Ernst Moritz Arndt Quotes

Ernst Moritz Arndt was born at Schoritz in the island of Rügen, which at that time belonged to Sweden.   He was a German author, patriot, professor, and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. He had to flee to Sweden for some time due to his anti-French positions. He is one of the main founders of German nationalism and the movement for German unification. He played an important role for the early national and liberal Burschenschaft movement and for the unification movement, and his song "Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland?" acted as an unofficial German national anthem. He studied theology and history at the University of Greifswald. He was appointed professor of history at Greifswald in 1806. His best-known poems and songs: Sind wir vereint zur guten Stunde, Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland?, What is the German’s Fatherland? and Zu den Waffen, zu den Waffen. His autobiography, Erinnerungen aus dem äusseren Leben, the most valuable source of information for Arndt’s life.