Is Germany in the Grip of Its Nazi Past Once More?
‘When we look back at the media reports of 2012, there is much about this year that hints at the country’s Nazi past. And there doesn’t seem to be anything left of the happy, cosmopolitan Germany of 2006, nor of the exciting summer of 2010, when a young German team thrilled the world with its coltish and offensive approach to football at the World Cup in South Africa.
‘Many of the players were children of immigrants, and Germany came across as a relaxed, multicultural nation.
‘At the end of 2012, it seems as if we are the gloomy Germans once again, the Germans who either cannot or don’t want to shed their horrific past. It seems that it’s time for us to adjust our self-image once again.
‘We can celebrate as exuberantly as we wish, and we can play football as magnificently as we sometimes do, and yet the Nazi story will be with us for a long time to come.’
The magazine published its essay against the backdrop of Right-wing crimes dominating news headlines despite government attempts to ban the biggest neo-Nazi party, the NPD.
In April Nobel prizewinning author Günter Grass was condemned as anti-Semitic after writing a poem sharply critical of Israel. Then it emerged that Olympic rower Nadja Drygalla had a boyfriend who belonged to a far-Right group.
The ugly German rears its head: The magazine’s article is also available on the English version of Der Spiegel
Neo-Nazis also infiltrated a neighbourhood in the city of Dortmund and established a presence among fans of its football club, Borussia.