'Deutschland ueber alles'? -- Yes

In his letter which appeared in the Saturday, May 4 edition of The Jakarta Post, your reader -- Soelarto Hadisoemarto -- questioned the playing of the German national anthem during the memorial ceremonies for the late Mrs. Tien Suharto.

Soelarto may not know that the music was composed by Joseph Haydn, an Austrian, long before Germany was united under one nation in 1870. The title of the composition is Kaiserquintett and forms a part of Europe's cultural heritage. He may also not know the historical context under which the lyrics of Deutschland ueber alles (Germany above everything) were written.

One hundred fifty years ago, when Germany was still fragmented into 32 political entities, the people were longing for unity, justice and freedom, which they wanted to achieve by becoming one democratic nation: Deutschland.

During the Nazi regime, the first stanza was misused in support of their superiority ideology. Democratic Germany adopted the third stanza as her national anthem in 1949:

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit

fuer das deutsche Vaterland!

Danach lasst uns alle streben.

bruederlich mit Herz und Hand!

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit

sind des Glueckes Unterpfand.

Blueh' im Glanze dieses Glueckes,

bluehe, deutsches Vaterland!

Which means:

Unity, justice and freedom

for the German fatherland!

Let's all strive for that,

brotherly (united) with hearts and hands!

Unity, justice and freedom

are the guarantors for luck.

Flourish in the shine of this luck,

flourish, German fatherland!

Yet, 51 years may not be enough to realize that things have changed for the better for Germany and its European neighbors. Thus, I believe, Haydn's music was rightly played at that sad occasion, don't you agree?

JUERGEN SCHOENHERR

Jakarta