Fatherland

Fatherland is the nation of one's "fathers" or "forefathers." It can be viewed as a Nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations. (Compare to Motherland and Homeland .)

Groups that refer to their native country as a "fatherland" (or rather, translations of this English word in their languages), or, arguably, associate it primarily with paternal concepts include:

Romans , Italians , Spaniard s, and Latin America ns as ''Patria'', the rootword for Patriotism .

the French, as ''Patrie'' (as in the National Anthem La Marseillaise )

the Greeks as ''patrida''

the Armenians , as ''Hayrenik'' (as in the national anthem Mer Hayrenik )

the Poles , as ''Ojczyzna'' (but there is also ''macierz'', that is ''Motherland'', although it is seldom used)

the Germans , as ''das Vaterland'' (as in the national anthem Das Lied Der Deutschen )

the Dutch , as ''Vaderland''

the Kazakhs as ''atameken''

the Russians , as ''Otechestvo'' or ''Otchizna'', although ''Rodina'', that is ''Motherland'', is more common.

the Serbs as ''otadzbina''

the Danes as ''fædreland''

the Norwegians as ''fedreland''

the Finns as ''isänmaa''

the Lithuanians as ''tėvynė''

the Frisians as ''heitelân''

the Czechs as ''otčina''

the Swedes as ''fäderneslandet'', although ''fosterlandet'' is more common.

GERMAN USAGE

The term ''Vaterland'' was heavily used in Nazi propaganda. As a result, the term became indelibly associated with Nazis, and has not been used in German since the end of World War II unless one wishes to make an explicit reference to the Nazi government.

Note that ''das Vaterland'' is grammatically neuter, since the final word of the compound (''Land'') is neuter. ''Die Heimat'' (the homeland) is grammatically feminine. ''Vaterland'' has been used since the 12th century with the meaning "native country". An adjective ''vaterländisch'' has been used since the 18th century, meaning something like patriotic or nationalistic. ''Mutterland'' ( Motherland ) means a mother country in contrast to its colonies.

ENGLISH USAGE

Drawing from the Nazis' usage of the term "Vaterland", the direct English translation "fatherland" featured in news reports associated with Nazi Germany and in domestic anti-Nazi Propaganda during World War II . As a result, the English word is now associated with the Nazi government of Germany (although not as strongly as the German word "Vaterland" is in Germany.) The word is not used often in post- World War II English unless one wishes to invoke the Nazis, or one is translating literally from a foreign language where that language's equivalent of "fatherland" does not bear Nazi connotations.

SEE ALSO:

National Anthem

EXTERNAL LINKS

Nationalism and Ethnicity - A Theoretical Overview

The problem of German identity...

Nation, State, and Economy: The Nationality Principle in Politics: Liberal or Pacifistic Nationalism, Ludwig von Mises

National anthems ("Allons enfants de la Patrie", "Blühe, deutsches Vaterland")

Origins of the German State, Robert Selig, German Life

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Fatherland

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