"Freiheit", also known as "Spaniens Himmel" or "Die Thälmann-Kolonne", is a song written in 1936 by Gudrun Kabisch and

Paul Dessau Paul Dessau (19 December 189428 June 1979) was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. Biography Dessau was born in Hamburg into a m ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

. The song was written for the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

but later became a popular

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

in Germany and in American

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

communities. The title translates as "Freedom" in English.

Background

The song was written as an anthem for the German volunteers who made up the

Thälmann Battalion The Thälmann Battalion was a battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. It was named after the imprisoned German communist leader Ernst Thälmann (born 16 April 1886, executed 18 August 1944) and included approximately 1 ...

of the International Brigades and was originally named "The Thaelman Column" ("Die Thälmann-Kolonne" or "Spaniens Himmel" (Spanish Skies) in German).

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Dessau and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

Kabisch, husband and wife, composed the song while living in exile in Paris and used the pseudonyms Peter Daniels and Paul Ernst, names that still appear on printed versions of the lyrics. Musically a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

, the lyrics of the song make reference to the struggle of the anti-

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

fighters and to a more general struggle for the idea of "freedom". The fight in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

is put in the context of the universal struggle against fascism, with the chorus making direct reference to the situation in Germany during the period of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. The chorus can be paraphrased as "Home is faraway, but we are ready/We fight and win for you: freedom!"

Lyrics

''Spaniens Himmel breitet seine Sterne'' ''Über unsre Schützengraben aus;'' ''Und der Morgen grüßt schon aus der Ferne,'' ''Bald geht es zum neuen Kampf hinaus.'' Chorus ''Die Heimat ist weit,'' ''Doch wir sind bereit,'' ''Wir kämpfen und siegen für dich:'' ''Freiheit!'' ''Dem Faschisten werden wir nicht weichen,'' ''Schickt er auch die Kugeln hageldicht.'' ''Mit uns stehen Kameraden ohne gleichen'' ''Und ein Rückwärts gibt es für uns nicht.'' Chorus ''Die Heimat ist weit,'' ''Doch wir sind bereit,'' ''Wir kämpfen und siegen für dich:'' ''Freiheit!'' ''Rührt die Trommel. Fällt die Bajonette.'' ''Vorwärts marsch. Der Sieg ist unser Lohn.'' ''Mit der roten Fahne brecht die Kette.'' ''Auf zum Kampf das Thälmann Bataillon.'' Chorus ''Die Heimat ist weit,'' ''Doch wir sind bereit,'' ''Wir kämpfen und siegen für dich:'' ''Freiheit!'' The final chorus in the Ernst Busch version alternatively gives the line ''Wir kämpfen und sterben für dich: Freiheit!'' in contrast to ''kämpfen und siegen'' given in the rest of the song. It also features a closing verse in Spanish: ''Mi tierra dejé'' ''A España juré'' ''que ella siempre será'' ''¡Libre!''

Versions

The song was popularized among German fighters in

by singer and International Brigades member Ernst Busch and later became something of an unofficial anthem of the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

.Jochen Voit
''Spanienliederbuch. Canciones de las Brigadas Internacionales''
populär. Auf: Erinnerungsort.de, 29. August 2006. Busch's recording of the song was later popularized in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

after it was released as a track on the three-record set, "Six Songs for Democracy" by

Keynote Records Keynote Records was a record label founded by record store owner Eric Bernay in 1940. The label's initial releases were folk and protest songs from the Soviet Union and the Spanish Civil War, and several anti-war releases from American musicians fo ...

starting in 1938. It was later recorded by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

and became part of Seeger's live repertoire. The song was sung as a

dirge A dirge () is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as may be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegy, elegies. Dirges are of ...

by the

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

musician

Wolf Biermann Karl Wolf Biermann (; born 15 November 1936) is a German singer-songwriter, poet, and former East German dissident. He is perhaps best known for the 1968 song " Ermutigung" and his expatriation from East Germany in 1976. Early life Biermann was ...

as a

parodic A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

critique of "the stagnation of the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

ideal" in the GDR of the 1960s and 1970s.

Appearances

In other media

*The song is part of the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the 1955 film ''Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse'', a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

leader

Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed communist, Thälmann sought to overthrow the liberal democr ...

, and plays over a

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (EP), a 2017 EP by ...

of scenes set during the war in Spain. *The song plays as the outro to the February 25, 2018 episode of the podcast

Chapo Trap House ''Chapo Trap House'' (also referred to as ''Chapo'') is an American socialist political comedy podcast launched in March 2016 and hosted by Will Menaker, Felix Biederman, Matt Christman, and Amber A'Lee Frost. It is produced by Chris Wade. The ...

, "Episode 188: Menaker Facts Stated feat. Daniel Menaker." Menaker, father of co-host Will Menaker, refers to it as a favorite song of his red diaper upbringing.

References