Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961

Germany was represented by Lale Andersen, with the song "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder", at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 18 March in Cannes, France. "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder" was chosen at the German national final held on 25 February.

Eurovision Song Contest 1961
Country Germany
National selection
Selection processNational final
Selection date(s)25 February 1961
Selected entrantLale Andersen
Selected song"Einmal sehen wir uns wieder"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Rudolf Maluck
  • Ernst Bader
Finals performance
Final result13th, 3 points
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1960 • 1961 • 1962►

Andersen was arguably the best-known singer yet to have taken part at Eurovision, being famous throughout Europe and beyond as the originator of "Lili Marleen", one of the most iconic songs of the Second World War. Aged 55 on the night of the contest, she was also the oldest, a record she would hold until 57-year-old Dado Topić took to the stage for Croatia in 2007.

Before Eurovision

National final

The national final was held on 25 February at the Kurtheater in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, hosted by Heinz Schenk. Thirteen songs took part, with the winner being decided by a 21-member jury. It is not known by what method the songs were scored, and only the top four placements are currently known. One of the other participants was Christa Williams, who had represented Switzerland at Eurovision in 1959.[1]

Final - 25 February 1961
Draw Artist Song Place
1 Dieter Thomas Heck "Was tut man nicht alles aus Liebe" -
2 Friedel Hensch "Colombino (ich weiß ein Tag wird kommen)" -
3 Franck Forster "Es war ein reizender Abend" 3=
4 Christa Williams "Pedro" -
5 Fred Bertelmann "Ticke-ticke-tack" 2
6 Heinz Sagner "Jeden Tag voll Sonnenschein" -
7 Renée Franke "Napolitano" -
8 Rolf Simson "Wer das Spiel kennt" 3=
9 Ernst Lothar "Dich hat das Schicksal für mich bestimmt" -
10 Lale Andersen "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder" 1
11 Bobby Franco "Langsamer Walzer" -
12 Peggy Brown "Du bist meine Welt" -
13 Detlef Engel "Nach Mitternacht" -

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Lale Andersen performed 8th in the running order, following Sweden and preceding France. The song featured Andersen's trademark spoken-word singing style and was also unusual for including a refrain sung entirely in French, which was legitimate as at the time the European Broadcasting Union had yet to introduce any specific rules regarding language of performance. However "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder" failed to find much favour with the international jurors, picking up just 3 points and placing Germany 13th of the 16 entries. The German jury awarded 5 of its 10 points to contest winners Luxembourg.[2]

Voting

Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.

References
  1. ESC National Finals database 1961
  2. ESC History - Germany 1961
  3. "Results of the Final of Cannes 1961". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
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