Usage in Germany
During the Vormärz era and the Revolutions of 1848, a Rhine romanticism movement arose, stressing the cultural and historical significance of the Rhine Gorge and the German territories on the river's left bank around the cities of Cologne, Worms, Trier and Speyer.
In response to the Ems Dispatch incident, which occurred in Bad Ems, not far from the Rhine, France initiated the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. When in the aftermath of the subsequent French defeat, the Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck achieved the Unification of Germany and the German Empire including Alsace-Lorraine was established, "Die Wacht am Rhein" beside "Heil dir im Siegerkranz" was the—unofficial—second national anthem. The song became famous, and both the composer and the family of the author were honoured and granted an annual pension by Bismarck.
The song's lyrics also appear on the 1883 Niederwalddenkmal monument located just outside of Rüdesheim am Rhein high above the river, epitomising the "guard on the Rhine" itself.
From World War I through 1945, the "Watch on the Rhine" was one of the most popular songs in Germany, again rivaling the "Deutschlandlied" as the de facto national anthem. In World War II, the daily Wehrmachtbericht radio report began with the tune, until it was replaced by the fanfare from Liszt's Les préludes in 1941. The song's title was also used as the codename for the German offensive in 1944 known today as the Battle of the Bulge.
Today, the lands along the left bank of the Rhine between Switzerland and the Netherlands are mainly part of Germany. The Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia are German federal states; Alsace and northern Lorraine are parts of France with a German cultural element to them. The so-called German-French hereditary enmity was ended in 1963 with the Elysée Treaty and the implementation of the Franco–German friendship, so that the danger of an invasion that loomed for centuries over both nations no longer exists. Today, the song has only historical significance in Germany and is rarely sung or played. However, singer Heino has performed it on a record.
The expression Er/sie hat einen Ruf wie Donnerhall is used for describing someone who has a very strong, intimidating reputation.
Read more about this topic: Die Wacht Am Rhein
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