Germany after a century

Germany after a century 
Peter Kopa, Prague, 5.2.2025

1933, falling into the ideological trap

Germany is one of the great nations of the world that manifests at the same time the maximum levels of both good and bad, which fell into the ideological trap of Nazism, whose roots were nourished by Protestantism and rationalism. The Pope’s warning against this error came mainly through the encyclical ‘Mit brennender Sorge’, promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1937. This document was a strong pronouncement against the Nazi regime and its policies, highlighting the Catholic Church’s concern for religious freedom and human rights in Germany. Pius XI openly protested against totalitarian ideologies and the persecution of the Jews, stating that Christianity could not coexist with Nazism because it stripped people of their human dignity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0IY7MnzQOg

German history is a hard one. On January 27, 1945, 80 years ago, Red Army soldiers arrived at the Auschwitz extermination camp. They found 8,000 emaciated and weakened prisoners, 600 children and many corpses. The liberation of Auschwitz revealed the extent of Nazi terror to the world. Since the end of World War II, Germany has been a federal constitutional republic where the inviolability of human dignity and the fundamental right to defend oneself against state interference are guaranteed.

But although these principles are firmly anchored in the constitution, they are suffering from the deterioration of the current political struggle.
According to a recent survey by Stern magazine, 20% of young people have no idea what Auschwitz means. Since 2014, millions of Muslims have been allowed into the country and Auschwitz is a distant past that has nothing to do with their own reality. Islamic immigrants have brought with them a vision that makes them see Israel as a mortal enemy, as well as Jews. This is evident in the public arena, in the media and in crime statistics: imported anti-Semitism, hostility towards Israel and aggressive and uncontrollable Islamism.

Unexpected intervention by Elon Musk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPmXXGcVbyE

Probably unaware of this historical context, Elon Musk recently attended an AfD party rally in the city of Halle, vigorously telling participants that they should be proud to be German, that they have to forget the mistakes of the past and make Germany great again. The tech billionaire enthused about “German culture”, which he said goes back “thousands of years”. This shocked not only Jews, but also Poles. Tusk responded that it “sounded too familiar and threatening”, alluding to the Nazi invasion eighty years ago.

The trauma of guilt

Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany through a combination of political maneuvering, elections and intimidation tactics, culminating in his appointment as chancellor on January 30, 1933. Hitler’s rise began after the First World War, when he joined the German Workers’ Party (DAP) in 1919, which later became the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) or Nazi Party. During the 1920s, the party gained popularity, favored by the economic crisis and social discontent, exacerbated by the Treaty of Versailles.

The profound humiliation imposed on the German people by this treaty largely explains the political triumph of Nazism. And something little known is the fact that Hitler rose to the pinnacle of power thanks to the votes of Protestants in northern Germany. In contrast, the Catholic voters in the south supported him, a small minority who perhaps had not been informed about the Pope’s warning against the evils of Nazi ideology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_fDocnz9tI&t=9s

For this and other reasons it no longer makes sense to blame today’s Germans for the crimes committed by their predecessors eighty years ago. It is hard to understand why school education in Germany has, until now, not wanted to confront this part of its history in order to save the honor of the great majority of German soldiers, who not only did not directly commit those crimes, but who detested them to the point that there was a whole series of attacks against Hitler and many other forms of protest that were immediately stifled by Nazi henchmen.

Conspiracies against Hitler

As the regime’s crimes became apparent, many officials and citizens began to question their loyalty and to consider the assassination as the only way to stop the catastrophe that Hitler represented for Germany and the world. Historians such as Danny Orbach have documented these conspiracies in detail, exploring the crises of conscience and the difficult decisions made by those involved in the various attempts to kill the tyrant. Orbach highlights that many of the conspirators were people who risked their lives in the hope of saving their country from the abyss. These plots reveal not only the failed attempts to kill Hitler, but also the moral and political complexity of the period, where courage and desperation intertwined in an effort to stop a devastating tyranny.

One of the first attempts was carried out by carpenter Georg Elser, who planted a bomb in the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich during a speech by Hitler on November 8, 1939. However, Hitler cut his speech short and left before the bomb went off, resulting in the complete failure of the attack.

The most famous conspiracy, brought to the screen by Hollywood, was Operation Valkyrie, led by Count Claus von Stauffenberg. On July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg placed a briefcase with explosives in the room where Hitler was meeting. Although one of the explosives detonated, Hitler survived because the briefcase was accidentally moved by another assistant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCJhL857He8

In March 1943, several Nazi officers planned attacks against Hitler. One of the plans included a bomb on a plane carrying Hitler, while another contemplated a simultaneous attack against other Nazi leaders such as Himmler and Göring. These plans were part of a broader effort by military and civilians seeking to overthrow the regime from within.

Current political shift to the right

As in other leading countries, the pandemic and the globalist pretensions of the Davos 2030 Agenda have had a profound impact on people, leading to unexpected electoral setbacks that are turning the political tide to the right. A bill was recently introduced in Parliament (Bundestag) by CDU leader and chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz. His aim was to curb illegal immigration, if necessary even with the votes of the AfD.

As a result of the loss of the vote of confidence in Olaf Schulz, early federal elections have been called for February 23, 2025. These elections will determine the composition of the new Bundestag and, therefore, the future government of Germany. The result of these elections has been the breakdown of the traditional tripartite alliance against the far right. For the first time at federal level, the CDU/CSU voted together with the AfD (Alternative for Germany) in the Bundestag on migration policy. This event is completely reshaping the political landscape, making it likely that the German government will bend to right-wing countries, also rethinking the role of the EU.