Use During Nazi Rule
During the Nazi era, only the first stanza was used, followed by the SA song "Horst-Wessel-Lied". The anthem was played at occasions of great national significance, such as the opening of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, when Hitler and his entourage, along with the Olympic officials, walked into the stadium amid a chorus of three thousand Germans singing the Deutschlandlied. In this way, the first verse of the anthem became closely identified with the Nazi regime.
Read more about this topic: Deutschlandlied
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