When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was a song of freedom. But 50 years earlier, the same piece had been misused by the Nazis. How did the "Ode to Joy" develop from a Fascist anthem into a song of freedom?

Let’s go back in history. Beethoven as a symbol of fascism: Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted the Berlin Philharmonic under the swastika in 1942, and celebrated Hitler's birthday with the German composer's famous work.

Beethoven as a symbol of unity: In divided Germany, the Ninth served as a substitute national anthem for a time. At three consecutive Olympic Games, starting in 1956, the United Team of Germany was made up of athletes from the East and the West.

Beethoven as a melody of the oppressed: During the military dictatorship in Chile, women demonstrating in 1986 for the release of political prisoners and against the ruler Pinochet sang the "Ode to Joy".

Beethoven as an expression of hope and unity: In June 1989, Chinese students protested at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to the sound of the Ninth Symphony. When the Berlin Wall fell that same year, the symphony became the soundtrack of German reunification.

Beethoven as ambassador of cooperation: Since 1985, the "Ode to Joy" from the fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony has been the official anthem of the European Union. Beethoven's symphony stands for the common values of the member states: freedom, peace, solidarity.

Find out what these artists and politicians think about the Ninth: conductor Teodor Currentzis, musician Moby, pianist and composer Hauschka, former German President Horst Köhler, former President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse, composer and conductor Tan Dun and deaf pianist and organist Paul Whittaker.

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