Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: introducing Germania Rammstein’s Deutschland takes us on a thrilling, violent, and moving journey through German history. At over nine minutes, it gives us a panorama of events and historical and mythical figures, and there are so many references and Easter eggs that fans and commentators will be poring over it for some time to come. The video opens in AD 16, on the ‘barbarian’ side of the limes, the border of the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers creep through the woods in the aftermath of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. The Romans were ambushed by an alliance of Germanic Tribes, led by a chieftain called Arminius (the original Hermann the German). Three legionary standards were captured, a loss symbolic and moral, as well as physical, and decades were spent trying to recover them. Rome never again attempted to take the lands east of the River Rhine, known as Germania. ‘Germania’ refers not just to a place, somewhere partly defined by where it isn’t (Rome) as well as where it is, but also to a national figurehead, traditionally representing the German people. Germania (opens in new tab) is a strong woman, usually armour-clad and battle-ready. Various symbols appear with her, among them a breastplate with an eagle, a black, red, and gold flag, and a crown. Look out for these in the video - they come up again and again - and the colours of the contemporary flag are there in every scene. We get our first glimpse of Germania here (played by Ruby Commey), who stands holding Till Lindemann’s severed head. Next, astronauts appear carrying a metal and glass box shaped like a coffin. In the background we see a U-boat - a German submarine, used in World Wars I and II. Then we move to a scene set at a boxing match which takes us to Weimar Germany (1918-1933), a period known for its political instability but also greater cultural liberalism. Here, Germania appears in the cabaret costume of a flapper girl, and the boxers fight with knuckle-dusters as a crowd cheers them on. Rammstein Deutschland video still Ruby Commey as Germania Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: Marx, Lenin and the GDR We see the former East Germany, complete with busts of Marx and Lenin, the national emblem of East Germany (opens in new tab), and a lookalike of the long-serving, insular, and repressive GDR leader Erich Honecker. There’s another astronaut, or rather a cosmonaut: Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space, who flew with the USSR’s space program (and who’s also a character in the 2003 film, Good Bye Lenin!). Medieval monks feast grotesquely on the supine Germania, tearing sauerkraut and sausage from Ruby Commey’s body, prison inmates are beaten by guards dressed in police and military uniforms from different historical periods. The most obviously shocking scene references the Holocaust and the Nazi period. Four members of the band, in the striped uniforms of camp inmates, wait at the gallows, about to be hanged. They wear the cloth emblems used to identify their ‘crimes’: a pink triangle for homosexual prisoners, a yellow star for Jewish prisoners, a red and yellow star for Jewish political prisoners. This sequence, teased in an earlier promo video, has already caused controversy. Have Rammstein the right to do this? Do they trivialise the suffering of Holocaust victims? How can they justify using Holocaust imagery to promote their new video? These are important questions that are part of a much bigger debate about the ethics of using the Holocaust in art and media. Other scenes include the band walking away from a flaming airship, referring to the 1937 Hindenburg Disaster, in which 36 people died. Rats scuttle across the floor when the monks first appear, suggesting the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a legend with origins in the 13th century. Germania walks towards the camera in a leather jacket, gold jewellery and a string of bullets across her chest, resembling the chariot drawn by four horses (the ‘Quadriga’) on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The band members’ heads are shown as white marble busts, taking us to the 19th century Walhalla memorial in Bavaria, built as German Hall of Fame, its sculpted heads of German worthies on display to this day. In the prison, hundreds of banknotes fall from above, suggesting the devastating hyperinflation Germany suffered in the 1920s. Nazis burn books, intercut with religious fanatics burning witches. We recognise members of the Red Army Faction (also known as the Baader-Meinhof group), a militant organisation active in the 1970s in West Germany. And in a blink-or-you-miss-it exchange, we are reminded of the much-criticised relationship between the churches and the state during the Third Reich. Rammstein Deutschland video still Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: the finale Each scene captures in a moment the icons of an era, and the video cuts between them more and more frenetically as it goes on. Events bleed into each other, linked by the presence of the band members and the red laser beam that appears throughout the video, a ‘roter Faden’ (red thread or central theme), connecting each event. Germany engages with its history in a very particular way. Try to imagine the video about Britain, with Britannia played by Ruby Commey. What would the equivalent events be? Quite a few of the tableaux might be similar - Romans, Crusaders, monks, 18th-century soldiers, collarless shirts and bareknuckle boxing - but would it have the same impact? There’s no affection, and perhaps not much hope: its pessimistic tone seems to be quite an off-brand message for post-1989 Germany, which wants to acknowledge its past critically, while also looking to its future as a state at the heart of Europe. And actually, while we get a lot of medieval and twentieth-century history, the video’s tour through the past seems to stop in the late 1980s, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and Reunification of East and West Germany. Instead, we jump into the future, where the space-suited band take Germania into the unknown, travelling in that coffin-shaped glass box. There’s an echo of the video for Sonne, where Snow White is trapped in a glass coffin. In fact, a piano version of Sonne plays over the end credits of Deutschland. This is a useful link for understanding something of what Rammstein is doing here. In Sonne, where the band’s characters free themselves of Snow White (naturally, they’ve been her sex-slaves), only to realise that they have made a mistake and long for her return, the overwhelming feeling of Deutschland seems to be that when it comes to Germania (or Germany): you can’t love her, and you can’t live without her.
The song and video is very complex. As a german guy I wasn't able to really understand it the first couple of times I've listened to it. Short version: The video is a trip through german history and the lyrics describe the inner war german people have (Are we allowed to be proud of our nation? Is it wrong to feel proud because of our past? Etc.). You'll have to google the profound meaning because I honestly can't articulate that^^
National pride versus national shame is a struggle everywhere. For all the evil done there has been good. You want to love your home, but you can't overlook the mistakes. Rammstein really does the deep content very well. The song could easily apply anywhere.
@@Solinari85 I feel it's so hard to be proud of your German heritage without people instantly thinking you're a Nazi. Especially when you have Jewish ancestry as well like I do.
@@kvonjaco I suppose that would be more of an issue in europe than here in the states. I love my German heritage. I had distant relatives that fought on both sides of the war. Acknowledging that something was terrible and moving past it...showing you've grown as a people...that's what should matter. Some people just refuse to grow.
Just pointing out to anyone who's interested: "AD" stands for "Anno Domini" which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”, while "BC" stands for “before Christ”. The more modern/secular versions are: "BCE" before common era, and "CE" common era.
Was looking for this comment, thanks. Personally, I prefer using BC and AD (even though I'm not religious) because that's what the starting point is based on. If we want to use BCE and CE, we should first decide on a proper starting point for the "common era".
@@genosseunge7089 We do the same here in the Netherlands (vor/nach would be voor/na in Dutch), though v.C. / n.C. are more common. AD is also occasionally used, but it's usually written in front of the year instead of behind it.
Happy 100k! This song is awesome and shows German history, and the band express how they want to love their country but find it difficult because of what's happened throughout the years.
Absolutely incredible song!! As a person with Germany heritage, and a lover of history, this song (and especially the video) was 'music' to my ears and eyes!! Yes, what you are witnessing is a historical timeline of Germany's more 'turbulent' past. The black woman (Ruby Commey) represents Germania, personification of Germany, which is why she's in every scene - and of special note, she is black, and is regularly adorned with yellow (gold) & red (sash, lipstick, etc.) - which are the colours of the German flag (black/red/yellow). Only time it changes was during the Weimar Republic scenes where the yellow was white - and she's then seen wearing white! The production value on this was indeed feature film level! Can't say how many times I watched this video on release! Lyrics deal with the sense of shame the German people have of showing/expressing national pride because of all the bad that has occurred over history. They want to be proud, they want to love their country, yet they hate what that pride has led to in the past - the brutality, the wars. Rammstein members are mostly from former East Germany, so there are scenes specific to the 'communist' side of the nation, before unification. I am glad Rammstein made this song & video! I for one will proudly scream Deutschland!
Dutch are people from the Netherlands/Holland. Deutsch/Deutschland is German/Germany. And I think the phrase he’s using “Deustchland Uber Alles” or something like that means Germany over everything (or something like that)and they used it a lot inWWII. Just what I’m picking up being a history nerd. Beautiful song. Rammstein always leaves an impact.
German here. "Deutschland über alles" was a phrase in our national anthem even before the Nazis but of course the Nazis used it too. Today this part of our anthem is forbidden which is why him saying that is very provokativ and of course refers to the ultranationalistic Nazi time
In the song he actually says "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everyone, rather than Germany above all). I guess its slightly less directly provocative. ALSO the word 'Dutch' was used in English to describe all Germanic people in central Europe (The Dutch also being a Germanic peoples), before Germany was a unified country. For some reason the word stuck with people specifically from the Netherlands, possibly because the Dutch were closest to the UK of the Germanic people and were a seafaring and trading nation so were often in the UK. So yeah the Word Dutch and Deutsch are the same word originally.
the woman reprents Germania, the embodiment of Germany, the astronauts the people of the future who will judge the past. For me the piano verion of "Sonne" expresses sadness but also hope during the credits, and it's calming after the scenes before.
Also Sonne if I remember the video shows a dark version of snow white and the seven dwarf where she gives them hugs and fake love in exchange for the all the gold and diamond they work hard to extract from the mine. Kinda similar to what it's happening in this video with the characters and Germania. They're destroying themselves because they love her too much something like that.
BC means “before christ” while AD is actually Anno Domini which latin for “in the year of our lord” not “after death” which is why the year of Jesus’ death is commonly listed as 33AD.
The whole band acts in every video with the exception of the video for the song Mutter. They do everything as a unit. This video for Deutchland is a visual masterpiece. The song is also powerful and represents the love hate relationship they have with their country due to its history.
im so glad to be alive at a time when everything is so interconnected, there are so many foreign language bands out there that just kick ass (like maximum the hormone, rammstein, iluveitie etc.) at no other point in history could you hear all of the different cultures' music or even be aware of them.
Can we all give Hollywood and Smokey a shout out for the 5 videos today!!! 2 a day is hard enough but 5, we all appreciate all the hard work you guys do.
I'm not German, but really seeing the superb production of this video, the historical load it has as well as the magnificent song that in itself is Deutschland really made me cry
Morning guys! Great choice! Awesome video! I know some of the German history but still A bit confusing until reading some of the comments though. But a really great song! Good choice guys!🤓❤️
It's like they basically gave us a crash course of Germany's history...from the Teutoborg Forest to the Roaring twenties, under Hitler, Cold War .... But a kick ass song to guide
Right words....it's surely like a movie!I've seen them live in July here in Italy....absolutely fantastic!they deserve a visit to their concert once in life....great job boys!greetings from Italy
The video is depicting important stations of German history. The lyrics is more the inner conflict every German has with patriotism. Deutschland! Mein Herz in Flammen --> Germany! My heart in flames Will dich lieben und verdammen --> Want to love you and condemn you Deutschland! Dein Atem kalt --> Germany! Your breath so cold So jung und doch so alt --> So young and yet so old Deutschland! Deine Liebe ist Fluch und Segen --> Your love is a blessing and a curse Deutschland! Meine Liebe kann ich dir nicht geben --> Germany! I can´t give you my love.
@@Lifter999 oh yeah I absolutely agree, the black female definitely represents the embodiment of Germany, even when she was laying on the table and Rammstein was eating food from her body, it's like they're saying Germany gives them life and there's several scenes where she/Germany saved them. Even when they were in the prison getting trash and rubbish thrown on then it represented the great depressions impact on Germany, even though the Great Depressions started here in America when the stock market crashed. It affected every country in the world I could tell you exactly what time period in Germany every scene was supposed to represent, but it'd be practically a thesis, but again you're definitely right, I seen a interview with Rammstein and Teil talking about the video, also how they almost got in trouble for the Nazi death camp scene where they hung certain members of the band.
This video I believe has tons of references to German history and events that happened through their history. Rammstein always have such powerful and epic video with deep rooted meanings but this song is 🔥🔥🔥 RADIO… is another epic song and video You guys should check it out sometime
This video was NUTS lol! Links 1 2 3 is another great song/video by these guys, yall would love it if ya haven't already seen it before fellas, good day to ya both!
Just experienced Rammstein in San Antonio, which was the third time seeing them. Before and after I do concur they are the best live band for me. This is coming from a major Tool and Ghost fan which rounds out the top three. This channel needs some Godflesh reviews!
There is a version of the video with English subtitles yall should check out for context. It's a representation of a love hate relationship with your country. One of the verses is literally Germany I want so to love you and to Damn you. Smoke is right on the money. If you doing more Rammstein Zite is new and a beautiful song and video
Rammstein is playing a classic "Industrial Metal" style. A 50-50 mix of synthesizers and hard metal guitars. A big part of the German history in one video. The black woman as Germania. Germania is the personification of the German nation. It isn't and wasn't a goddess or Joan of Arc. The glass coffin: It is Little Snow White from the Grimm-fairytales....and from their own video "Sonne". Only with black skin and in space. The piano song at the end is the song "Sonne", too. The line in this song "So jung und doch so alt" (So young and yet so old) means: Germany as a unified state is very young. A unified German nation is only existing from 1871 onwards. Before that year of unification Germany was made of countless, little mini-states and the people identified first and foremost as Prussians, Hessians, Saxons etc, etc, etc. and only in a second line of thought they had a lose sense of being somehow Germans, too, as a kind of unifying second identity. So the area & the landscape where the Germans are living and the Germans themselves as a people...are thousands of years old. But only recently, in 1871, there was a unified Germany as one single state. So Germany as a unified state is very young...and at the same time it is thousands of years old. The battle of the Teutoburg forest against the Romans (and Rammstein as Roman soldiers and Germans alike). That battle is of ABSOLUTE importance for the German history. The hanged bodies in the trees were the beaten Roman soldiers, who were gruesome sacrificed to the Germanic gods...and were partly nailed to the trees. The Varus-(Teutoburg)-Battle was already in 9 AD. In 16 AD were the vengeance campaigns of Emperor Germanicus. Therefore we see here the arrival of the Roman troops of Germanicus and they are watching their dead comrades hanging in the trees or getting their heads chopped off (for nailing them to the trees). In reality the Romans under Germanicus found only the bones of the Varus army in the various ways they were slaughtered, sacrificed and displayed at the trees. Slaves were liberated even decades after the battle. After the scenes with the Romans we saw the Hindenburg Zeppelin disaster (the burning Zeppelin in the background). The moustaches and clothing from the fight scene are from WWI and post WWI years. From the working class people in WWI and the roaring 20's. In the WWII years later on this kind of big bushy moustache was already out of fashion. The falling banknotes in the prison are not about corruption. That scene is about the hyper-inflation of the 1920's, that took away the savings of the Germans and left them in deep poverty and desperation. One had to pay a loaf of bread with a handcart full of nearly worthless banknotes back then and it hit the German people deep down inside and in their souls. Especially the poor ones and the simple workers. The V2 rocket (first manmade object in space) as technical triumph of the German spirit...and at the same time the killing of the concentration camp prisoners in the bunker factories below the mountains during the production of that rocket. This scene in the video could be a representation of a very specific concentration camp. It was "Mittelbau-Dora" below the Kohnstein mountain. A mixture between a big, huge bunker factory for V1 and V2 rockets and a concentration camp. The concentration camp inmates had several different markings for different kinds of convicts and their "crimes" sown to their chests, like it was in reality, too. A pink triangle for homosexuals, the star of David for Jews and two of them were marked with the double-triangles for Jehovas Whitnesses. The book burnings of the Nazis and the burning of the witches of the church. In the same scene with the book burning there is EVEN MORE going on. The cooperation of the church with the Nazis, when the priest with the cross embraces the Nazi SA-man. The scene with the sign with the Hammer and a pair of compasses in a circle of wheat is the sign of the GDR (DDR). The socialst German state in the east that existed before the German reunification. Therefore it was Karl Marx in the background in the scene with the tank (not the scene at the concentration camp). The scene with Rammstein wielding guns (the pumpgun) and taking Germania hostage was about leftwing terrorism of the 1970's. The terrorists were called the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion). My interpretation of the red scanner-like beams: There are two different kinds of beams. The massive straight red light beam that goes up into the heavens AND there were those smaller, thinner "scanner" beams. Aliens (or humans from the future) are scanning the whole German history. Like some real scientists are scanning and excarvating ancient Mexican or Egyptian statues, for example. The massive red light beam is the red ribbon of time that ties together all the historical events. PS: As for the dogs: Germans are fanatical dog lovers. We are a dog-owner nation. The dog is a firm part of Germany. PPS: They didn't eat the body of the woman and her inner organs, even if it really looked that way. They were eating the national dish of Germany, that was put on the body of the black woman: Sauerkraut, Kassler & sausages. In my opinion it symbolizes the church eating itself fat on the goods and values and food of Germany during the simple people (farmers, simple workers etc) lived a long time in a kind of hell of poverty and serfdom (the red fetish area below the table with Germania on it). But that eating scene could indeed have a double meaning. It could represent the 30 years war, that was fought for religious reasons and depopulated large areas of Germany. It forced the people to commit canibalism because nobody was there anymore to produce food. Except the fat, wealthy people of the church, of course. They were still able to eat enough. Only the simple people at the bottom (farmers etc) died from hunger and had to fight and die in that war. The 30 years war was the biggest catastrophe in Germany until WWI happened. PPPS: The short scene with the dogs and their gas masks = WWI, where in reality animals (messenger dogs & horses) AND soldiers were wearing gas masks, too. PPPPS: The puppies at the end are Leonberger dogs. The Leonbergers nearly went extinct during WWI and WWII. PPPPPS: The black woman in the prison was dressed in a Prussian uniform with a Prussian helmet. Till sings the famous, often misinterpreted, line of the "Deutschlandlied" (Song of the Germans), that is not forbidden in Germany but simply isn't sung anymore in our modern national anthem. Till sings in his version the line "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everybody) What is a BIG change to the real line in the orginal Deutschlandlied-song. In the original Deutschlandlied song it is written as "Deutschland über alles" (Germany above everything). The real, whole line of that old Deutschlandlied goes "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles. Über alles in der Welt" (Germany, Germany above everything. Above everything in the world). This line is often misinterpreted by many people as chauvinism and as a looking down upon all other countries on this planet. But that is wrong and not many people know about that in Germany and elsewhere. The writer of that famous line didn't meant it in a chauvinistic way. When that song was written, Germany was divided into umphteeth mini-states, what made Germany relative powerless and defenseless. Therefore the task of German unification was the goal above any other goal for all Germans (at least the writer of the song meant it that way). So the main goal for all Germans had to be the united Germany. The goal of "(united) Germany above everything else". That was, how that line was meant by the writer of the song. The line isn't forbidden, like many people wrongly think. It's simply not sung anymore and not part of the official anthem of modern Germany anymore. This has NOT its reason in the seemingly chauvinist meaning of "Deutschland über alles", like many people wrongly think. This whole stanza of the Deutschlandlied isn't sung anymore, because in other parts of the stanza are borders and landscapes mentioned, that aren't German borders and landscapes anymore. We want to live in peace with the people and countries, who are now living in those former German lands and therefore we don't sing about those old borders and landscapes anymore. It has nothing to do with the "Deutschland über alles" line in that stanza, like many people wrongly are thinking. Finally: The scenes I'm now talking about are pretty dark and low light. The WWII submarine in the submarine bunker during the astronauts are walking by with the glass coffin. I think, the choice of the black woman as main actress was made, because: a) it makes any accusations of racism and fascism against Rammstein useless b) she represents one colour of the German flag and she is wearing the rest of the colours of our German flag as makeup and jewellery and clothes on her body: Black, Red and Gold c) it provokes many people EVEN MORE
Sorry the US educational system let you guys down. The music video as actually really easy to grasp once you're given the context. Once again, sorry that yanks don't know what they don't know
Saw these guys live this summer in Oslo, their shows are insane, they have 108 semi's of gear and it takes 14 days to build their stage, seems like a lot right? Na, they have another 108 semis in next town setting up for the next show. Im pretty sure no band can match their stageperformance
my family is german so i love listening to rammstein a lot just to see their illustrations of german history and just other stuff they put in their videos
Americans who live in Germany say that German only sounds aggressive in American movies. Some of them described German as melodic when it's spoken in a calm and friendly way.
The dogs that Germania give birth to are Leonbergers, a German breed that almost went extinct during both world wars. Germania giving birth to them is symbolic of a new generation of Germans after these events.
That line that comes in the "Deutschland!," section, "Meine Liebe, kann Ich Dir nicht geben." Is basically "Germany, my love, i cannot give any more to you." Spoken throughout, but in particular by the prisoner on the gallows at the end. 🤯💔 So moving.
Good reaction! I sometimes think that what you mean by sound of the German language are the recordings from the Third Reich of Hitler and Göbels. Also, of course, the Nazis depicted in American films. In addition, Till Lindemann, who plays with this sound and the clichés. But this is not the German language as it sounds in everyday life (today). Even if you hear Till and the others from Rammstein talking - does that really sound aggressive? I am German. To me it sounds totally soft - especially in contrast to the hard video of "Ich will". This is a making of video and you can hear Rammstein also talking. ua-cam.com/video/ofBrBeYVCAA/v-deo.html
Dutch and Deutsch origin in the English language. Before The Netherland and Germany where a thing the name for the people living in the West part of Germany and the East part of The Netherlands were called the Deutsch (Dutch) They are the same thing. But when both countries came to be the English kept naming the people in The Netherlands the Dutch and they named the people in Germany the Germans. The Germans on the other hand named themself Deutschland after the people living in the west part of the country. Thats why the Pennsylvania Dutch are actually from West Germany and not The Netherlands as back then Germany was not a country yet and these people came from the European part where the Deutsch lived. Culture is a weird and complex thing to explain in a few sentences. Hope this what I typed makes any sense for you guys. XD
Er English comes more from Germanic (Indo-Germanic). Anglo-Saxon? Angles and Saxons were Germanic tribes who moved to the island from Germania during the Migration Period. They mixed with the natives and later with the Normans from Normandy France. That is why the words for food also have French origins, but the animals are not: porc and pig f.e.
if you want the complete analysis of all the events presented in the video, i would suggest a youtuber called ThreeArrows, he did an amazing breakdown of everything. If it doesn't fit in your reaction format, i would urge you to watch in your own spare time. keep up the good work, boys!
Till is and always will be an immaculate performance artist. From the music, to the lyrics to the visuals and cinematography of the videos. \m/ ❤\m/ And yes you guys were pretty spot on, the video is all about a violent montage through German history, legend/mythology and iconography.
AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord”, but it is usualy used when they don't know the last two digits, like in the dark ages...you guys had have one of the best reactions, just going with it.....and at the end your faces are like: WTF did I just watched....amazing
The Dutch are the people from the Netherlands. While they are related and, in many things, similar to the germans, they are not the same, having their own language and their own country. However, the germans call themselves deutsch and their country Deutschland in their own language, which sound a bit similar to the english word dutch.
Hi, I'm from Germany. A big part of the German history in one video. The black woman as Germania. Germania is the personification of the German nation. It isn't and wasn't a goddess or Joan of Arc. The glass coffin: It is Little Snow White from the Grimm-fairytales....and from their own video "Sonne". Only with black skin and in space. The piano song at the end is the song "Sonne", too. The line in this song "So jung und doch so alt" (So young and yet so old) means: Germany as a unified state is very young. A unified German nation is only existing from 1871 onwards. Before that year of unification Germany was made of countless, little mini-states and the people identified first and foremost as Prussians, Hessians, Saxons etc, etc, etc. and only in a second line of thought they had a lose sense of being somehow Germans, too, as a kind of unifying second identity. So the area & the landscape where the Germans are living and the Germans themselves as a people...are thousands of years old. But only recently, in 1871, there was a unified Germany as one single state. So Germany as a unified state is very young...and at the same time it is thousands of years old. The battle of the Teutoburg forest against the Romans (and Rammstein as Roman soldiers and Germans alike). That battle is of ABSOLUTE importance for the German history. The hanged bodies in the trees were the beaten Roman soldiers, who were gruesome sacrificed to the Germanic gods...and were partly nailed to the trees. The Varus-(Teutoburg)-Battle was already in 9 AD. In 16 AD were the vengeance campaigns of Emperor Germanicus. Therefore we see here the arrival of the Roman troops of Germanicus and they are watching their dead comrades hanging in the trees or getting their heads chopped off (for nailing them to the trees). In reality the Romans under Germanicus found only the bones of the Varus army in the various ways they were slaughtered, sacrificed and displayed at the trees. Slaves were liberated even decades after the battle. After the scenes with the Romans we saw the Hindenburg Zeppelin disaster (the burning Zeppelin in the background). The moustaches and clothing from the fight scene are from WWI and post WWI years. From the working class people in WWI and the roaring 20's. In the WWII years later on this kind of big bushy moustache was already out of fashion. The falling banknotes in the prison are not about corruption. That scene is about the hyper-inflation of the 1920's, that took away the savings of the Germans and left them in deep poverty and desperation. One had to pay a loaf of bread with a handcart full of nearly worthless banknotes back then and it hit the German people deep down inside and in their souls. Especially the poor ones and the simple workers. The V2 rocket (first manmade object in space) as technical triumph of the German spirit...and at the same time the killing of the concentration camp prisoners in the bunker factories below the mountains during the production of that rocket. This scene in the video could be a representation of a very specific concentration camp. It was "Mittelbau-Dora" below the Kohnstein mountain. A mixture between a big, huge bunker factory for V1 and V2 rockets and a concentration camp. The concentration camp inmates had several different markings for different kinds of convicts and their "crimes" sown to their chests, like it was in reality, too. A pink triangle for homosexuals, the star of David for Jews and two of them were marked with the double-triangles for Jehovas Whitnesses. The book burnings of the Nazis and the burning of the witches of the church. In the same scene with the book burning there is EVEN MORE going on. The cooperation of the church with the Nazis, when the priest with the cross embraces the Nazi SA-man. The scene with the sign with the Hammer and a pair of compasses in a circle of wheat is the sign of the GDR (DDR). The socialst German state in the east that existed before the German reunification. Therefore it was Karl Marx in the background in the scene with the tank (not the scene at the concentration camp). The scene with Rammstein wielding guns (the pumpgun) and taking Germania hostage was about leftwing terrorism of the 1970's. The terrorists were called the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion). My interpretation of the red scanner-like beams: There are two different kinds of beams. The massive straight red light beam that goes up into the heavens AND there were those smaller, thinner "scanner" beams. Aliens (or humans from the future) are scanning the whole German history. Like some real scientists are scanning and excarvating ancient Mexican or Egyptian statues, for example. The massive red light beam is the red ribbon of time that ties together all the historical events. PS: As for the dogs: Germans are fanatical dog lovers. We are a dog-owner nation. The dog is a firm part of Germany. PPS: They didn't eat the body of the woman and her inner organs, even if it really looked that way. They were eating the national dish of Germany, that was put on the body of the black woman: Sauerkraut, Kassler & sausages. In my opinion it symbolizes the church eating itself fat on the goods and values and food of Germany during the simple people (farmers, simple workers etc) lived a long time in a kind of hell of poverty and serfdom (the red fetish area below the table with Germania on it). But that eating scene could indeed have a double meaning. It could represent the 30 years war, that was fought for religious reasons and depopulated large areas of Germany. It forced the people to commit canibalism because nobody was there anymore to produce food. Except the fat, wealthy people of the church, of course. They were still able to eat enough. Only the simple people at the bottom (farmers etc) died from hunger and had to fight and die in that war. The 30 years war was the biggest catastrophe in Germany until WWI happened. PPPS: The short scene with the dogs and their gas masks = WWI, where in reality animals (messenger dogs & horses) AND soldiers were wearing gas masks, too. PPPPS: The puppies at the end are Leonberger dogs. The Leonbergers nearly went extinct during WWI and WWII. PPPPPS: The black woman in the prison was dressed in a Prussian uniform with a Prussian helmet. Till sings the famous, often misinterpreted, line of the "Deutschlandlied" (Song of the Germans), that is not forbidden in Germany but simply isn't sung anymore in our modern national anthem. Till sings in his version the line "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everybody) What is a BIG change to the real line in the orginal Deutschlandlied-song. In the original Deutschlandlied song it is written as "Deutschland über alles" (Germany above everything). The real, whole line of that old Deutschlandlied goes "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles. Über alles in der Welt" (Germany, Germany above everything. Above everything in the world). This line is often misinterpreted by many people as chauvinism and as a looking down upon all other countries on this planet. But that is wrong and not many people know about that in Germany and elsewhere. The writer of that famous line didn't meant it in a chauvinistic way. When that song was written, Germany was divided into umphteeth mini-states, what made Germany relative powerless and defenseless. Therefore the task of German unification was the goal above any other goal for all Germans (at least the writer of the song meant it that way). So the main goal for all Germans had to be the united Germany. The goal of "(united) Germany above everything else". That was, how that line was meant by the writer of the song. The line isn't forbidden, like many people wrongly think. It's simply not sung anymore and not part of the official anthem of modern Germany anymore. This has NOT its reason in the seemingly chauvinist meaning of "Deutschland über alles", like many people wrongly think. This whole stanza of the Deutschlandlied isn't sung anymore, because in other parts of the stanza are borders and landscapes mentioned, that aren't German borders and landscapes anymore. We want to live in peace with the people and countries, who are now living in those former German lands and therefore we don't sing about those old borders and landscapes anymore. It has nothing to do with the "Deutschland über alles" line in that stanza, like many people wrongly are thinking. Finally: The scenes I'm now talking about are pretty dark and low light. The WWII submarine in the submarine bunker during the astronauts are walking by with the glass coffin. I think, the choice of the black woman as main actress was made, because: a) it makes any accusations of racism and fascism against Rammstein useless b) she represents one colour of the German flag and she is wearing the rest of the colours of our German flag as makeup and jewellery and clothes on her body: Black, Red and Gold c) it provokes many people EVEN MORE 😄
B.C. is Before Christ. A.D. is "Anno Domini" which is Latin for "in the year of our lord". BCE is Before Common Era and the replacement for A.D. is CE for Common Era. And awesome reaction. :D
BC stands for Before Christ and AD stands for Anno Domini which means "(in) the year of our Lord" in Latin. BCE and CE are the de-Christianised versions and they mean Before Common Era and Common Era.
This video is intensely complex, and mirrors much of the complexity of being German. Are you allowed to love your country? Are you allowed to hold it accountable for the past? Tons of imagery in this, from Rammstein being astronauts and studying German history (scanning the statues with lasers) to things like the monks gorging on Germany while the citizens were starving and controlled by the Church/the rebirth of the breed of dog from extinction/the RAF and their "holding Germania hostage"... So much here to show that, "I want to love you and condemn you". (In the song, repeated in the chorus, "will dich lieben und verdammen") Definitely take the time to look into everything about this video. As an American myself, I don't do it justice to speak of the feelings of those from another country, but we have our own feelings about our country which I think can mirror this. An interesting thing about Ruby being Germania is that it was an intentional decision (which caused an uproar among those who had an issue with a black woman playing the role of personifying their country), and mirrors the colors of the German flag - she is decked in different colors associated with Germania at every point in this video.
my grandfather, who was born in Austria , told me once that the term Deutschland was a regional term , much like the counties of great Britain, wales , and England refers to the united kingdom, Germany is the country where the the surrounding areas like Austria, Luxemburg, and Liechtenstein( pre-Roman Germania) is what is Deutschland
Happy 100k I'm glad you got around to this masterpiece. As a German I can tell you, that a lot of us feel like that. We can never really be proud of our country and are pretty much embarrassed to tell people where we are from 🙈🙈🙈
Just saw them live last night. When they did this sing it was pure insanity. 👌 greatness. Love yall's reactions. Omg! Would love to see yall's reaction to Vulvodynia " A cosmic betrayal "
no one does a film clip better than Rammstein; hands down, the best. Check out the Lindemann song Ich hasse kinder and the associated short film, Till is AMAZING!
The traditional time breaks are B.C., which stands for "before Christ" and A.D., which is "anno Domini", or "the year of our lord". Dates were written in the format "XXXX B.C", and "A.D. XXXX", respectively. The new system is B.C.E. and C.E. standing for "before the common era" and "common era", in an attempt to take the religion out of the dating nomenclature, but the years remain the same.
Congratulations on 100,000 subscribers boys. Since you're doing a bunch of reviews today can you guys please do The melvins and tool song called divorced. You guys know I've been asking for this for a very long time it would be a perfect day to do it 🗑️🗣️🕓🧬
The BC / AD tag is a weird argument. The Christian calendar is the most accurate and most used calendar by scientists today. But because "science" uses it, people try and change the meaning (before Christ / anno Domini) into something more ambiguous that has no ties to a religion - now they try to call it BC(e) Before Common era - CE (common era). I had to argue with teachers about not making this change in my city college because I refused to use the modern/generalized term. Even Neil Degrass Tyson admitted, "The Christians created it, so let them have it (the name)." It's like saying Coca-Cola can't call themselves such because they still refer back to the Coca plant, so now it has to be called 'Caffeinated Consumption beverage', or some nonsense.
You got super close on the spot...thats great about rammstein...its universal language and the best media that combines text, music and visuals is film. They are not just musicians
Because of that last part, you should check out Mein Herz Brennt from the album Mutter. It is an album from the early 2000's but they made a video for that song in recent years.
Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: introducing Germania
Rammstein’s Deutschland takes us on a thrilling, violent, and moving journey through German history. At over nine minutes, it gives us a panorama of events and historical and mythical figures, and there are so many references and Easter eggs that fans and commentators will be poring over it for some time to come.
The video opens in AD 16, on the ‘barbarian’ side of the limes, the border of the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers creep through the woods in the aftermath of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. The Romans were ambushed by an alliance of Germanic Tribes, led by a chieftain called Arminius (the original Hermann the German). Three legionary standards were captured, a loss symbolic and moral, as well as physical, and decades were spent trying to recover them. Rome never again attempted to take the lands east of the River Rhine, known as Germania.
‘Germania’ refers not just to a place, somewhere partly defined by where it isn’t (Rome) as well as where it is, but also to a national figurehead, traditionally representing the German people. Germania (opens in new tab) is a strong woman, usually armour-clad and battle-ready. Various symbols appear with her, among them a breastplate with an eagle, a black, red, and gold flag, and a crown. Look out for these in the video - they come up again and again - and the colours of the contemporary flag are there in every scene.
We get our first glimpse of Germania here (played by Ruby Commey), who stands holding Till Lindemann’s severed head. Next, astronauts appear carrying a metal and glass box shaped like a coffin. In the background we see a U-boat - a German submarine, used in World Wars I and II. Then we move to a scene set at a boxing match which takes us to Weimar Germany (1918-1933), a period known for its political instability but also greater cultural liberalism. Here, Germania appears in the cabaret costume of a flapper girl, and the boxers fight with knuckle-dusters as a crowd cheers them on.
Rammstein Deutschland video still
Ruby Commey as Germania
Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: Marx, Lenin and the GDR
We see the former East Germany, complete with busts of Marx and Lenin, the national emblem of East Germany (opens in new tab), and a lookalike of the long-serving, insular, and repressive GDR leader Erich Honecker. There’s another astronaut, or rather a cosmonaut: Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space, who flew with the USSR’s space program (and who’s also a character in the 2003 film, Good Bye Lenin!). Medieval monks feast grotesquely on the supine Germania, tearing sauerkraut and sausage from Ruby Commey’s body, prison inmates are beaten by guards dressed in police and military uniforms from different historical periods.
The most obviously shocking scene references the Holocaust and the Nazi period. Four members of the band, in the striped uniforms of camp inmates, wait at the gallows, about to be hanged. They wear the cloth emblems used to identify their ‘crimes’: a pink triangle for homosexual prisoners, a yellow star for Jewish prisoners, a red and yellow star for Jewish political prisoners.
This sequence, teased in an earlier promo video, has already caused controversy. Have Rammstein the right to do this? Do they trivialise the suffering of Holocaust victims? How can they justify using Holocaust imagery to promote their new video? These are important questions that are part of a much bigger debate about the ethics of using the Holocaust in art and media.
Other scenes include the band walking away from a flaming airship, referring to the 1937 Hindenburg Disaster, in which 36 people died. Rats scuttle across the floor when the monks first appear, suggesting the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a legend with origins in the 13th century.
Germania walks towards the camera in a leather jacket, gold jewellery and a string of bullets across her chest, resembling the chariot drawn by four horses (the ‘Quadriga’) on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The band members’ heads are shown as white marble busts, taking us to the 19th century Walhalla memorial in Bavaria, built as German Hall of Fame, its sculpted heads of German worthies on display to this day.
In the prison, hundreds of banknotes fall from above, suggesting the devastating hyperinflation Germany suffered in the 1920s. Nazis burn books, intercut with religious fanatics burning witches. We recognise members of the Red Army Faction (also known as the Baader-Meinhof group), a militant organisation active in the 1970s in West Germany. And in a blink-or-you-miss-it exchange, we are reminded of the much-criticised relationship between the churches and the state during the Third Reich.
Rammstein Deutschland video still
Rammstein's Deutschland video explained: the finale
Each scene captures in a moment the icons of an era, and the video cuts between them more and more frenetically as it goes on. Events bleed into each other, linked by the presence of the band members and the red laser beam that appears throughout the video, a ‘roter Faden’ (red thread or central theme), connecting each event.
Germany engages with its history in a very particular way. Try to imagine the video about Britain, with Britannia played by Ruby Commey. What would the equivalent events be? Quite a few of the tableaux might be similar - Romans, Crusaders, monks, 18th-century soldiers, collarless shirts and bareknuckle boxing - but would it have the same impact?
There’s no affection, and perhaps not much hope: its pessimistic tone seems to be quite an off-brand message for post-1989 Germany, which wants to acknowledge its past critically, while also looking to its future as a state at the heart of Europe. And actually, while we get a lot of medieval and twentieth-century history, the video’s tour through the past seems to stop in the late 1980s, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and Reunification of East and West Germany. Instead, we jump into the future, where the space-suited band take Germania into the unknown, travelling in that coffin-shaped glass box.
There’s an echo of the video for Sonne, where Snow White is trapped in a glass coffin. In fact, a piano version of Sonne plays over the end credits of Deutschland. This is a useful link for understanding something of what Rammstein is doing here. In Sonne, where the band’s characters free themselves of Snow White (naturally, they’ve been her sex-slaves), only to realise that they have made a mistake and long for her return, the overwhelming feeling of Deutschland seems to be that when it comes to Germania (or Germany): you can’t love her, and you can’t live without her.
Wow. Thank you!
Holy hell my guy, now that's a history lesson, thank you
😘👍
Very well explained my friend, best comment on youtube right now
Very well explanation!!!! That's it!!
The song and video is very complex. As a german guy I wasn't able to really understand it the first couple of times I've listened to it. Short version: The video is a trip through german history and the lyrics describe the inner war german people have (Are we allowed to be proud of our nation? Is it wrong to feel proud because of our past? Etc.). You'll have to google the profound meaning because I honestly can't articulate that^^
National pride versus national shame is a struggle everywhere. For all the evil done there has been good. You want to love your home, but you can't overlook the mistakes. Rammstein really does the deep content very well. The song could easily apply anywhere.
As a German-American who lived in Heidelberg, Germany for three years, you're correct 🇩🇪
@@Solinari85 I feel it's so hard to be proud of your German heritage without people instantly thinking you're a Nazi. Especially when you have Jewish ancestry as well like I do.
@@kvonjaco I suppose that would be more of an issue in europe than here in the states. I love my German heritage. I had distant relatives that fought on both sides of the war. Acknowledging that something was terrible and moving past it...showing you've grown as a people...that's what should matter. Some people just refuse to grow.
Genau das , was ich sagen wollte
Just pointing out to anyone who's interested: "AD" stands for "Anno Domini" which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”, while "BC" stands for “before Christ”. The more modern/secular versions are: "BCE" before common era, and "CE" common era.
Was looking for this comment, thanks.
Personally, I prefer using BC and AD (even though I'm not religious) because that's what the starting point is based on. If we want to use BCE and CE, we should first decide on a proper starting point for the "common era".
Fun fact: In Germany we say v.Chr. and n.Chr. (vor/nach Christus) wich stands for before/after Christ
@@genosseunge7089 We do the same here in the Netherlands (vor/nach would be voor/na in Dutch), though v.C. / n.C. are more common. AD is also occasionally used, but it's usually written in front of the year instead of behind it.
Fun Fact: There is no year 0. If you want to count It goes 3 BC, 2 BC, 1 BC, 1 AD, 2 AD...
We also don't really know in which year Jesus was born.
Happy 100k! This song is awesome and shows German history, and the band express how they want to love their country but find it difficult because of what's happened throughout the years.
One of best videos all times and best Rammstein song ever!!! Masterpiece ❤
Absolutely incredible song!! As a person with Germany heritage, and a lover of history, this song (and especially the video) was 'music' to my ears and eyes!!
Yes, what you are witnessing is a historical timeline of Germany's more 'turbulent' past.
The black woman (Ruby Commey) represents Germania, personification of Germany, which is why she's in every scene - and of special note, she is black, and is regularly adorned with yellow (gold) & red (sash, lipstick, etc.) - which are the colours of the German flag (black/red/yellow). Only time it changes was during the Weimar Republic scenes where the yellow was white - and she's then seen wearing white!
The production value on this was indeed feature film level! Can't say how many times I watched this video on release!
Lyrics deal with the sense of shame the German people have of showing/expressing national pride because of all the bad that has occurred over history. They want to be proud, they want to love their country, yet they hate what that pride has led to in the past - the brutality, the wars. Rammstein members are mostly from former East Germany, so there are scenes specific to the 'communist' side of the nation, before unification.
I am glad Rammstein made this song & video! I for one will proudly scream Deutschland!
You are so right. But the colours of the german flag are really black, red and gold (not yellow) ;-)
*black/red/gold
Dutch are people from the Netherlands/Holland. Deutsch/Deutschland is German/Germany. And I think the phrase he’s using “Deustchland Uber Alles” or something like that means Germany over everything (or something like that)and they used it a lot inWWII. Just what I’m picking up being a history nerd. Beautiful song. Rammstein always leaves an impact.
German here. "Deutschland über alles" was a phrase in our national anthem even before the Nazis but of course the Nazis used it too. Today this part of our anthem is forbidden which is why him saying that is very provokativ and of course refers to the ultranationalistic Nazi time
@@dr.livesey7595 thank you for clarifying!
In the song he actually says "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everyone, rather than Germany above all). I guess its slightly less directly provocative.
ALSO the word 'Dutch' was used in English to describe all Germanic people in central Europe (The Dutch also being a Germanic peoples), before Germany was a unified country. For some reason the word stuck with people specifically from the Netherlands, possibly because the Dutch were closest to the UK of the Germanic people and were a seafaring and trading nation so were often in the UK. So yeah the Word Dutch and Deutsch are the same word originally.
@@SavageIntent makes sense. Thank you!
@@dr.livesey7595 It isn't forbidden to sing that part of the anthem. It just isn't part of the anthem anymore.
the woman reprents Germania, the embodiment of Germany, the astronauts the people of the future who will judge the past. For me the piano verion of "Sonne" expresses sadness but also hope during the credits, and it's calming after the scenes before.
Also Sonne if I remember the video shows a dark version of snow white and the seven dwarf where she gives them hugs and fake love in exchange for the all the gold and diamond they work hard to extract from the mine. Kinda similar to what it's happening in this video with the characters and Germania. They're destroying themselves because they love her too much something like that.
BC means “before christ” while AD is actually Anno Domini which latin for “in the year of our lord” not “after death” which is why the year of Jesus’ death is commonly listed as 33AD.
An epic journey through Germany's history..
Every scene has it's own symbolism
I love the whole project
Thank you
The piano version of Sonne that played in the credits is from their album "Klavier".
one of their best songs, so much meaning into the lyrics
The whole band acts in every video with the exception of the video for the song Mutter. They do everything as a unit. This video for Deutchland is a visual masterpiece. The song is also powerful and represents the love hate relationship they have with their country due to its history.
The german language is not aggressive, just in American movies 😂😂 great reaction again 👍🏻
im so glad to be alive at a time when everything is so interconnected, there are so many foreign language bands out there that just kick ass (like maximum the hormone, rammstein, iluveitie etc.) at no other point in history could you hear all of the different cultures' music or even be aware of them.
Can we all give Hollywood and Smokey a shout out for the 5 videos today!!! 2 a day is hard enough but 5, we all appreciate all the hard work you guys do.
I'm not German, but really seeing the superb production of this video, the historical load it has as well as the magnificent song that in itself is Deutschland really made me cry
Thank u so much, guys, for reacting to one of my all-time favorite song/video!!!! Thumbs up and greetz from Germany! ;-)
The piano 🎹 version of Sonne ☀️ in the end is just beautiful ❤️
I love it when you guys drop a reaction to a banger I assume you've already done. Deutschland, song and video, is perfection. Love it.
Was all snippets of German History in the video. Every Rammstein video is epic and they have the best live show without a doubt.
All of the members are fantastic actors
You guys did this video very respectfully, and watching this video makes me proud of my German heritage. I really enjoy your videos!
Morning guys! Great choice! Awesome video! I know some of the German history but still A bit confusing until reading some of the comments though. But a really great song! Good choice guys!🤓❤️
It's like they basically gave us a crash course of Germany's history...from the Teutoborg Forest to the Roaring twenties, under Hitler, Cold War .... But a kick ass song to guide
For me as a german that video and song is an emotional trip.
Right words....it's surely like a movie!I've seen them live in July here in Italy....absolutely fantastic!they deserve a visit to their concert once in life....great job boys!greetings from Italy
Definitely one of their masterpieces. You should watch the video a few times and check out the lyrics to dig deep in context. Also, congrats on 100k!
The video is depicting important stations of German history. The lyrics is more the inner conflict every German has with patriotism.
Deutschland! Mein Herz in Flammen --> Germany! My heart in flames
Will dich lieben und verdammen --> Want to love you and condemn you
Deutschland! Dein Atem kalt --> Germany! Your breath so cold
So jung und doch so alt --> So young and yet so old
Deutschland! Deine Liebe ist Fluch und Segen --> Your love is a blessing and a curse
Deutschland! Meine Liebe kann ich dir nicht geben --> Germany! I can´t give you my love.
Been a fan of rammstien since early 90s, they always kill it. My boys.
Have seen these live so many times but when they sang this it was insane. Excellent reaction guys. All the best from England
Just saw them live…omg, INCREDIBLE!!! The absolute best 🤘❤️❤️🔥
I just saw them live too for the first time in Philly a couple weeks ago! By far the best live show I’ve seen! 🤘🏻
@@brallin94 … an experience I’ll never forget!
Guys I kindly envy you) Wish my country doesn't have a war & so I can see this amazing band live!
Peace from Ukraine🤘🇺🇦
Saw them in Minneapolis last month....best live show ever!!!!
This video is like the cliff notes for a quick version of Germanic history from the beginning to the future!
Also Ruby, the black girl, is Germania. She is the embodiment of the german people through the ages. Easy to miss in the credits.
@@Lifter999 oh yeah I absolutely agree, the black female definitely represents the embodiment of Germany, even when she was laying on the table and Rammstein was eating food from her body, it's like they're saying Germany gives them life and there's several scenes where she/Germany saved them. Even when they were in the prison getting trash and rubbish thrown on then it represented the great depressions impact on Germany, even though the Great Depressions started here in America when the stock market crashed. It affected every country in the world I could tell you exactly what time period in Germany every scene was supposed to represent, but it'd be practically a thesis, but again you're definitely right, I seen a interview with Rammstein and Teil talking about the video, also how they almost got in trouble for the Nazi death camp scene where they hung certain members of the band.
This song is about the love/hate relationship that most Germans feel about their country.
The piano bit at the end is from their song Sonne.
This video I believe has tons of references to German history and events that happened through their history. Rammstein always have such powerful and epic video with deep rooted meanings but this song is 🔥🔥🔥
RADIO… is another epic song and video
You guys should check it out sometime
"What's going on?" - History.
This video was NUTS lol! Links 1 2 3 is another great song/video by these guys, yall would love it if ya haven't already seen it before fellas, good day to ya both!
The best comes last...the piano music in the credits is so soulful !
Just experienced Rammstein in San Antonio, which was the third time seeing them. Before and after I do concur they are the best live band for me. This is coming from a major Tool and Ghost fan which rounds out the top three. This channel needs some Godflesh reviews!
100K Congratulations!!
There is a version of the video with English subtitles yall should check out for context. It's a representation of a love hate relationship with your country. One of the verses is literally Germany I want so to love you and to Damn you. Smoke is right on the money. If you doing more Rammstein Zite is new and a beautiful song and video
Before Christ and Anno Domini (The Year of our Lord) is your Latin lesson for the day also lol
Rammstein is playing a classic "Industrial Metal" style. A 50-50 mix of synthesizers and hard metal guitars.
A big part of the German history in one video. The black woman as Germania. Germania is the personification of the German nation. It isn't and wasn't a goddess or Joan of Arc.
The glass coffin: It is Little Snow White from the Grimm-fairytales....and from their own video "Sonne". Only with black skin and in space.
The piano song at the end is the song "Sonne", too.
The line in this song "So jung und doch so alt" (So young and yet so old) means:
Germany as a unified state is very young. A unified German nation is only existing from 1871 onwards. Before that year of unification Germany was made of countless, little mini-states and the people identified first and foremost as Prussians, Hessians, Saxons etc, etc, etc. and only in a second line of thought they had a lose sense of being somehow Germans, too, as a kind of unifying second identity.
So the area & the landscape where the Germans are living and the Germans themselves as a people...are thousands of years old. But only recently, in 1871, there was a unified Germany as one single state.
So Germany as a unified state is very young...and at the same time it is thousands of years old.
The battle of the Teutoburg forest against the Romans (and Rammstein as Roman soldiers and Germans alike).
That battle is of ABSOLUTE importance for the German history.
The hanged bodies in the trees were the beaten Roman soldiers, who were gruesome sacrificed to the Germanic gods...and were partly nailed to the trees.
The Varus-(Teutoburg)-Battle was already in 9 AD. In 16 AD were the vengeance campaigns of Emperor Germanicus. Therefore we see here the arrival of the Roman troops of Germanicus and they are watching their dead comrades hanging in the trees or getting their heads chopped off (for nailing them to the trees).
In reality the Romans under Germanicus found only the bones of the Varus army in the various ways they were slaughtered, sacrificed and displayed at the trees. Slaves were liberated even decades after the battle.
After the scenes with the Romans we saw the Hindenburg Zeppelin disaster (the burning Zeppelin in the background).
The moustaches and clothing from the fight scene are from WWI and post WWI years. From the working class people in WWI and the roaring 20's. In the WWII years later on this kind of big bushy moustache was already out of fashion.
The falling banknotes in the prison are not about corruption. That scene is about the hyper-inflation of the 1920's, that took away the savings of the Germans and left them in deep poverty and desperation.
One had to pay a loaf of bread with a handcart full of nearly worthless banknotes back then and it hit the German people deep down inside and in their souls. Especially the poor ones and the simple workers.
The V2 rocket (first manmade object in space) as technical triumph of the German spirit...and at the same time the killing of the concentration camp prisoners in the bunker factories below the mountains during the production of that rocket.
This scene in the video could be a representation of a very specific concentration camp. It was "Mittelbau-Dora" below the Kohnstein mountain.
A mixture between a big, huge bunker factory for V1 and V2 rockets and a concentration camp.
The concentration camp inmates had several different markings for different kinds of convicts and their "crimes" sown to their chests, like it was in reality, too. A pink triangle for homosexuals, the star of David for Jews and two of them were marked with the double-triangles for Jehovas Whitnesses.
The book burnings of the Nazis and the burning of the witches of the church. In the same scene with the book burning there is EVEN MORE going on. The cooperation of the church with the Nazis, when the priest with the cross embraces the Nazi SA-man.
The scene with the sign with the Hammer and a pair of compasses in a circle of wheat is the sign of the GDR (DDR). The socialst German state in the east that existed before the German reunification.
Therefore it was Karl Marx in the background in the scene with the tank (not the scene at the concentration camp).
The scene with Rammstein wielding guns (the pumpgun) and taking Germania hostage was about leftwing terrorism of the 1970's. The terrorists were called the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion).
My interpretation of the red scanner-like beams: There are two different kinds of beams. The massive straight red light beam that goes up into the heavens AND there were those smaller, thinner "scanner" beams.
Aliens (or humans from the future) are scanning the whole German history. Like some real scientists are scanning and excarvating ancient Mexican or Egyptian statues, for example.
The massive red light beam is the red ribbon of time that ties together all the historical events.
PS: As for the dogs: Germans are fanatical dog lovers. We are a dog-owner nation. The dog is a firm part of Germany.
PPS: They didn't eat the body of the woman and her inner organs, even if it really looked that way. They were eating the national dish of Germany, that was put on the body of the black woman: Sauerkraut, Kassler & sausages.
In my opinion it symbolizes the church eating itself fat on the goods and values and food of Germany during the simple people (farmers, simple workers etc) lived a long time in a kind of hell of poverty and serfdom (the red fetish area below the table with Germania on it).
But that eating scene could indeed have a double meaning. It could represent the 30 years war, that was fought for religious reasons and depopulated large areas of Germany. It forced the people to commit canibalism because nobody was there anymore to produce food. Except the fat, wealthy people of the church, of course. They were still able to eat enough. Only the simple people at the bottom (farmers etc) died from hunger and had to fight and die in that war.
The 30 years war was the biggest catastrophe in Germany until WWI happened.
PPPS: The short scene with the dogs and their gas masks = WWI, where in reality animals (messenger dogs & horses) AND soldiers were wearing gas masks, too.
PPPPS: The puppies at the end are Leonberger dogs. The Leonbergers nearly went extinct during WWI and WWII.
PPPPPS: The black woman in the prison was dressed in a Prussian uniform with a Prussian helmet.
Till sings the famous, often misinterpreted, line of the "Deutschlandlied" (Song of the Germans), that is not forbidden in Germany but simply isn't sung anymore in our modern national anthem.
Till sings in his version the line "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everybody) What is a BIG change to the real line in the orginal Deutschlandlied-song. In the original Deutschlandlied song it is written as "Deutschland über alles" (Germany above everything).
The real, whole line of that old Deutschlandlied goes "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles. Über alles in der Welt" (Germany, Germany above everything. Above everything in the world).
This line is often misinterpreted by many people as chauvinism and as a looking down upon all other countries on this planet. But that is wrong and not many people know about that in Germany and elsewhere.
The writer of that famous line didn't meant it in a chauvinistic way.
When that song was written, Germany was divided into umphteeth mini-states, what made Germany relative powerless and defenseless. Therefore the task of German unification was the goal above any other goal for all Germans (at least the writer of the song meant it that way).
So the main goal for all Germans had to be the united Germany. The goal of "(united) Germany above everything else".
That was, how that line was meant by the writer of the song.
The line isn't forbidden, like many people wrongly think. It's simply not sung anymore and not part of the official anthem of modern Germany anymore.
This has NOT its reason in the seemingly chauvinist meaning of "Deutschland über alles", like many people wrongly think. This whole stanza of the Deutschlandlied isn't sung anymore, because in other parts of the stanza are borders and landscapes mentioned, that aren't German borders and landscapes anymore.
We want to live in peace with the people and countries, who are now living in those former German lands and therefore we don't sing about those old borders and landscapes anymore.
It has nothing to do with the "Deutschland über alles" line in that stanza, like many people wrongly are thinking.
Finally:
The scenes I'm now talking about are pretty dark and low light. The WWII submarine in the submarine bunker during the astronauts are walking by with the glass coffin.
I think, the choice of the black woman as main actress was made, because:
a) it makes any accusations of racism and fascism against Rammstein useless
b) she represents one colour of the German flag and she is wearing the rest of the colours of our German flag as makeup and jewellery and clothes on her body: Black, Red and Gold
c) it provokes many people EVEN MORE
Germania represents the german spirit is eaten by the romanian church, so true
As a German dude I absolutely love this band. Thanks for reacting to this.
I got to say I love the look on Smokeys face when he just can't comprehend WTF is going on. Gets me every time.
This song needs to be in a movie
Dutch people are from the Netherlands
Deutsch and Dutch derive from an high german ancient word for "people" "of the people"
Gosh I love Rammstein! You all gotta get to Rammlied.
Sorry the US educational system let you guys down. The music video as actually really easy to grasp once you're given the context. Once again, sorry that yanks don't know what they don't know
I can't believe today is here. And tooooo daaaaaay. I'm going to see Rammstein in San Antonio. Happy 100k fellas.
I grew up in Minnesota...been living in Germany for the past 16 years...I speak it fluent!
Saw these guys live this summer in Oslo, their shows are insane, they have 108 semi's of gear and it takes 14 days to build their stage, seems like a lot right? Na, they have another 108 semis in next town setting up for the next show. Im pretty sure no band can match their stageperformance
The piano part is taken from the song "Sonne"
my family is german so i love listening to rammstein a lot just to see their illustrations of german history and just other stuff they put in their videos
Americans who live in Germany say that German only sounds aggressive in American movies. Some of them described German as melodic when it's spoken in a calm and friendly way.
Germany sound very beatiful
The dogs that Germania give birth to are Leonbergers, a German breed that almost went extinct during both world wars. Germania giving birth to them is symbolic of a new generation of Germans after these events.
they are fantastic dogs love it
A.D. stands for Anno Domini, Year of our Lord in Latin.
That line that comes in the "Deutschland!," section, "Meine Liebe, kann Ich Dir nicht geben." Is basically "Germany, my love, i cannot give any more to you." Spoken throughout, but in particular by the prisoner on the gallows at the end. 🤯💔 So moving.
Good reaction!
I sometimes think that what you mean by sound of the German language are the recordings from the Third Reich of Hitler and Göbels. Also, of course, the Nazis depicted in American films. In addition, Till Lindemann, who plays with this sound and the clichés. But this is not the German language as it sounds in everyday life (today).
Even if you hear Till and the others from Rammstein talking - does that really sound aggressive? I am German. To me it sounds totally soft - especially in contrast to the hard video of "Ich will". This is a making of video and you can hear Rammstein also talking.
ua-cam.com/video/ofBrBeYVCAA/v-deo.html
The AD in the dates means "ANNO DOMINNI" which translates to "Year of the Lord"... From when "we" (christians) start to count time.
Dutch and Deutsch origin in the English language.
Before The Netherland and Germany where a thing the name for the people living in the West part of Germany and the East part of The Netherlands were called the Deutsch (Dutch) They are the same thing.
But when both countries came to be the English kept naming the people in The Netherlands the Dutch and they named the people in Germany the Germans. The Germans on the other hand named themself Deutschland after the people living in the west part of the country.
Thats why the Pennsylvania Dutch are actually from West Germany and not The Netherlands as back then Germany was not a country yet and these people came from the European part where the Deutsch lived.
Culture is a weird and complex thing to explain in a few sentences. Hope this what I typed makes any sense for you guys. XD
Er English comes more from Germanic (Indo-Germanic). Anglo-Saxon? Angles and Saxons were Germanic tribes who moved to the island from Germania during the Migration Period. They mixed with the natives and later with the Normans from Normandy France. That is why the words for food also have French origins, but the animals are not: porc and pig f.e.
if you want the complete analysis of all the events presented in the video, i would suggest a youtuber called ThreeArrows, he did an amazing breakdown of everything. If it doesn't fit in your reaction format, i would urge you to watch in your own spare time. keep up the good work, boys!
I've seen that video, and indeed, it was a perfect analysis of the video and lyrics!
Till is and always will be an immaculate performance artist. From the music, to the lyrics to the visuals and cinematography of the videos.
\m/ ❤\m/
And yes you guys were pretty spot on, the video is all about a violent montage through German history, legend/mythology and iconography.
Dutch are The Netherlands 🇳🇱 and German are Deutschland 🇩🇪 RAMMSTEIN for ever ! Just love them ❤❤❤
BCE: Before Common Era
ACE: After Common Era
The song is addressing the bloody history of Germany becoming the Germany of today.
The piano part is piano rendition of their classic song Sonne (sun)
Congrats on the 100k!
this vids gonna blow up
AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord”, but it is usualy used when they don't know the last two digits, like in the dark ages...you guys had have one of the best reactions, just going with it.....and at the end your faces are like: WTF did I just watched....amazing
The Dutch are the people from the Netherlands. While they are related and, in many things, similar to the germans, they are not the same, having their own language and their own country. However, the germans call themselves deutsch and their country Deutschland in their own language, which sound a bit similar to the english word dutch.
The music for the credits is the melody from another Rammstein track, Sonne (Sun), also another epic video.
congrats on the 100k! heres to the next 500!
Devildriver - The Mountain or Revelation Machine
Unearth - Endless
The ending is a piano version of their song Sonne. Beautiful
Hi, I'm from Germany.
A big part of the German history in one video. The black woman as Germania. Germania is the personification of the German nation. It isn't and wasn't a goddess or Joan of Arc.
The glass coffin: It is Little Snow White from the Grimm-fairytales....and from their own video "Sonne". Only with black skin and in space.
The piano song at the end is the song "Sonne", too.
The line in this song "So jung und doch so alt" (So young and yet so old) means:
Germany as a unified state is very young. A unified German nation is only existing from 1871 onwards. Before that year of unification Germany was made of countless, little mini-states and the people identified first and foremost as Prussians, Hessians, Saxons etc, etc, etc. and only in a second line of thought they had a lose sense of being somehow Germans, too, as a kind of unifying second identity.
So the area & the landscape where the Germans are living and the Germans themselves as a people...are thousands of years old. But only recently, in 1871, there was a unified Germany as one single state.
So Germany as a unified state is very young...and at the same time it is thousands of years old.
The battle of the Teutoburg forest against the Romans (and Rammstein as Roman soldiers and Germans alike).
That battle is of ABSOLUTE importance for the German history.
The hanged bodies in the trees were the beaten Roman soldiers, who were gruesome sacrificed to the Germanic gods...and were partly nailed to the trees.
The Varus-(Teutoburg)-Battle was already in 9 AD. In 16 AD were the vengeance campaigns of Emperor Germanicus. Therefore we see here the arrival of the Roman troops of Germanicus and they are watching their dead comrades hanging in the trees or getting their heads chopped off (for nailing them to the trees).
In reality the Romans under Germanicus found only the bones of the Varus army in the various ways they were slaughtered, sacrificed and displayed at the trees. Slaves were liberated even decades after the battle.
After the scenes with the Romans we saw the Hindenburg Zeppelin disaster (the burning Zeppelin in the background).
The moustaches and clothing from the fight scene are from WWI and post WWI years. From the working class people in WWI and the roaring 20's. In the WWII years later on this kind of big bushy moustache was already out of fashion.
The falling banknotes in the prison are not about corruption. That scene is about the hyper-inflation of the 1920's, that took away the savings of the Germans and left them in deep poverty and desperation.
One had to pay a loaf of bread with a handcart full of nearly worthless banknotes back then and it hit the German people deep down inside and in their souls. Especially the poor ones and the simple workers.
The V2 rocket (first manmade object in space) as technical triumph of the German spirit...and at the same time the killing of the concentration camp prisoners in the bunker factories below the mountains during the production of that rocket.
This scene in the video could be a representation of a very specific concentration camp. It was "Mittelbau-Dora" below the Kohnstein mountain.
A mixture between a big, huge bunker factory for V1 and V2 rockets and a concentration camp.
The concentration camp inmates had several different markings for different kinds of convicts and their "crimes" sown to their chests, like it was in reality, too. A pink triangle for homosexuals, the star of David for Jews and two of them were marked with the double-triangles for Jehovas Whitnesses.
The book burnings of the Nazis and the burning of the witches of the church. In the same scene with the book burning there is EVEN MORE going on. The cooperation of the church with the Nazis, when the priest with the cross embraces the Nazi SA-man.
The scene with the sign with the Hammer and a pair of compasses in a circle of wheat is the sign of the GDR (DDR). The socialst German state in the east that existed before the German reunification.
Therefore it was Karl Marx in the background in the scene with the tank (not the scene at the concentration camp).
The scene with Rammstein wielding guns (the pumpgun) and taking Germania hostage was about leftwing terrorism of the 1970's. The terrorists were called the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion).
My interpretation of the red scanner-like beams: There are two different kinds of beams. The massive straight red light beam that goes up into the heavens AND there were those smaller, thinner "scanner" beams.
Aliens (or humans from the future) are scanning the whole German history. Like some real scientists are scanning and excarvating ancient Mexican or Egyptian statues, for example.
The massive red light beam is the red ribbon of time that ties together all the historical events.
PS: As for the dogs: Germans are fanatical dog lovers. We are a dog-owner nation. The dog is a firm part of Germany.
PPS: They didn't eat the body of the woman and her inner organs, even if it really looked that way. They were eating the national dish of Germany, that was put on the body of the black woman: Sauerkraut, Kassler & sausages.
In my opinion it symbolizes the church eating itself fat on the goods and values and food of Germany during the simple people (farmers, simple workers etc) lived a long time in a kind of hell of poverty and serfdom (the red fetish area below the table with Germania on it).
But that eating scene could indeed have a double meaning. It could represent the 30 years war, that was fought for religious reasons and depopulated large areas of Germany. It forced the people to commit canibalism because nobody was there anymore to produce food. Except the fat, wealthy people of the church, of course. They were still able to eat enough. Only the simple people at the bottom (farmers etc) died from hunger and had to fight and die in that war.
The 30 years war was the biggest catastrophe in Germany until WWI happened.
PPPS: The short scene with the dogs and their gas masks = WWI, where in reality animals (messenger dogs & horses) AND soldiers were wearing gas masks, too.
PPPPS: The puppies at the end are Leonberger dogs. The Leonbergers nearly went extinct during WWI and WWII.
PPPPPS: The black woman in the prison was dressed in a Prussian uniform with a Prussian helmet.
Till sings the famous, often misinterpreted, line of the "Deutschlandlied" (Song of the Germans), that is not forbidden in Germany but simply isn't sung anymore in our modern national anthem.
Till sings in his version the line "Deutschland über allen" (Germany above everybody) What is a BIG change to the real line in the orginal Deutschlandlied-song. In the original Deutschlandlied song it is written as "Deutschland über alles" (Germany above everything).
The real, whole line of that old Deutschlandlied goes "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles. Über alles in der Welt" (Germany, Germany above everything. Above everything in the world).
This line is often misinterpreted by many people as chauvinism and as a looking down upon all other countries on this planet. But that is wrong and not many people know about that in Germany and elsewhere.
The writer of that famous line didn't meant it in a chauvinistic way.
When that song was written, Germany was divided into umphteeth mini-states, what made Germany relative powerless and defenseless. Therefore the task of German unification was the goal above any other goal for all Germans (at least the writer of the song meant it that way).
So the main goal for all Germans had to be the united Germany. The goal of "(united) Germany above everything else".
That was, how that line was meant by the writer of the song.
The line isn't forbidden, like many people wrongly think. It's simply not sung anymore and not part of the official anthem of modern Germany anymore.
This has NOT its reason in the seemingly chauvinist meaning of "Deutschland über alles", like many people wrongly think. This whole stanza of the Deutschlandlied isn't sung anymore, because in other parts of the stanza are borders and landscapes mentioned, that aren't German borders and landscapes anymore.
We want to live in peace with the people and countries, who are now living in those former German lands and therefore we don't sing about those old borders and landscapes anymore.
It has nothing to do with the "Deutschland über alles" line in that stanza, like many people wrongly are thinking.
Finally:
The scenes I'm now talking about are pretty dark and low light. The WWII submarine in the submarine bunker during the astronauts are walking by with the glass coffin.
I think, the choice of the black woman as main actress was made, because:
a) it makes any accusations of racism and fascism against Rammstein useless
b) she represents one colour of the German flag and she is wearing the rest of the colours of our German flag as makeup and jewellery and clothes on her body: Black, Red and Gold
c) it provokes many people EVEN MORE 😄
Thank you
B.C. is Before Christ. A.D. is "Anno Domini" which is Latin for "in the year of our lord".
BCE is Before Common Era and the replacement for A.D. is CE for Common Era.
And awesome reaction. :D
Textbook example of us american education 😂😂😂😂Deutschland is Germany, Dutch is NETHERLANDS 😂😂Dudes YOU really crack me up, go back to school
You Guys are great.
The Netherlands and Germany are neighbours
They do the best combination of techno and heavy metal.
BC stands for Before Christ and AD stands for Anno Domini which means "(in) the year of our Lord" in Latin.
BCE and CE are the de-Christianised versions and they mean Before Common Era and Common Era.
This song and video is a masterpiece, like every song and video is from this band 🙌🏼🇳🇴
This video is intensely complex, and mirrors much of the complexity of being German. Are you allowed to love your country? Are you allowed to hold it accountable for the past?
Tons of imagery in this, from Rammstein being astronauts and studying German history (scanning the statues with lasers) to things like the monks gorging on Germany while the citizens were starving and controlled by the Church/the rebirth of the breed of dog from extinction/the RAF and their "holding Germania hostage"...
So much here to show that, "I want to love you and condemn you". (In the song, repeated in the chorus, "will dich lieben und verdammen")
Definitely take the time to look into everything about this video. As an American myself, I don't do it justice to speak of the feelings of those from another country, but we have our own feelings about our country which I think can mirror this.
An interesting thing about Ruby being Germania is that it was an intentional decision (which caused an uproar among those who had an issue with a black woman playing the role of personifying their country), and mirrors the colors of the German flag - she is decked in different colors associated with Germania at every point in this video.
my grandfather, who was born in Austria , told me once that the term Deutschland was a regional term , much like the counties of great Britain, wales , and England refers to the united kingdom, Germany is the country where the the surrounding areas like Austria, Luxemburg, and Liechtenstein( pre-Roman Germania) is what is Deutschland
A.D. stands for Anno Domine, i.e. 'In the year of Our Lord'. Not 'after death'.
Happy 100k
I'm glad you got around to this masterpiece. As a German I can tell you, that a lot of us feel like that. We can never really be proud of our country and are pretty much embarrassed to tell people where we are from 🙈🙈🙈
@ Lilly VanPug be proud of your nation we all have a dark past and look how far your country has come
Never be embarrassed of it! Be proud.
Deutschland means Germany. It's just like what the Japanese call Japan, Nihon or Nippon
Note how the eyepatch moves from right (@10:47) to left (@11:00). Very subtle yet important symbolism in German history.
Just saw them live last night. When they did this sing it was pure insanity. 👌 greatness. Love yall's reactions. Omg! Would love to see yall's reaction to Vulvodynia " A cosmic betrayal "
no one does a film clip better than Rammstein; hands down, the best. Check out the Lindemann song Ich hasse kinder and the associated short film, Till is AMAZING!
one of the best songs I've ever heard!!!
The traditional time breaks are B.C., which stands for "before Christ" and A.D., which is "anno Domini", or "the year of our lord". Dates were written in the format "XXXX B.C", and "A.D. XXXX", respectively. The new system is B.C.E. and C.E. standing for "before the common era" and "common era", in an attempt to take the religion out of the dating nomenclature, but the years remain the same.
OH GOTH ... Big react today ^^
Congratulations on 100,000 subscribers boys. Since you're doing a bunch of reviews today can you guys please do The melvins and tool song called divorced. You guys know I've been asking for this for a very long time it would be a perfect day to do it 🗑️🗣️🕓🧬
Saw them live in Minneapolis and it was fucking crazy. Amazing showmen
The BC / AD tag is a weird argument. The Christian calendar is the most accurate and most used calendar by scientists today. But because "science" uses it, people try and change the meaning (before Christ / anno Domini) into something more ambiguous that has no ties to a religion - now they try to call it BC(e) Before Common era - CE (common era). I had to argue with teachers about not making this change in my city college because I refused to use the modern/generalized term. Even Neil Degrass Tyson admitted, "The Christians created it, so let them have it (the name)." It's like saying Coca-Cola can't call themselves such because they still refer back to the Coca plant, so now it has to be called 'Caffeinated Consumption beverage', or some nonsense.
You got super close on the spot...thats great about rammstein...its universal language and the best media that combines text, music and visuals is film. They are not just musicians
Because of that last part, you should check out Mein Herz Brennt from the album Mutter.
It is an album from the early 2000's but they made a video for that song in recent years.
Anno Domini-The year of our Lord