Most Germans believe that migrants will increase the likelihood of terrorism and that Muslims want to be “distinct” (
July 11, 2016)
The fact that Germans believe that their economy and social system can handle the migrant inflows does not mean that they believe the migrants have essential skills, which they usually do not.
Yet Merkel made Germany a target for these flows. Early on, the European Union could have taken a hard line against migrant flows of which only 1/3 were genuine refugees fleeing war. The EU could have directed funds to support border control and refugee housing in Greece, potentially helping the Greek economy, and negotiated a deal with Turkey many months sooner. There is a reason these migrants are targeting Germany, the UK and Sweden as opposed to Hungary, Poland or France…
The public narrative was that accepting one million unemployed young men with little to no skills (but EUR 3,000 to 10,000) was an act of generosity to help offset Germany’s historical sins.
Nor am I convinced that there is a “solid integration program” other than to seal off the shelters from the public, censor reporting of migrant crimes and hope that the CDU’s open border policy is a lesser evil than what the SPD would propose.
I still wonder how much of this is opposition to Russian aggression, and how much is merely supporter for EU expansion into Ukraine. When I think about the EU’s overreach in Ukraine, I am reminded of Germany’s overt and covert contacts with the Croatians during the Yugoslav Wars and then the KLA during the Kosovo War.
Apparently, Pokemon Go was released in Rostov in March of 2014. Unfortunately, the PokeStops were located about 100 miles northwest…
I am glad that you bring up German opposition to the Vietnam War and the deployment of American nuclear weapons to Germany, as there is a continuum to German demonstrations against the Iraq War and NSA spying. The West Germans certainly did not protest the Soviet War in Afghanistan or Soviet deployment of nuclear weapons to East Germany with the same vigor; nor did the Germans take much notice of Georgia or Ukraine.
I would argue that this is the result of the German defeat in 1945 and its post-war occupation.
The Red Army’s war crimes in eastern Germany and especially Berlin, were absolutely horrendous. To add insult to injury, the Soviets annexed East Prussia, installed a pro-Soviet Stalinist regime and helped murder its opposition, built a wall around East Germany and stripped it of valuables, occupied it for over 50 years and threatened West Berlin and West Germany with invasion and nuclear destruction. At the end of the occupation, the Soviets had to grant East Germany its independence and bless German unification. Are the Russians of today remorseful for any of the crimes they committed? No. Are they willing to discuss any of it? No. Do they continue to occupy East Prussia? Yes. Do they continue to threaten Germany? Yes.
In comparison, the Western Allies allowed for a democratic and pluralistic society to form in West Germany. They stimulated West Germany with funding and organizational know-how, kept their forces mainly disciplined, supplied West Berlin during the blockade, allowed for the free movement of Germans across borders, protected West Germany’s territorial integrity, and ultimately treated it as an independent ally. This all sounds very good, but it channels German resentment at defeat (there, I said it) in the wrong direction. If Germans accuse Americans of stealing their intellectual property, committing crimes (murder, rape theft) or acting as an occupier, Americans actually listen. Basically of the two “ex-husbands”, Russia is the angry violent drunk and the United States is the nice guy (relatively speaking). Germany is still afraid of Russia and ashamed at her humiliation at Russian hands, and so she walks on eggshells around Russia lest she need to wear the dark sunglasses again. But the United States? Well, he’ll apologize for not bringing flowers or showing up late or hanging out with the boys, even if he gets chirpy sometimes.
That’s my theory in a nutshell…Germans critique the United States because it’s the only former occupier who will put up with the natter. Moreover, if the Americans defeated and occupied Germany because the Germans were tyrannical, it does slake some of the guilt to see the Americans act out of hand in Vietnam or Iraq, now doesn’t it? When the Americans are acting unilaterally and against world opinion, Germans can claim some moral superiority which is a type of ersatz victory.
All well and good but the Bundeswehr better be ready to support the Baltic republics and Poland. Putin could also pressure the EU by stirring up trouble in Transnistria…
Well, the StaSi softened Germany up well, didn’t it? Glad that Steinmeier is fighting an uphill battle. He should be exiled to Kaliningrad. He’ll feel at home with the German architecture and the Russian soldiers and smugglers…
The US oscillates between the EU being threatening (despite its collective military power being latent) and advantageous (anti-military, pro-Western, unified, the Euro never supplanted the USD), which usually follows party lines. This is Germany’s time to come out of its shell, and hopefully (to paraphrase an earlier metaphor of mine), it won’t be a supernova
or a black hole…
Western Betrayal Redux?
Originally Posted by Azor
, but Germans clearly disagree with him on the value of the trans-Atlantic alliance. Despite the pressure that Merkel has put on European cohesion with her disastrous border and migration policies, it is difficult to imagine her successor taking a harder line with Russia. Many German leaders, Steinmeier included, would love for the Ukrainian issue to just go away so that they can expand Nord Stream and go back to business as usual. 
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