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Norway wants anthem off Nazi video

OSLO, Norway, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to get the national anthem out of a neo-Nazi group's video.

The video produced by a group named Nordreich is posted on YouTube and features footage of European cities and Nazi images, P4, a Norwegian radio station, said.

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The music includes the Norwegian anthem "Ja, vi elsker dette landet:" or "Yes, we love this country." The words and music were written by two cousins in the mid-19th century and adopted as the official anthem when Norway regained independence in 1907.

"This is an unacceptable way of using the national anthem," said foreign ministry information adviser Odd Naustdal. "We will contact YouTube and ask them to remove the video."

During World War II, when Norway was occupied by Germany, both the Resistance and Norwegian Nazi sympathizers used the anthem, although the occupiers eventually barred it from being used at official functions.

Nordreich reportedly has sympathizers in Norway.

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