A football club has banned its anthem after discovering the song’s link to Nazis.
FC St. Pauli has temporarily suspended the use of Heart of St. Pauli.
A podcast produced by FC St. Pauli Museum recently found that the tune’s songwriter – Josef Ollig – was a fighter pilot and war correspondent for Nazi propaganda during the Nazi era and World War II.
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Rock band Phantastix & Elf normally play a version of the song before kick-off and the tune is hugely popular with the crowd.
But the revelation has prompted the club to make an announcement, as reported by Need To Know.
In a statement on 14 February, Oke Göttlich, president of FC St. Pauli, said many fans are “no longer comfortable with the song”.
He said: “We know and absolutely understand that the song has great emotional significance for many people.
“This can remain the case on a personal level, but an anthem in the stadium has a special function: such a song should bring people together, it should be a shared and unifying moment.
“In view of the discussion surrounding the song, such a moment cannot be created at present, as many members and fans have made it clear that they no longer feel comfortable with the song.”
The club is known for taking a stance against right-wing extremism.
In 1998, its stadium was renamed from the Wilhelm-Koch Stadium to the Millerntor Stadium after it was revealed that former club president Koch was a member of Hitler’s Nazi party.
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