Broadcaster apologises for offensive bungle
A Dutch public broadcaster has been forced to apologise for wrongly subtitling the German national anthem using Nazi-era lyrics while it was being played before the team’s Euro 2020 match against England.
NPO issued the apology on Twitter, with the account saying “the wrong verse was accidentally shown” and apologising to viewers who were offended by the error during the match on the morning of Wednesday, June 30 (AEST).
“During the live subtitling of the German national anthem at the European Championship match England-Germany, the wrong verse was displayed by mistake,” NPO said on Twitter.
“This was a mistake by one of our subtitlers. We apologise to viewers who were disturbed by this.”
The verse beginning with the words “Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles” was removed in 1945 following the end of World War II due to its association with the Nazi regime.
The lyrics include the line “Germany, above all, above everything in the world” - which summed up Hitler’s desire to take over the world.
Image: NPO