A War Caused by Balloons

A War Caused by Balloons

99 Luftballons is a pop song released by the German band Nena in the midst of the cold war. The song was released as a voice against the impending prospect of a third world war, a voice for peace. Nena’s target audience was mainly the citizens of Cold War-era Germany, but her anti-war message reached the ears of listeners all across the globe, gaining unintentional international popularity. This popularity in the U.S. and England is what caused Nena to eventually produce an English version, at the request of her label, titled 99 Red Balloons. You may be familiar with this version. Because the anti-war intentions of the song are clearer in the German original, I will use this text as the basis of this article. The German lyrics describe a story in which 99 balloons floating through the air are mistaken for UFOs. A war-hungry General fires at them, others soon join in, and just like that, a 99-year war breaks out which leaves the world in ruin. In order to persuade the citizens of post-World War II Germany of the absurdity of yet another war, Nena uses several interesting rhetorical devices:

Juxtapostion

One way that Nena gets her point across is by juxtaposing the harmlessness of balloons with the violent consequences of misunderstanding them. The beginning of the second verse begins with the words:

Neunundneunzig Luftballons (ninety-nine balloons)

She then associates the balloons with what they are misunderstood to be, by beginning the third verse with the words

Neunundneunzig Düsenflieger (ninety-nine jet fighters)

which is much more frightening, and potentially much more dangerous. Still, these jet fighters are only fictitious, the figment of a paranoid mind. Nena draws attention to their fictitiousness by alluding to the popular science fiction series: Star Trek. The third verse describes how the balloons thought of themselves as Captain Kirk: (hielten sich für Captain Kirk). In this way, Nena persuades her audience that their fear of a nuclear war is imagined, just as fictitious as the characters of their favorite science fiction show. Put shortly, she says to her listeners: the only thing to fear is fear itself. She’s saying that their nation’s fear and distrust, bred by the silence and separation imposed by the Berlin wall, will bring far more terror and destruction than any imagined enemy will.

Ethos

Nena attempts to give more sway to her argument by seeking to destroy the ethos of those who advocate war. She does this by making them seem childlike, comparing them to animals, and by accusing them of blind intolerance. The fourth verse describes the leaders of the war as playing with matches and gas canisters, a behavior typically associated with children motivated only by the desire to thrill a bored mind. By so doing, Nena discredits her opponents by making them seem small-minded and irrational. She further discredits advocates of war by implying that they are motivated by blood-thirsty, animal instincts to hunt and kill. The phrase

witterten schon fette beute (already on the scent of a large prey)

associates them with this primal behavior. By comparing her opponents to animals, she suggests that they are not motivated by reason, but by instinct alone.

Logos

Logic is then added to Nena’s argument. In the fifth and last verse of the song, Nena describes the imagined effect of a third World War:

99 Jahre Krieg (99 years of war)

Ließen keinen Platz für Sieger (left no place for victors)

Kriegsminister gibt’s nicht mehr (ministers of war are no more)

Und auch keine Düsenflieger (and neither are jet fighters)

She reasons that a third World War would be illogical, because it is bad for all parties. There are no winners. Again, this statement would have had special meaning to her listeners, given the recent catastrophic results World War II. This claim strengthens her anti-war argument by both means of logos and pathos, by tapping into the emotional pain of lost loved ones in the hearts of those listening, brought to the forefront of their memory by these powerful lyrics. Which brings us to our next rhetorical device:

Pathos

With the following lines, Nena not only accuses those who are expressly pro-war. She accuses anyone who reacts instinctively or fearfully to situations, people, or cultures that they don’t understand:

Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft (the neighbors didn’t understand)

Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht (and soon felt offended)
Dabei schoss man am Horizont (they shot at the horizon)
Auf 99 Luftballons (at 99 balloons)

Here, Nena speaks out in general against misunderstandings, intolerance, and the quickness of people to jump to assumptions and to take offense. Such mindless, reactionary behaviors, she implies, are the cause of war. She further implies that war could be circumnavigated with a little more understanding, a little more consideration. These allegations would have had considerable emotional heft to her listeners, with the memories of the needless pain and suffering of the Jews and other misunderstood, mistreated minorities fresh in their minds. She appeals to the pathos of her audience, conjuring up painful memories, giving validity to her argument by reminding them that what she is describing has already happened, and could happen again.

Nena turns the pathos knife with her next lyrics, painting a painfully familiar picture for her listeners:

Heute zieh ich meine Runden (today I make my rounds)
Seh’ die Welt in Trümmern liegen (and see the world laying in rubble)

These lyrics would have reminded her listeners of the bombed-out carcasses of the once beautiful cities of Germany, cities like Dresden, Berlin, Kiel and Hannover. Nena takes advantage of these fresh and powerful images in the minds of her listeners, by suggesting that the same thing would happen again, if they allowed themselves to become victims of their own fear.

Nena had a message to send to the world, and especially to the citizens of Germany. She voiced her message in the language she knew best: 80s German pop. Within 99 Luftballons she uses all rhetoric devices available to get her point across: Pathos, by conjuring up recent painful memories of war and lost loved ones. Ethos, by belittling her opponents’ reasoning and making them seem child-like and instinct-driven. Logos, by reasoning that a World War III would mean destruction for her country and others. She jam-packed that song with as much rhetorical persuasion as she could. But can we really expect anything else from someone whose life, and millions of others, were on the line? Although you may or may not feel the immediate threat of a third World War at this time, her message rings as true today as it did then: There are no winners in war.

See the full German lyrics and their English translation here.