Gott mit uns
Gott mit uns ('God [is] with us') is a phrase commonly used in heraldry in Prussia (from 1701) and later by the German military during the periods spanning the German Empire (1871–1918), Weimar Republic (1918–1933), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). It was also commonly used by Sweden in most of its wars and especially as a battle cry during the Thirty Years' War.
Origins
Matthew 1:23 refers to the prophecy written in Isaiah 7:14, glossing the name Immanuel (Emmanuel, עִמָּנוּאֵל) as 'God with us':
Biblical Greek: ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἔξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Εμμανουήλ, ὅ ἐστι μεθερμηνευόμενον μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ θεός.Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
German: "Siehe, eine Jungfrau wird schwanger sein und einen Sohn gebären, und sie werden seinen Namen Immanuel heißen", das ist verdolmetscht: Gott mit uns.
Usage
Roman Empire
Nobiscum Deus in Latin, Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός (Meth hēmōn ho Theos) in Ancient Greek, was a battle cry of the later Roman Empire and of the Byzantine Empire.[citation needed]
Germany
It was used for the first time in Germany by the Teutonic Order.[1]
In the 17th century, the phrase Gott mit uns was used as a 'field word', a means of recognition akin to a password,[2] by the army of Gustavus Adolphus at the battles of Breitenfeld, Lützen and Wittstock in the Thirty Years' War.[3]
In 1701,
At the time of the completion of
German soldiers had Gott mit uns inscribed on their belt buckles in the
In June 1920, George Grosz produced a lithographic collection in three editions entitled Gott mit uns. A satire on German society and the counter-revolution, the collection was swiftly banned. Grosz was charged with insulting the Reichswehr, which resulted in a 300 Papiermark fine and the destruction of the collection.[7]
During the
Since 1962, the Bundeswehr soldiers wear on their belt buckles the motto Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit ('Unity and Justice and Freedom'), which is the first line of the third stanza of the West German national anthem, the only one actually sung (now the only stanza of the national anthem of unified Germany).
Gallery
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Coat of arms of Frederick I of Prussia
-
German arms of 1871 (note banners)
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Coat of arms of the State of Prussia (1933–1935)
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World War I Prussian enlisted belt buckle
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World War II Wehrmacht belt buckle
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-85728-495-9.
- JSTOR 10.3138/9781442681170.
- ISBN 1-85532-350-8. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Preble, George Henry (1880). History of the Flag of the United States of America (2nd revised ed.). Boston: A. Williams and Company. p. 102. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-7618-2963-8. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ISBN 1-56619-726-0.
- ISBN 978-0-271-01796-9. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-3880-3.
- ISBN 978-1-57113-151-5. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
External links
- "Gott mit Uns". Time. September 18, 1944.