Today, the first line "Germany, Germany above all" sounds too strong for some people, and is often misunderstood. Fallersleben wanted a united Germany when he wrote it. At that time, Germany was not one country, but many small countries. So "Germany above all" meant that the most important thing to do was to have a unified Germany. Also, the poet was in Heligoland, where people spoke German but were ruled by the British.