Tag Archives: La Marseillaise

Casablanca: La Marseillaise

The 1942 movie Casablanca has many memorable moments in it. Here is perhaps one of the top memorable moments. The Germans are at Cafe Americain singing Die Wacht am Rhein. It is interesting that the do not sing either Horst Wessel Lied or Deutschland über Alles, as those were the co-national anthems of Nazi Germany. Instead it is Die Wacht am Rhein, a patriotic anthem from the Franco-German War of 1870 which the Germans won. So it is sticking the finger in the eye when used here considering that most of the patrons are French. This angers Victor Laszlo, the Czech resistance leader, to asks the band to play La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France.  A classic moment from a great film. Enjoy.

You can read the French and English words of La Marseillaise here.