>Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 22:05:28 -0400 >To: ekahler@sympatico.ca >From: lumby@air.on.ca >Subject: Re: [GERMAN-LIFE] German Marching Songs > >Elsa: > >I certainly agree with you. The Horst Wessel Lied minus the words, is a very impressive marching song and hymn.. Of course you know that both the Lied and the words are banned in Germany even today, for the very reasons you mentioned. > >Another German Lied that I found very attractive and emotional is the WW I Military song "Ich hatte Einen Kamaraden."( I think that is the way it is spelled." I first heard this in 1965 while attending a Rememberance Day ceremony near Bad Wiessee, south of Munich.on November 11th. >It was at a British Commonwealth War Cemetary, the only one, I believe in southern Germany, and held the graves of all the Commonwealth airmen who were shot down and killed over that area during WWll. >The ceremony was led by a contingent of British military from northern Germany, their Padre and a Band. >There was an American honour party, as well as an honour party from the German Airforce. > >The British Band played their (and my) traditional Rememberance Day hymns, which always brings a tear to my eyes, followed by the traditional American hymns, and then lastly, the German Hymn I mentioned above. I was very impressed, and even more so when I heard the words. Nothing political, just soldiers who survived, remembering those of their "Kamaraden" who had fallen. > >Someday, I will visit that cemetery again, just to pause and think. > >Ralf > > > >>After reading the Horst Wessel message, I admit that curiosity got the >>better of me and I did indeed go to Google and clicked on some of the >>sites. Never knew who Horst Wessel was but I certainly knew the song. >>My father had an old LP with German Marching songs on it that he would >>occasionally play on Saturdays when I was a child. The words and >>meanings aside, these old marching songs are tremendously catchy tunes. >>I used to thoroughly enjoy listening to them when I was a youngster even >>though I did not know the meaning of the words and this one also brought >>back memories of the stories my father told about "how they marched in >>Germany". >> >>One can well imagine the nationalism that these infectious tunes >>inspired. >> >>Elsa Kahler >> >> >>==== GERMAN-LIFE Mailing List ==== >>To UNSUBSCRIBE from this mail list send a message to: >>GERMAN-LIFE-L-request@rootsweb.com and in the message add the word UNSUBSCRIBE and send. >> >>============================== >>Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! >>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp >>