Volks Ans Gewehr WW2 German Song Animated English Lyric Video

Volk ans Gewehr (People to Arms) was the refrain of the very popular 1931 German song "Siehst du im Osten das Morgenrot" (Do you see dawn in the east). The song was written by Arno Pardun, who dedicated it to Joseph Goebbels. It contains strong allusions to the well-known workers' song 'Brothers, to the sun, to freedom', a German communist song laer adopted by the Third Reich.

The song was first heard at a rally in the Berlin Sportpalast on 8 January 1932 by about 150 Sturmabteilung (SA) people of Standard 7 and performed publicly by the Fuhsel Chapel. In the following years, it became one of the most played National Socialist songs.

In the 1930s, it was mainly used as an SA marching song. It was also a compulsory song for the Reichsarbeitsdienst. During World War II, it was used as a military song - not least because it was included in the soldier's song book Morgen marschieren wir (Tomorrow we march). The song was used as the interval signal of Reichssender Berlin. In 1944, the song was again opted for use by the Volkssturm.

The Volkssturm (German: 'people's storm') was a national militia established by Germany during the last months of World War II. It was set up by the NSDAP on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years, who were not already serving in some military unit. The Volkssturm comprised one of the final components of the total war promulgated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, part of a Third Reich endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will.