Ubatuba officials receive German delegation with Nazi-era anthem

A German delegation of students and officials was received with the first stanza of the Deutschlandlied, a version of the German national anthem historically used by the Nazi regime, during an official event at the Ubatuba City Hall in São Paulo, Brazil.

The meeting was intended to formalize a partnership between Ubatuba and the German cities of Homberg (Efze) and Wolfhagen to promote student exchanges, language learning, and cultural projects. The incident was reported by Councilman Gady Gonzalez, who stated that the music caused significant embarrassment to the visitors.

In a press statement, the administration of Mayor Flavia Pascoal described the event as a “punctual mistake” that was identified and corrected immediately after discussions with the delegation. The administration noted that while the Deutschlandlied is the original composition, only the third stanza is currently used as the official national anthem of Germany.