BERLIN, June 16: As Germany revel in the national team's World Cup victories, a union representing German teachers has rekindled a debate on the national anthem with a sharp critique of its “nationalistic sentiments”.

Concerned it could fuel unwanted outbursts of patriotism at the World Cup, the GEW teachers’ union condemned the anthem as a “terrible song of praise” in a report and is calling for even the least controversial of its verses to be banned.

“As an education union, we at the GEW are quite consciously and clearly in opposition to such nationalistic sentiments and notions of a dominant German culture,” the heads of the GEW wrote in a statement.

However, conservative politicians rejected the criticism.

“It's typical that left-wing know-alls are again trying to deny Germans their fun,” conservative politician Markus Soeder told the internet Netzeitung newspaper on Friday.

“We are proud of our anthem!” the mass circulation Bild newspaper said, adding that Germans were only now beginning to feel comfortable showing love for their nation.

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 fears it had Nazi overtones.

Since 1952, the third stanza has been used as the national anthem and is the source of the republic’s motto — ‘Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit’ or ‘unity and justice and freedom’.

The music for the hymn was composed by Haydn in 1797, while German poet August Heinrich Hoffmann later wrote the words in 1841.—Reuters