Erika (song)

"Erika", also known by its incipit "Auf der Heide", is a German marching song with words and music by Herms Niel and published in 1938 during the Nazi regime. The song was then soon used as a soldier song by the Wehrmacht. According to British soldier, historian and author Major General Michael Tillotson, it was the most popular marching song in Germany during the Second World War.

Origins

The exact year of the song's origin is not known; often the date is given as "about 1930", but this has never been substantiated. The song was originally published in 1938 by the publishing firm in Großburgwedel, a village northeast of Hanover, Lower Saxony. In an interview with Herms Niel in the Viennese newspaper: Das Kleine Volksblatt, Niel recounts that in the summer of 1938 he was suddenly inspired to write the song after an amusing misadventure during a walk where his dog encountered a wasp nest.

Music

"Erika" is both a common German female name and the German word for heather. After each line, and after each time the name "Erika" is sung, there is a three-beat pause, which is filled by the timpani or stamping feet, shown as in the text below.

\header
\paper
\layout
global =
heidetenor = \relative c
tenorVoice = \relative c
verse = \lyricmode
verseR = \lyricmode
heideshots =
shots = \relative c''
\score
\score

Controversy

In June 2024, members of the University of Warwick Conservative Association sang and danced to this song during an annual event. University of Warwick representatives condemned the actions of the students. The association stressed that it was requested by a single member who was "no longer welcome", and apologised for any offence caused.
In December 2025, the chair and a university student councilor representing conservative student party Vrijmoedige Studentenpartij at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam were arrested for involvement in physically assaulting another student. Witnesses reported that that the assault happened after the victim criticised the VSP representatives for singing "Erika"; and furthermore, that those representatives were discussing esoteric neo-Nazi beliefs.