Germans finally learn words to national anthem

BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) If nothing else, hosting the World Cup with their red hot team has helped Germans finally learn the words to their national anthem.

Top German soccer official Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder said today he was stirred by his country's rather unexpected embrace of patriotism so suddenly at the World Cup after six decades of shunning national symbols because of the Nazi past.

''It's been a most beautiful experience,'' Mayer-Vorfelder, president of the German soccer association (DFB), told a news conference.

''It moves me when people in the stadium stand to sing the national anthem now. In the past, there were perhaps three or four people in the VIP section who knew the words and sang along.

''We used to have to put the words to the anthem on the scoreboard for people to read. We don't have to do that anymore. The people are singing it. It's beautiful. It's a normal relationship to patriotism without any exaggerated nationalism.'' ACUTE DISCOMFORT Germans have long felt acute discomfort about patriotism and especially flag-waving as a reaction to Adolf Hitler's Nazis and their abuses. Few Germans even knew the ''Deutschlandlied'' words.

German unfamiliarity with the lyrics was highlighted last year when renowned singers at two sporting events, including a Germany match, got them mixed up. Few noticed the blunders at first but it sparked weeks of soul-searching.

The anthem has been used since 1922 but its first verse -- with the refrain ''Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles'' -- was dropped after World War Two amid concerns it had Nazi overtones.

Since 1952, the third stanza has been used -- 'Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit' or 'unity and justice and freedom'.

''It's wonderful, too, to see so many flags attached to cars across Germany,'' Mayer-Vorfelder said. ''But it's not only German flags but so many flags from so many different nations.

''It's a great thing,'' he said, referring to the revival of patriotism. ''I'm delighted that football has contributed to it.'' The next opportunity for fans to sing the anthem and wave their German flags in support of the team comes on Friday when Germany play Argentina in the quarter-finals in Berlin.

Reuters DH BD1936