German collective guilt
German collective guilt is a psychological phenomenon, first identified by Carl Gustav Jung (1945), in which the German people feel a collective guilt (Kollektivschuld) for the atrocities committed by their fellow countrymen.[1]
The source of the perceived collective guilt is the Holocaust that occurred during the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler that occurred from 1933 through 1945 in which about 6,000,000 Jews were killed.[2]
Most living Germans had not yet been born, so they cannot have any personal responsibility for the Holocaust, nevertheless the collective grief continues to be felt and it influences governmental behavior.
When Germany's Basic Law (Grundgesetz) was drafted in 1949, the collective guilt appeared to be at work in the authors since the Basic Law was given a very strong human rights suite to offer protection against another Holocaust.
Germany has long given military aid to Israel in expiation of its felt collective guilt.[3] Israel announced in 2023, that it is to receive advanced new Drakon-class submarines from Germany.[4] Today, it is Germany's national interest to fundamentally support Israel's security in the conflict with their neighbors, even though the German government still considers a two-state solution to be the preferable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[5]
The Cologne case and its consequences
The Cologne circumcision court judgment by the Cologne regional court (Landgericht Köln) in which the court rightfully decided that a circumcision of a four-year-old boy of Muslim parents was a violation of the human rights provisions of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), threatened to make all future non-therapeutic circumcisions of boys unlawful, unleashed overwhelming criticism by Muslims and Jews in Germany,[6] and Jews in Israel,[7] who sought to deny to boys the protections enacted by those guilt-feeling individuals who wanted to prevent a future recurrence of a Holocaust.
With Germany paralyzed by its collective guilt, the Israeli Knesset, without resistance by Germany, chose to inject itself into German internal affairs and demanded that Germany pass a law to protect circumcision,[8] although the Basic Law prohibits such actions.
The Merkel government, apparently under the influence of the prevailing German collective guilt, said "we're taking circumcision issue very seriously", although that action would require violating the protected rights supposedly guaranteed by the Basic Law.[9] Although it defies common sense, apparently the collective guilt felt by the members of the Bundestag caused the members to pass the German Circumcision Act on 12 December 2012 in apparent violation of the Basic Law.[10][11] Although German intactivists presented significant opposition to the passage of this law, they could not overcome the effects of collective guilt, so the circumcision law received overwhelming support in the Bundestag.
The 2012 Circumcision Debate and the strong influence of “German collective guilt” on voting behavior are described and evaluated in the book “Komikernation Deutschland” [Comedian Nation Germany] by Ulf Dunkel.
Passage of legislation to protect the physical integrity and human rights of boys apparently will require overcoming the collective guilt.
External links
German collective guilt
, Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
References
- ↑
Jung CG. Nach der Katastrophe. Neue Schweizer Rundschau (Zurich). 1945; XIII: 67-88. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ↑
How Many People did the Nazis Murder?
, Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 11 December 2023. - ↑ Marweki, Daniel (24 November 2020).
How Postwar West Germany Used Support for Israel to Whitewash Its Image
, Jacobin. Retrieved 11 December 2023. - ↑ Smutney, Matus (3 August 2023).
Latest Israeli Submarine’s Big Sail Seen In New Images
, The War Zone. Retrieved 11 December 2023. - ↑ Speer, Moritz (30 October 2023).
Israels Sicherheit ist deutsche Staatsräson – was heißt das eigentlich?
[Israel’s security is Germany's national interest – what does that actually mean?], RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. Retrieved 11 December 2023. - ↑
Anonymous (12 July 2012)."Muslim and Jewish groups denounce German circumcision ruling", BBC. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Ahren, Raphael (26 June 2012)."Outraged German Jews slam court for prohibiting circumcision", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Horkav, Lahav (27 June 2012)."'Germany must pass law to protect circumcision", Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Ahren, Raphael (26 August 2012)."Merkel: We’re taking circumcision issue very seriously", The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ↑ Chambers, Madeline (12 December 2012)."Germany passes law to protect circumcision after outcry", Reuters. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ Anonynous (23 January 2013)."Germany Passes Circumcision Law After Outcry", Impact Lab. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
