The U.S. Tennis Association just horrified all of Germany by playing Nazi-era anthem at Fed Cup

First the Education Department misspelled W.E.B. Du Bois’ on the anniversary of the NAACP’s founding. Then the Republican Party misquoted Abraham Lincoln on his birthday. But capping off a bizarre Sunday of colossal gaffes was the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), which played a version of Germany’s national anthem that included the first stanza, which used to serve as Nazi propaganda, Reuters reported.

According to Reuters:

It translates as ‘Germany, Germany, above all, above all in the world’ and was dropped after World War Two because of its association with Adolf Hitler.

But Deutschlandlied, written in 1841, is still listed as the official national anthem, with only the third verse now being sung.

Unfortunately, the male soloist on the Hawaiian island of Maui somehow sung the wrong version.

German tennis player Andrea Petkovic, who was preparing for a match, said the error was “the epitome of ignorance.” Her coach, Barbara Ritter, said it was “an absolute scandal, a disrespectful incident and inexcusable,” according to Reuters.

The USTA, which apparently has a more attentive social media manager than the Education Department, profusely apologized six times to irate Twitter users.