40. With which words does the German national anthem begin?

Answer options

1. Peoples, hear the signals …
2. Unity and justice and freedom …
3. Joy, beautiful spark of the gods …
4. Germany, united fatherland …

Explanation

The German national anthem is the Deutschlandlied (lyrics 1841 by Hoffmann von Fallersleben, melody 1797 by Joseph Haydn); since 1952, and reaffirmed in 1991 for reunified Germany, only the third stanza (“Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit …”) is official. This status rests not on a statute but on an exchange of letters between the Federal Chancellor and the Federal President (1952 Adenauer/Heuss; 1991 Kohl/von Weizsäcker), which has become settled constitutional practice. The triad unity–justice–freedom mirrors core principles of the Basic Law (state unity, the rule of law, and fundamental rights). The other lines belong to the Internationale (“Völker, hört die Signale …”), Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” (EU anthem), and the GDR anthem “Auferstanden aus Ruinen” (“Deutschland, einig Vaterland”).