Wenn die soldaten

The history of the names of the authors of the song has not been preserved, but its history can be traced back to the mid- 19th century . By 1880, it was already widespread in southern Germany.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the song gained national fame.

A German postcard sent from the front in 1916 has survived. The card is called: "Wenn die Soldaten durch die Stadt marschieren." The song’s lyrics were printed on the back, with a soldier's note that he didn’t meet too many girls at the front ...

In 1931, the movie "Wenn die Soldaten ..." was released in Germany . ^[1] During the existence of the Third Reich, along with many other military songs, it was repeatedly re-chanted by a wide variety of performers. However, there is no Nazi ideology in the lyrics.

Performed by Marlene Dietrich, the article “ die ” is omitted in the 4th line of the 1st verse, in the 1st line of the 3rd verse “ ein Gläschen ” instead of “ eine Flasche ”, in the 3rd line of 3rd verse instead of “ schenken ”“ Geben ”is sung,“ wenn ”again sounds in the first line of the 5th verse instead of“ kommen ”, and in the second - the word“ wieder ”is replaced by“ kehren ”. Then instead of “ ihre ” sounds “ unsere ”.

As a folk song with a long history, the song has been performed by various artists more than once. The most famous performance of this song is Marlene Dietrich . In Nazi Germany, the song was repeatedly recorded by various performers and choirs.

In Russia, the song was performed by the Megapolis band. This song sounds in DMB-002 in the novel "Indian Infection."

In the German Democratic Republic there was an anti-war version of this song performed by Ernst Bush with the words: “When soldiers walk around the city, they bring death and misfortune.” ^[2]

• Wenn die Soldaten durch die Stadt marschieren (German)
• "Wenn die Soldaten ..." (Russian)