U.S. Plays Nazi-Era German National Anthem at Tennis Match
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
German tennis has responded with outrage after the United States Tennis Association (USTA) made the embarrassing error of playing the Nazi-era version of Germany’s national anthem during a Fed Cup tie in Hawaii.
The version played included the first stanza, beginning “Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles,” which was used as Nazi propaganda. It was dropped after World War Two.
“I thought it was the epitome of ignorance, and I’ve never felt more disrespected in my whole life, let alone in Fed Cup,” Germany’s Andrea Petkovic said, adding that she considered walking off court before the singles match against Alison Riske.
She later said her first comments had been somewhat emotional but that was because the incident happened before her game and she was left stunned.
“We were left shocked and did not know how to react,” Petkovic said. German team coach Barbara Ritter said the mistake was “an absolute scandal, a disrespectful incident and inexcusable.”
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