Merz on antisemitism: Immigrants who do not acknowledge Germany’s historical responsibility must leave

Acknowledging Germany’s historical responsibility for the Holocaust is also an obligation for Muslim immigrants living in the country, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stressed. He called on those who refuse to acknowledge and respect that responsibility to leave.

The German head of government was speaking in Berlin at an event honoring Jewish athletes participating in the Maccabiah Games. This international Jewish sporting event is held in Israel every four years.

During the meeting, a basketball coach expressed concern to the chancellor about the safety of Jewish athletes on Germany’s streets. He said they were afraid to go out wearing their Maccabi team’s red sports jackets, which feature the Star of David, fearing that their identity could make them targets of attacks.

Responding to this concern, Merz recalled the speech former German President Richard von Weizsäcker delivered in the Bundestag in 1985 to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Von Weizsäcker’s message in that speech was that younger generations bore no personal guilt for the crimes of the Nazi regime. Nevertheless, he held them responsible for preserving the memory of those events and for how they are recorded in history.

The former president had drawn a distinction between responsibility for what happened in the past, which did not rest with young people, and their responsibility for how that past would be remembered in history.

For Merz, this position is not open to question. He stressed that the duty to keep historical memory alive rests with all of German society, including people who have settled in Germany as immigrants.

The chancellor clarified that the same historical responsibility extends to people arriving in Germany from Muslim countries. In his view, anyone who does not accept this obligation has no place in Germany and must leave.

Merz placed this position in the context of antisemitic incidents reported in Germany, which he said had also involved Muslim immigrants. He insisted that all residents of the country must respect Germany’s history and its responsibility for the systematic extermination of millions of Jews during the Holocaust.