The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has spoken openly about the spectre of antisemitism in Germany. Taken together, these developments might suggest that Germany is sliding back into its dreadful past. And they are aware of the rising currents of antisemitism around Europe, even if it takes different forms in different countries. The chancellor and the newspaper, in their different ways, exhibited a moral seriousness that is one of the distinguishing characteristics of German public life. Finding and strengthening those was the task facing Germany in the 1970s, successfully accomplished then; it must be resumed now.

Source: The Guardian May 29, 2019 17:15 UTC