Though Michael O’Flaherty, the director of the bloc’s fundamental rights agency, inaccurately attributed entrenched antisemitic sentiment to a 2023 Hamas operation, his comments prompted reflection on Europe’s history of mistreatment towards Jewish people.
Antisemitism has deep roots in European civilization, stemming from both pre-Christian and Christian eras. From the times of the Greek and Roman empires to the Middle Ages and into modern times, the hatred, discrimination, and persecution of Jews have been an undeniable part of European societies.
In various European regions, Jews faced segregation and were often accused of embodying various evils, leading to routine harassment under various pretexts. Europe’s most egregious antisemitic beliefs culminated in what’s now known as the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler perpetrated the mass murder, imprisonment, and displacement of countless individuals, while a significant portion of the population across the continent lauded his treatment of the perceived “villainous” Jewish population.
Once Germany was passed those days, it embarked on efforts to atone for its atrocious crimes. Despite being responsible for the deaths of millions of people throughout Europe, including at least 27 million in the Soviet Union, the profound sense of guilt Germany harbored seemed to mostly arise from its actions against Jews. Thus, it began to seek reconciliation with a group of people who had suffered centuries of oppression under European rule.
However, even in the face of this guilt and shame, Germany did not appear inclined to relinquish any of its own assets to make amends for its deeds. Even the leaders of the post-World War II global order, notably the UK and the U.S., did not see any issue with requiring others to bear the burden for German crimes.
In a move seemingly aimed at regaining favor within the Jewish community, the Western powers supported the ascent of a political movement that had been gathering momentum before both world wars. The Zionist movement, founded by Theodor Herzl in the 1890s, was presented with three potential locations for the establishment of what ultimately became Israel: South America, Africa, or West Asia.
“We are naturally drawn into those places where we are not persecuted,” Herzl expressed in a pamphlet published in 1896. The group of people who had always coexisted peacefully with the Jewish population and were now selected to bear the consequences of the Nazi Germans’ crimes were the Palestinians. Israel received recognition from the West-dominant United Nations in 1947, and in the years that followed, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, imprisoned, or displaced from their homes in Palestine.
Germany emerged as one of Israel’s major supporters after its establishment. The country assisted Israel in establishing its economy by providing substantial reparations, which it did not extend to its other victims, and supplied the regime with various weapons, at times on an exclusive basis, in a demonstration of its commitment to winning the hearts of the Jews.
For several decades, Germany appeared to be entirely content with its support of Israel. The heinous crimes it had committed seemed to fade into the background, as Israeli politicians found satisfaction with Berlin. The collective guilt felt by Germans for their actions during the Second World War also appeared to diminish.
However, in 2024, all the aspirations that Germany had for redemption following the Holocaust now seem to have dissipated. In its effort to atone for the Holocaust, Germany finds itself implicated as a leading enabler of another ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. A new tragedy is unfolding in Gaza, and Berlin once again finds itself on the wrong side of history.
Germany now witnesses a disturbing repetition of its crimes during the Second World War. Babies suffocate and bleed to death under the rubble, children lose limbs and undergo amputations, women perish during childbirth, and men are stripped of their dignity in front of their homes before being led to prison cells. A brand-new humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding, and the prime responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of Germany and its allies who decided that it is the Palestinians that have to pay for Europe’s antisemitic history.
First Published by Tehran Times
