my memory though, what's his name?
@@HistoryBuff indeed they can’t and that is precisely why I exist lol. His name is Schrödinger
@hplovecraftscat2255 lol! Great response! So he's either racist or not all at the same time?
Yeah, 6:02 Du Hust :D