I’ve always thought there was an interesting Freudian parallel between Germany’s history and it’s referral to itself as a “fatherland” rather than “motherland.” What other countries refer to themselves in the masculine? Have any countries ever changed this reference from one to the other?
I’ve heard it said that Germany is the only one. Good question, I’ve often wondered if that was true.
France (patrie) and Russia (otechestvo) come to mind.
That’s interesting, because the word France is feminine.
Something on the use of Vaterland in German: in the texts where I have it read (mostly 19th century and early 20th century) it was generally used as a generic term: not the fatherland but some stated person’s or group’s fatherland: our fatherland, his fatherland (which could be Peru, Australia or even Germany as the case might be), etc. Germany was usually referred to as, well, Germany.
There was a slur vaterlandslose Gesellen (fatherlandless people) angainst Socialists and such, but the implication wasn’t that they were illoyal to Germany in some other nation’s favour but rather that they were not loyal to any one nation.
And Russia has the world’s biggest freestanding statue—a colossal heroic figure of a woman. Its title?
Motherland.
Yeah, in all the movies you here “Mudder Russia” 
Hear, the word is hear.
The Spanish word Patria also means fatherland in a generic sense: e.g.: The American got homesick and went back to his fatherland.
Actually the word patria has lost all connotation or connection with father and Spaniards see their country more as a mother and will refer to it as “la madre patria”, “the mother fatherland”. Kind of strange if you analyze it. But all languages are strange if you analyze them.
If true, I think it’s interesting that
From about a quarter to a third of the way down the page in this report which, if I’m not mistaken, I first found on the SDMB. Warning to the queasy: this is a psychological profile of Adolph Hitler and probably should not be read in its entirety immediately before or after dinner.
Not completely off-topic, and the OP’s mention of Freud and the Fatherland immediately brought it to mind.
Happy New Year!
The Romans called their land patria (“patria mea” are the words I I have memorized for the first conjugation). In the United States we seem to love the word patriot. Many countries refer to their cultural patrimony. I don’t think it’s a particularly German pathology.
I wasn’t saying that Germany’s referral to it’s homeland in the masculine was necessarily a form of mass pathology. I also think that reference to culture is different than reference to a “homeland.” Referring to a country’s cultural heritage or patrimony in the masculine makes sense to me as men typically do/have done the bequeathing, both nominally and monetarily.
Mephisto
I had no idea that Hitler referred to Germany as the Motherland - I always thought the opposite, although I do remember scanning that report at one time or another. It was interesting that the analyst never came out and said that 9 of Hitler’s mistresses committed suicide (he did mention 3) and that he forced them to defecate on his head. You’d think that would be more commonly known in the case of a person whom everyone is/was looking to hate.
Just to add confusion I’d like to add that the words Vaterland (the antiquated generic term) and Deutschland (the name of the country) are grammatically neuter.
Vaterland, just like patrie, probably evolved from something like ‘country of the ancestors’, not ‘the country, my father’. Nobody was ever told by the Motherland: Just wait until the Fatherland comes home 
I always thought that Hitler only had one mistress (gayle sp?).
Your probably referring to Geli Rabaul, his neice. Nope, he had a buttload, literally and figuratively.
whoops, that’s “niece.”
Our fatherland is the land of our fathers, which is our land too. If the land is a feminine term, which it often is, then it is referred to as “mother”. However “motherland” is the land of our mothers and it may be feminine or neutral or even masculine itself. In Turkey there is a political party called “Party of the Mother Fatherland” 
The word patrie or patria has a Greek root: the Greek equivalent (patris) denotes something that belongs or is affiliated to the father (pater).
Well if composers are to be trusted, Bedrich Smetana’s Ma vlast (My Fatherland) refers to his Czech homeland…
The Netherlands also use Fatherland (Vaderland).
If I translate our swedish equivalent it comes out, fetusland, which sounds kinda weird.
För Kung och Fosterland!