Fallersleben's music was very popular in Germany during the second part of the 19th century. This song was not a national anthem then, but a patriotic song supporting a united German state. In 1918, it replaced the anthem of the German Empire "Heil Dir im Siegerkranz" ("Praise to the war-winner"), when the Emperor Wilhelm II lost power at the end of the First World War. In 1921, a "fourth stanza", a new part or verse, was written by poet Albert Matthai with words about the difficult life in Germany at that time. This verse was rarely used.