He affirmed that the third verse remains the official anthem but argued the first two verses are part of Germany’s cultural heritage and represent a long history that shouldn’t be solely defined by a brief, albeit terrible, period
Professor Heike Radvan, specializing in right-wing extremism research at the University of Tübingen, strongly criticized Teich’s position She told “Die Welt” that the AfD lawmaker’s request aligns with a long-standing tradition of right-wing historical revisionism that downplays or reinterprets the crimes of the Nazi regime and implicitly lays claim to territories that, as a result of those crimes, legally belong to neighboring states since the end of World War II
Radvan further explained that the first verse carries a distinctly nationalist connotation and advocating for its inclusion in the national anthem effectively seeks to end the ongoing and necessary engagement with the crimes of the Nazi era, a position she argues contradicts democratic principles
Teich countered this criticism, asserting that German history extends far beyond the twelve years of the Nazi regime “Is it not pathological to reduce a centuries-old cultural history to this short epoch” he asked
The AfD parliamentary group, however, has distanced itself from its member’s post A spokesperson for the group stated to “Die Welt” that Teich’s comments represent a personal opinion, emphasizing that the third verse of “Song of the Germans” remains the official German national anthem and that the AfD parliamentary group does not intend to change this
