Göttingen (song)

"Göttingen" is a song written and recorded as a single in 1964 by French singer Barbara, who later also recorded a German language version.[1] The song, which appeared on Barbara's album Le Mal de vivre, has been credited with having contributed to improved relations between France and Germany in the years after the Second World War.[2]

As a Jewish child, Barbara had been a fugitive in German-occupied France during the war, but in 1964 she accepted an invitation from the University of Göttingen to perform, and composed the song in honour of the town's charms.[3]

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who had been a student in Göttingen at the time of the song's release, quoted the lyrics in a speech celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty as having had a major influence on him.[2] The song was subsequently used by ARTE in its programme recognising the 45th anniversary.[4] The French and German versions of the song, which she called "a hymn to Franco-German reconciliation", both appeared on Barbara's 1997 compilation album.[3]

References
  1. Stephen Evans (22 January 2013). "Goettingen: The song that made history". BBC. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  2. Peter Grant (9 December 2016). National Myth and the First World War in Modern Popular Music. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-137-60139-1.
  3. Dietmar Hüser; Ulrich Pfeil (31 December 2015). Populärkultur und deutsch-französische Mittler / Culture de masse et médiateurs franco-allemands: Akteure, Medien, Ausdrucksformen / Acteurs, médias, articulations. transcript Verlag. p. 107. ISBN 978-3-8394-3082-8.
  4. Damien Stankiewicz (1 January 2017). Europe Un-Imagined: Nation and Culture at a French-German Television Channel. University of Toronto Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-4426-2879-3.
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