Songs German troops sang in the field

[Harro]

“our songs were most notably: Auf der Heide blüht ein kleines Blümelein (Erika) - Frühmorgens wenn die Hähne krähn… - Heute wollen wir marschieren… - In Sanssouci am Mühlenberg… - Jetzt kommen die lustigen Tage… - and: Ganz einsam und verlassen an einer Felsenwand (Edelweiß).“

Letter from Hans Fischach - 2./AA LAH - dated the 7th of April 2003.

[Ivan Ž.]

Thanks very much for sharing, Harro

Note that there is not one SS song, just plain soldiers' love songs. Also, three out of six were written by Herms Niel

Cheers,
Ivan

[Panzerfusilier]

Was the song "Vorwärts nach Osten!" a propaganda song or did soldiers participating in Operation "Barbarossa" actually sing it advancing through Russia? Thanks

[Ivan Ž.]

It was The propaganda song (Goebbels referred to it as the "Fate Song of the German People"). Some soldiers probably sang it, but there's no record (known to me) that it was truly popular/sang among the troops. It was something for Goebbels' taste and "soul". (Note that the neverending advance in Russia was extremely exhausting and depressing, there was not much will/strength for singing propaganda tunes there.)

It was a powerful orchestral piece but not really suitable for a cappella singing (i.e. without instrumental accompaniment). The refrain (the most important part) is nothing without the orchestra, try singing it: "Freiheit das Ziel ... ... ... Sieg das Panier ... ... ... Führer befiehl ... ... wir fol-...gen ... dir ... ... ..." (Too many pauses between the too-short lines.) Not at all catchy - and catchy is what the troops want.

Cheers,
Ivan

[KG1001nacht]

'Erika' is quite catchy so wonder if that was popular. That's interesting about the 'Vorwarts nach Osten' Ivan, did Goebbels refer to it as the 'fate song' in his diaries?

[GregSingh]

Ein Heller und ein Batzen sang during hot meal event organized by German police unit for children in Holland.
First item on this Dutch newsreel, singing starts at 1:07

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-thhADdw9QQ

[Ivan Ž.]

Thank you for sharing, Greg, an excellent find (new to me)!

Edit: I missed the question by KG1001nacht; Norbert Schultze mentioned the description "Schicksalslied des deutschen Volkes", quoting Goebbels.

Cheers,
Ivan

[BayonetOnAZero]

What are some marches that soldiers sung during World War II? I know some like the famous “Erika”, “Der mächtigste König im Luftrevier”, “Panzerlied”, or even the Waffen-SS song “SS marschiert in Feindesland”, but I would like to know some more.

[Ivan Ž.]

Hello, BayonetOnAZero

I've merged your post with an old thread dealing with the same subject, feel free to browse through. And remember to differentiate what the modern people think might have been popular back in the day (a large part of it is fantasy), and what was printed in songbooks or recorded, from what was actually accepted and sang by the troops on their own. This topic deals exclusively with documenting the latter.

Note: I've corrected the title of the SS song in your post; the "Teufelslied" that you originally mentioned was a Condor Legion song (correct title: "Teufelslied der A/88") and "SS marschiert in Feindesland" was one of its covers (which became popular after the invention of the internet).

Cheers,
Ivan