Germany ostensibly supports Israel to pay for the sins of its Nazi past, yet Berlin’s support of ethnocentric, exclusivist Zionism is the very essence of Nazism.
Since the 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood operation tore to shreds Israel’s security delusion, the west has rallied staunchly behind Tel Aviv, offering unwavering support across political, military, media, intelligence, and other domains.
Amid this display of western unity, Germany has distinguished itself, standing prominently at the forefront of the EU as a fervent advocate for Israel and a solid opponent of any form of assistance to Palestinians, even the children among them.
This, despite that the Israeli army has killed over 10,000 infants and children in Gaza since the start of its air and ground assault two months ago.
Less than a week after Al-Aqsa Flood, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered up military aid toward Israel’s Gaza campaign, saying:
“At this moment, there is only one place for Germany — the place at Israel’s side … Our own history, our responsibility arising from the Holocaust, makes it a perpetual task for us to stand up for the security of the State of Israel.”
According to Scholz and his ilk, Germany must constantly redeem itself by shielding the Jewish generations that followed World War II. But then why does Berlin not feel a similar obligation to protect the non-Jewish Slavic civilians, whose numbers killed by Nazi Germany equal those of the Jewish victims?
Germany’s ‘guilt complex’
The German “guilt complex” has manifested itself through annual payments exceeding $1 billion since the end of WWII in 1945. These reparations, totaling approximately $86.8 billion to Israel between 1945 and 2018, were recently extended until 2027.
While these funds are ostensibly meant to compensate Jews for the horrors inflicted by Nazi Germany, a closer examination of the historical figures raises doubts about the coherence of the German narrative.
The enormous death toll of 17 million people at the hands of Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 includes 6 million Jews and 5.7 million Soviet civilians.
Yet other sources claim that the number of ethnic Slavic deaths far surpasses that of Jews. Shockingly, Nazi Germany, driven by radical ideological policies, is documented to have killed 10,547,000 ethnic Slavics compared to 5,291,000 Jews.
If we look closer, we find that the majority of the Slav civilians killed were from Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, predominantly from Orthodox Christian backgrounds. Why, then, are they not receiving reparation payments out of a similar sense of German guilt, which weighs on the conscience of Germany’s leaders?
This, in turn, raises questions about the true motivations behind supporting and financially aiding Israel – whether it is a principled stance as Berlin outwardly promotes, or merely a political maneuver.
Hitler’s hostility to non-Jews
Historical records reveal a lesser-explored dimension of Adolf Hitler’s hostility, namely that his animosity toward Eastern Christians was not markedly different from his hostility toward Jews.
This aspect of his reign of terror is often overlooked for political expediency. The Nazis propagated a warped vision where the “superior” German race was destined to rule over the supposedly “inferior” Slavic peoples, framing it as a crusade to rescue western civilization from these so-called eastern barbarians.
Numerous historical references attest to the atrocities inflicted upon Orthodox Christians by the Nazis, yet this suffering is often overshadowed by more widely acknowledged war crimes.
In the aftermath of WWII, the US extended crucial material support to European allied forces through the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive initiative designed to facilitate the reconstruction and resurgence of war-torn Europe. Notably, former West Germany emerged as the third-largest beneficiary of this aid package.
However, this assistance came with a tacit expectation from Washington for Berlin to align itself closely with US interests, a path Germany has adhered to ever since. Crucially, this created a trajectory that transformed Germany into an ardent supporter of Zionism, ironically, an ethnocentric political ideology that idealizes both supremacy and exclusivity.
The ongoing Ukraine war reveals the extent to which Germany has slavishly prioritized US interests over its own. Although German and Russian interests have converged often in recent times, this rapprochement did not cross US red lines until their joint NordStream2 pipeline project came online in early 2022. When German allegiances were tested, as during the US-fueled Ukraine war, Berlin proved to be utterly loyal to Washington – despite the accute blowback to its own economy.
Germany’s alignment with Zionism
Germany – like much of the west – treats the global community with a perceptible air of superiority, framed as the “democratic” preeminence of the west over the rest.
When the Global South masses, who form most of the “international community,” voiced their opposition to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, Chancellor Scholz nonchalantly insisted that “Israel is a democracy – this has to be said very clearly.”
In fact, in Berlin’s view, the battle today is between the “western democracies” represented by Israel and others who “do not deserve to live.” This is the essence of Nazism, which has clearly never left Germany.
Modern echoes of Nazi thought are still present in Germany’s exceptional positions, exemplified by a notable surge in weapon exports to the occupation state.
According to the German Economy Ministry, from the beginning of the current year until 2 November, Berlin approved exports totaling about 303 million euros ($323 million) to Israel, a staggering tenfold increase from 2022 trade data.
According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), between 2018 and 2022, the vast majority – 99 percent – of Israel’s arms imports came from the US (79 percent) and Germany (20 percent).
Moreover, the German state of Saxony-Anhalt recently announced that recognition of Israel’s existence through a written letter has become a prerequisite for obtaining German citizenship.
Berlin’s faith in western supremacy
In blind support of its pro-Israel stance, Germany takes a hardline approach against any form of solidarity with Palestinian civilians. Pro-Palestine demonstrations have been banned, and individuals advocating for the rights of Palestinian children have faced arrest.
This posture is not just in response to the current Gaza war but instead aligns with the enduring principles of German foreign policy, as outlined in its national security strategy, which emphasizes in its opening paragraphs a permanent commitment to Israel’s right to exist.
Chancellor Scholz, in the wake of the Ukrainian conflict, characterized the global situation as a “turning point,” while stressing Germany’s obligation to stand on the right side of history.
His statements reveal that Berlin sees itself as a vanguard defender of western hegemony at a time of transformative shifts in the global order.
The German authorities’ approach to the Gaza conflict should be viewed through their increasingly bipolar worldview.
Like all Atlanticists, Berlin sees Gaza as a battlefield between advocates for western hegemony in West Asia – necessitating a robust, empowered Israel – and those actively challenging the western role in the emerging multipolar order.
Berlin’s stance becomes a manifestation of faith in the supremacy of the western axis and a perceived necessity to eliminate those who pose a challenge to this “prestige,” which is the essence of Nazism.
By Mohammad Hasan Sweidan
Published by The Cradle
Republished by The 21st Century
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of 21cir.com.