NEW MEANING IN GERMANY, NATIONALISM IS NO LONGER VIEWED AS NEGATIVE.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

BLAUBEUREN, Germany - With its narrow, cobblestone streets that meander among butcher shops, bakeries and centuries-old mock Tudor houses, this small town at the edge of the Swabian Alps looks like a postcard come to life -- with one notable exception.

Dangling from windows and flapping from cars is a most unusual sight: the red, black and yellow German flag.

If flag-waving is viewed as a show of patriotism or harmless jingoism in other countries, it conjures up very different memories in Germany.

``The first thought is the Nazis,'' said Mickey Nachbauer, a retired executive for a kitchen cabinet manufacturer. ``There has always been a consciousness of any sort of display that could be considered nationalistic. I've never seen flags hanging on houses like this.''

While there remain pockets of neo-Nazis, and high unemployment has fueled tensions over immigrants, particularly in the east where there were a spate of attacks last month, the return of the World Cup to Germany for the first time since 1974 has thus far provided a window to a country that appears to be shedding its self-consciousness.

A Stuttgart flag vendor told German television he has sold more than 10 times as many flags as he did during the 2002 World Cup, when Germany reached the final.

``Our fans have developed a relaxed pride in their country,'' German chancellor Angela Merkel said recently in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. ``People are waving flags without having to justify themselves.''

That enthusiasm was on full display Wednesday all as Germans celebrated a 1-0 win over Poland on Oliver Neuville's goal in extra time that clinched a berth in the tournament's round of 16.

In Dortmund, the roaring, flag-waving crowd seemed to carry the hosts through despite more than a half-dozen wasted finishes against the Poles. In Berlin, police turned away fans from the Unter den Linden when their number reached 250,000.

Soon after the final whistle blew, dozens of fans on motorbikes and cars -- some more inebriated than others -- paraded through the streets, shouting and waving flags, not deterred in the least by a pair of the notoriously rule-following policemen watching them go past.

Each of Germany's three World Cup championships has carried significance beyond the field. In 1954, an upset of Hungary gave a morale boost to a country trying to put itself together after World War II. In 1974, in the wake of the terrorist attacks at the Munich Olympics, the tournament was without incident.

And in 1990, victory came less than a year after reunification.

If Germany adds a fourth title, what will not go unnoticed is the makeup of the team.

The team's captain and star, Michael Ballack, was born and raised in the East. Its two star forwards, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, were born in Poland -- Klose's mother playing for the Polish handball team and Podolski knowing the Polish national anthem by heart.

David Odonkor, a substitute whose cross set up Neuville's goal, has a Ghanan parent and Gerald Asamoah, another reserve, was born in the African country.

This is no small matter in a country where the memory of Hitler's dream of a pure, Aryan race is not forgotten. Nor is it because Germany -- one of many European nations struggling with changes brought on by immigration -- is wrestling with the fundamental question: what is a German?

The many Turkish immigrants are not considered German even if they were born here, though others who have German ancestry, such as those whose families may have fled during World War II, are given citizenship upon entry.

Asked why he was wearing Podolski's jersey, joining a dozen others in Blaubeuren, Vitaly Kaliakian said: ``I can understand him. Podolski was born in Poland. I was born in Russia. It's the same general feeling.''

Asked why else, Kaliakian's reply wasn't much different than anyone else in the world.

``He's a very good player.''

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CAPTION(S):

photo, 11 boxes

Photo:

(color) LETTING THEIR PRIDE SHOW

German fans celebrate after a 1-0 victory Wednesday against Poland in Kaiserslautern. Germany improved to 2-0 in Group A.

Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press

Box:

(1) GROUP A

(2) GROUP B

(3) GROUP C

(4) GROUP D

(5) GROUP E

(6) GROUP F

(7) GROUP G

(8) GROUP H

(9) ECUADOR vs. COSTA RICA

(10) ENGLAND vs. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 

(11) SWEDEN vs. PARAGUAY