Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen!

More about Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen!

The German idiom "Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen" (literally "Peace, Joy, Pancakes") describes a situation where there is a superficially intact and peaceful, overly harmonious atmosphere, while underlying problems are ignored. It is often used to express that problems are being suppressed rather than solved.

**Origin:**
The origin of the idiom is not clearly established. Despite offering a prize, the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS), the Society for German Language, was unable to find a verifiable explanation. One of the oldest mentions can be found in the satire magazine *Eulenspiegel* in June 1959, where Carl Andrießen ended a critique with the sentence: "In the end, as it should be, peace, joy, pancakes and applause."

Linguists suspect that the origin of the idiom may date back to the time after the Second World War, when the joy over peace was great despite the rubble of the war. In addition, pancakes, which consist of a few ingredients such as eggs, water and flour, were an easy way to bring some joy in the post-war period.

**Use in the Love Parade:**
"Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen" was the motto of the first Love Parade in 1989, proclaimed by Dr. Motte. This motto initially served to declare the parade as a demonstration. "Peace" stood for disarmament, "Joy" for music as a means of international understanding, and "Pancakes" for a fair distribution of food.