Steadfast and true stands the watch on the Rhine!

During the First World War, patriotic songs such as "Die Wacht am Rhein" (Watch on the Rhine) were often instrumentalized for propaganda purposes. The song, which had already featured prominently during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871, was intended to legitimize the war. Postcards such as the one shown here illustrated the patriotic call to service for the nation by referring to the popular piece of music.

Fest steht und treu die Wacht, die Wacht am Rhein! Es braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall, field post, sent on 15/07/1915, postcard, lyrics: Max Schneckenburger (1819–1849), composer: Carl Wilhelm (1815–1873); source: Historische Bildpostkarten - Universität Osnabrück, http://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:700-2-0002664-7, Creative Commons Attribution – Non-commercial – Share Alike 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.de.