Gott mit uns

A First World War-era Prussian enlisted man's belt buckle
The arms of Prussia, 1933-1935

Gott mit uns ("God with us") is a phrase commonly used in heraldry in Prussia (from 1701) and later by the German military from the period spanning the German Empire (1871 to 1918) to the end of the Third Reich in 1945.

The Imperial Russian motto, "Съ нами Богъ!" ("S nami Bog!"), also translates the same.

Origins

Nobiscum Deus in Latin, Μεθ ημων ο Θεος (Meth imon o Theos) in Greek,С Hами Бог (S Nami Bog) in Church Slavonic, or God with us in English, was a battle cry of the late Roman Empire and of the Eastern Roman Empire. It is also a popular hymn of the Eastern Orthodox Church, sung during the service of Great Compline (Μεγα Αποδειπνον).

The author of the Gospel According to Matthew of the Christian Bible, in Matthew 1:23, refers to the prophecy written in Isaiah 7:14 that a child will be born to a young woman and will be given the name עמנואל (Immanuel or Emmanuel) - which means God [is] With Us.

It was used for the first time in German 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 (1631), Lützen (1632) and Wittstock (1636) in the Thirty Years' War.[3] In 1701, Frederick I of Prussia changed his coat of arms as Prince-Elector of Brandenburg. The electoral scepter had its own shield under the electoral cap. Below, the motto Gott mit uns appeared on the pedestal.

Usage

Frederick I of Prussia's coat of arms from a woodcut, 1709

The Prussian Order of the Crown was Prussia's lowest ranking order of chivalry, and was instituted in 1861. The obverse gilt central disc bore the crown of Prussia, surrounded by a blue enamel ring bearing the motto of the German Empire Gott Mit Uns.

At the time of the completion of German unification in 1871, the imperial standard bore the motto Gott mit uns on the arms of an Iron Cross.[4] Imperial German 3 and 5 mark silver and 20 mark gold coins had Gott mit uns inscribed on their edge.

German soldiers had Gott mit uns inscribed on their helmets in the First World War.[5] To the Germans it was a rallying cry, "a Protestant as well as an Imperial motto, the expression of German religious, political and ethnic single-mindedness, or the numerous unity of altar, throne and Volk".[6] The slogan entered the mindset on both sides; in 1916 a cartoon was printed in the New York Tribune captioned "Gott Mit Uns!", showing "a German officer in spiked helmet holding a smoking revolver as he stood over the bleeding form of a nurse. It symbolized the rising popular demand that the United States shed its neutrality".[7]

In June 1920 George Grosz produced a lithographic collection in three editions entitled Gott mit uns. A satire on German society and the counterrevolution, the collection was swiftly banned. Grosz was charged with insulting the army, which resulted in a 300 German Mark fine and the destruction of the collection.[8]

During the Second World War Wehrmacht soldiers wore this slogan on their belt buckles,[9] as opposed to members of the Waffen SS, who wore the motto Meine Ehre heißt Treue ('My honour is loyalty').[10] After the war the motto was also used by the Bundeswehr and German police, it was replaced with "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" ("Unity and Justice and Freedom") in 1962 (police within the 1970s), the first line of the third stanza of the Lied der Deutschen.

In popular culture

The third track on the album Carolus Rex by Swedish power metal band Sabaton is titled "Gott Mit Uns," and is about the 1631 Battle of Breitenfeld.[11]

In the anime Hellsing by Kouta Hirano, the phrase appears on the Hellsing seal which can be seen on the title character's gloves.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Haldon, John; (1999). Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World. Taylor & Francis, Inc. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-85728-495-9.
  2. ↑ Young, Alan R., ed. (1995). The English Emblem Tradition: Volume 3: Emblematic Flag Devices of the English Civil Wars, 1642-1660 Index Emblematicus. University of Toronto Press. p. xxiv.
  3. ↑ Brzezinski, Richard (1993). The Army of Gustavus Adolphus (2): Cavalry (Men-at-Arms). Osprey Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 1-85532-350-8.
  4. ↑ Preble, George Henry, History of the Flag of the United States of America: With a Chronicle of the Symbols, Standards, Banners, and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations, 2nd ed, p. 102; A. Williams and co, 1880
  5. ↑ Spector, Robert Melvyn (2004). World Without Civilization: Mass Murder and the Holocaust, History, and Analysis. University Press of America. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7618-2963-8.
  6. ↑ Davies, Alan T. (1988). Infected Christianity: A Study of Modern Racism. McGill-Queens University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-7735-0651-0.
  7. ↑ Hoehling, Adolph A.; The Great War at Sea: A History of Naval Action, 1914-18, p. 106; Crowell, 1965; ISBN 1-56619-726-0
  8. ↑ Crockett, Dennis (1999). German Post-Expressionism: The Art of the Great Disorder, 1918-1924. Penn State University Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-271-01796-9.
  9. ↑ Armbrüster, Thomas (2005). Management and Organization in Germany. Ashgate Publishing. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7546-3880-3.
  10. ↑ McConnell, Winder (1998). A Companion to the Nibelungenlied. Boydell & Brewer. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-57113-151-5.
  11. ↑ "Album Details, Tracklist and Artwork for Carolus Rex!". February 15, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ Kouta Hirano (2009) [1997]. Hellsing. 1. Shōnen Gahosha. ISBN 159307056X.

External links

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