Looking at the European trends, the results of the German election should not have come as a shock. But for most Germans who pride themselves in the unique way in which their country has dealt with its past, Sunday marks a break in modern German history. For the first time since the end of World War II, openly racist and right-extreme politicians will be members of our parliament. Almost a hundred of them will be given time, money and a platform to speak about their nationalist vision of Germany.
Germany’s post-war history has been shaped by the mantra of nie wieder (never again). Nie wieder Nazis, nie wieder Deutschland. And while these phrases have been drummed into us Germans over and over, while we have written them down and have screamed them at protests, Germany has not actually spent much time contemplating what racism and xenophobia look like in a non-nationalsocialist context. Germans are fast to condemn anything that resembles the nationalsocialist ideology of the Third Reich but have a hard time grasping that everyday racism, both in the form of outright violence and micro aggressions, is the reality for many people in our country.
We need to ask ourselves what kind of society we are, when anger and frustration is automatically channeled into racist sentiments and actions by so many people. We need to ask ourselves, why this is a connection that, in a country with our history, still makes so much sense to people.
What we now need is a discourse about what racism actually means. We need to shift our conversation from one centered around xenophobia and hate against “the other” to a conversation which shows that the hate is being directed against the people among us, people who are part of our country. We don’t live in a homogenous post-war society anymore in which families negotiate their own guilt of participating in the Nazi regime. We live in a diverse society of people with many different backgrounds and it is time for the public to finally acknowledge this and broaden its definition of racism and bigotry.
Many politicians have now begun to their intention to close “the right gap” that they think the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has taken advantage of. This is exactly the wrong idea. The traditional parties cannot allow themselves to be pushed to the right. Rather, they must counter the far-right sentiments with an inclusive and social rhetoric without drifting into the language of the right-nationalists. They have to treat the refugee crisis as what it is: A logistical, bureaucratic challenge among many challenges in Germany, a humanitarian crisis outside of Germany.
For Chancellor Merkel and the Christian Democrats this means newly defining and articulating what their party stands for. It means to take the risk of forming a coalition with the Liberals and the Greens, two parties hugely supported by young voters, and letting these parties give new impulses for problem solutions.
For the Social Democrats and the Left Party in the opposition, this election period offers a unique opportunity. It is on them to develop strategies of a real socialism that addresses the fears and insecurities of some Germans and to open the conversation around the Germans’ problem with their identity as a nation. It will be on them to offer real social perspectives without making immigrants and refugees into scapegoats.
Meanwhile, German citizens that consider themselves to be progressive and anti-racist should consider this election as the final wake-up call, as their call to action. This means beginning to self-reflect their maybe rusty understanding of racism. It means to also look critically into the more recent past. But, most important of all, it means being willing to have difficult conversations with families, colleagues, neighbors and fellow Germans about what an inclusive, anti-racist and just future for Germany looks like.
Linh Mueller is an exchange student from Hanover, Germany.
