Overview

• Tobias Teich urged a return to singing all verses of the ‘Deutschlandlied,’ arguing the first two stanzas are part of Germany’s heritage.
• Heike Radvan, a scholar of right‑wing extremism, condemned the call as aligning with a tradition of historical revisionism.
• Germany has officially used only the third stanza since 1952, a practice reaffirmed in 1991 after reunification.
• The Bavarian domestic intelligence report notes the first stanza is used by right‑wing extremists for provocation.
• The flare‑up follows Bodo Ramelow’s recent suggestion to put Brecht’s ‘Kinderhymne’ to a vote, drawing cross‑party criticism, while opinion pieces and satire keep the discussion in the public eye.