A Chara, - Talk about "don't mention the war". Petra Kindler (July 18th) complains about the reference to Deutschland Über Alles in my review of Berlin Games, by Guy Walters (Book Reviews, July 15th).
I used the phrase as a colloquial title for the German anthem, not as a direct quote, which is why I put it in italics rather than inverted commas. Referring informally to anthems and the like by their first lines seems common enough: Land of Hope and Glory, Hail to the Chief, Land of our Fathers, and so on. I'm inclined to think, perhaps wrongly, that a reference to Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit would have left even readers of the Irish Times none the wiser.
The banned first verse has been the "elephant in the room" for most Germans during the past 60-odd years whenever the anthem has been sung. That at the Fifa World Cup they had the self-assurance in front of a global audience to sing the anthem so passionately and unapologetically - in Hitler's Olympic Stadium - suggests they have now moved on. Perhaps Ms Kindler should too. - Is mise,
RICHARD ALDOUS,
School of History and Archives,
UCD,
Dublin 4.