Auferstanden aus Ruinen

"Auferstanden aus Ruinen" ("Risen from Ruins") was the national anthem of East Germany. In 1949 the Soviet occupation zone of Allied-occupied Germany became a socialist state, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). For its anthem the poet Johannes Becher, who later became the East German Minister of Culture, wrote the words. Two musicians, Ottmar Gerster and Hanns Eisler, proposed settings, and Eisler's was chosen.