Das "Weberlied" (Song of the Weavers) or "Die schlesischen Weber" (The Silesian Weavers) is a political poem written by Heinrich Heine in 1844:
As such, it falls under the category of "Vormärz" (pre-March) songs, meaning the period between the end of the Napoleonic wars followed by the Vienna congress in 1815
and the German revolution beginning in March 1848. Heine (1797-1856) was one of Germany's most prolific poets, writers, and journalists, a witty critic and satirist.
This song deals with the big social questions of the time, the beginning of industrialisation and the working conditions that came with it.
In the real world, weavers in a part of the Prussian province of Silesia (nowadays part of Poland) had revolted in June of 1844: Still suffering from many semi-feudal laws, they were protesting against the conditions set by their suppliers and commissioners,
as the recent years had seen a continued decline of the craft beyond the growing factories. The weavers had been increasingly confronted with pay cuts, forcing them to work longer and harder while still living in poverty. The protesters demanded better pay and working conditions.
In the end, the protests were not very spectacular, but they received a lot of attention and made many people aware of the dawn of industrialisation and the changes and problems going with it. It also was seen in a wider national context since many people in general
felt left behind by politics, something they thought would be different in a real German nation state, which didn't exist back then.
The Prussian king at that time, Friedrich Wilhelm IV., also engaged in censorship methods, which obviously didn't make things better.
As opposed to many pieces of industrial criticsm at the time, the poem doesn't focus on factories and working conditions, but instead addresses authority directly.
The Weberlied was published in the newspaper "Vorwärts!" in Jule 1844 - the newspaper's most influential figure was Karl Marx himself.
Due to its strong political statements, the poem quickly got censored, and reciting it in public would lead to arrests.
Disclaimer: All videos are apolitical and this channel is against any form of extremism or hatespeech!
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Im düsteren Auge keine Träne,
Sie sitzen am Webstuhl und fletschen die Zähne:
"Deutschland, wir weben dein Leichentuch;
Wir weben hinein den dreifachen Fluch -
Wir weben, wir weben!
Ein Fluch dem Gotte zu dem wir gebeten
In Winterskälte und Hungersnöten;
Wir haben vergebens gehofft und geharrt:
Man hat uns geäfft, gefoppt und genarrt -
Wir weben, wir weben!
Ein Fluch dem König, dem König der Reichen,
Den unser Elend nicht konnte erweichen,
Der den letzten Groschen von uns erpresst
Und uns wie Hunde erschießen lässt -
Wir weben, wir weben!
Ein Fluch dem falschen Vaterlande,
Wo nur gedeihen Schmach und Schande,
Wo jede Blume früh geknickt,
wo Fäulnis und Moder den Wurm erquickt -
Wir weben, wir weben!
Das Schiffchen fliegt, der Webstuhl kracht;
Wir weben emsig Tag und Nacht -
Altdeutschland, wir weben dein Leichentuch;
Wir weben hinein den dreifachen Fluch!
Wir weben, wir weben!"
Wir weben, wir weben!