Autotranslation of the banned verses:
Outraged, your children, at the yoke imposed upon you by Iberian audacity, at the unjust and horrendous misfortune that weighed fatally upon you, raised a sacred voice to the heavens, a voice of noble and unparalleled oath, to avenge you against the bloody monster, to break that servile yoke.
Nothing on earth was invincible to the iron arms of these heroes, and from the valley to the highest mountain range, the din of battle was heard; after the battle, victory soared, freedom followed the triumph, and the shattered lion was heard roaring with impotence and spite.
At last, Spanish ferocity yielded, and today, oh Fatherland, your free existence is the noble and magnificent inheritance that happy heroism gave us; From our fathers’ hands we received it, let no one try to wrest it from us now, nor let anyone, foolish or audacious, try to stir up our vengeful wrath against themselves.
Let no one, oh Fatherland, attempt it. The shades of your glorious heroes look upon us, and the valor and pride they inspire are omens of triumphs for you. Let the iron and the lightning-fast lead come, for at the thought of war and vengeance the heroic strength awakens that made the fierce Spaniard succumb.
I mean, I get why you wouldn’t necessarily want to constantly remind people of past wars. It’s a matter of pragmatism really. The guys you murdered yesterday may help you to murder someone else tomorrow. Or maybe we eventually stop doing so entirely, not constantly reminding people of past enemies might help either way.
I think the Anthem of Europe (‘Ode to Joy’) is really what a hymn should be. It’s not about the past at all, it’s about the future and ideals. The German Anthem is kind of nice too (even the part the Nazis generously reinterpreted in their favour, thus banned/omitted today). It’s also about things to strive for, not triumph or wars. Would be really weird to sign about getting murdered by the French, liberating from the French, murdering the French, or murdering the French again, when I never even had a fistfight with a Frenchmen.
That’s not to say I don’t care about the past, but particularly the relationship between France and Germany goes to show what happens when you don’t leave things in the past, and what is possible when you do.