As the country revels in a new patriotism fueled by the German side's run to the quarter-finals, Haydn's lilting melody for the "Deutschlandlied" has become the soundtrack and now almost everyone is singing along for the first time since World War II.

Because anything to do with national identity is extremely delicate in Germany due to enduring shame over its Nazi past, an act as natural as singing the national anthem at a sporting event has made waves here.

Most German players in the post-war years, like most Germans, bowed their heads when the band struck up the anthem.

But Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who spends most of the year in California and describes US-style patriotism as inspiring, has encouraged his players to sing along. Surprisingly, most seem to know the lyrics.

In the televised coverage of the matches, the camera has moved from the team to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who smiles each time her mouth forms the opening verse, and then to fans chanting unisono amid a sea of black-red-gold flags.

"I like the fact the national team sings the anthem," Merkel told Wednesday's issue of Sport Bild magazine.

"And I find it particularly nice that so many people have sung along. I think we should enjoy the World Cup and be happy. What really impresses our guests is the enthusiasm in the stadiums, even when Germany is not playing."

Historian Christoph Stoelzl, a longtime director of the German Historical Museum in Berlin, notes that the Deutschlandlied "has a great democratic tradition".

Compared to other countries' militaristic anthems, the German one "is very moderate in tone, there is no bloodshed".

Then why has this song, whose lyrics were written by liberal poet August Heinrich Hoffman von Fallersleben in 1841 and hail "unity, justice and freedom for the German fatherland", remained problematic for so long?

Like other national symbols, it was transformed with each upheaval in German history.

The Deutschlandlied first became the official national anthem in 1922 under the democratic but chaotic Weimar Republic. During the 12 dark years of the Nazi period, the notorious first verse was highlighted.

Beginning with the lines "Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles, Ueber alles in der Welt" ("Germany, Germany above all, Above everything in the world"), the words remain forever linked to the Nazis' dreams of empire and domination, even if they originally expressed a longing for national unity in 19th century Germany, which was still a patchwork of kingdoms and city-states.

In 1991, two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the song, which served as the West German anthem, was formally named the reunited country's national anthem. But only the uncontroversial third verse is sung.

As a sign of the changing times, it was the GEW teachers' union that provoked outcry when it decried "the nationalistic atmosphere conveyed by the singing of the anthem" during the World Cup.

It was even forced to apologize for its declaration that the anthem was "a terrible song of praise to the German nation" after a storm of protest among Germans basking in football fever.

At the same time, observers have noted that the omnipresent German flags on cars, apartment balconies and children's strollers have more to do with football than any nationalist sentiment.

"What is happening in Germany is not 'Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles' but Germany is leading, another goal," said European Parliament deputy Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who was born in France to German-Jewish refugees.

"People who don't know each other from Adam link arms and sing the national anthem together. You haven't seen that since August 1914," trendy east German author Thomas Brussig, referring to the start of World War I, noted.

"You ask yourself -- do they have the right to do that? Are we becoming dangerous again?"

He drew his conclusion long before the World Cup final, which will be played on July 9.

"We will remember that we supported Germany like the French supported France, the Italians Italy, and the Brazilians Brazil. And that finally it was not so bad."