Germany is facing calls to remove the word “fatherland” from its national anthem, but not because of any perceived nationalist overtones or links to the Nazi era.

Instead feminists are calling for the word to be removed because they say it is sexist.

In a letter to staff leaked to the German press, the government’s equal opportunities commissioner called for the anthem to be made gender neutral.

Angela Merkel has rejected a proposal to make Germany’s national anthem more ‘gender neutral’ by ditching words such as ‘fatherland’ and ‘brotherly’.

The SPD’s Kristin Rose-Moehring, equality commissioner for Germany since 2001, wrote to family ministry staff to suggest removing male-specific references in the ‘Song of Germany’.

‘The chancellor is very happy with our nice national anthem as it is in its traditional form and doesn’t see any need for change,’ spokesman Steffen Seibert said

It has been Germany’s national anthem since 1922.