Gott strafe England

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Gott strafe England, illustration from Germany, The Next Republic?, by Carl W. Ackerman, published in 1917 in the US - unknown origin.
Gott strafe England, illustration from Germany, The Next Republic?, by Carl W. Ackerman, published in 1917 in the US - unknown origin.

During World War I, "Gott strafe England" was a slogan of the German Army. The phrase means "May God punish England". It was created by poet Ernst Lissauer (1882–1937), in his poem Hassgesang gegen England (lit. "Hate song against England", better known as "Hymn of Hate").

An interesting account of Lissauer and the "Hymn of Hate" can be found in Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday.

In today's Germany, the term is all but forgotten, except by some right wing organizations.

The frequency of this slogan and similar oaths by British soldiers gave Sir John Collings Squire cause to write the following poem.

"God heard the embattled nations sing and shout
'Gott strafe England!' and 'God save the King!'
God this, God that, and God the other thing —
'Good God!' said God, 'I've got my work cut out!'"

Ernst Lissauer's papers are at the Center for Jewish History

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