Germany then and now: Guilt, white supremacy and sustaining genocide, from the far-right to the radical left

Abstract

Germany's criminalisation of Palestine-solidarity intensified further after the7 October 2023 attack. Given Germany's historical responsibility for the Holocaust and its commitment to reconcile this history, many attribute Germany's relation to Israel to that of historical guilt. Considering the event cancellations of academics, artists and activists in Germany who criticise Israel's settler colonialism of Palestine, which includes increasing institutional and extra-legal violence against Palestine-solidarity protesters, such explanations are far too simplistic. This Contentions article shows how the conflating of Zionism and Israeli settler colonialism with antisemistism are the vehicles through which Germany strengthens its anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and nationalist white supremacist agenda. Highlighting the internationally lesser-known phenomenon of the autonomous left that celebrates the state of Israel, namely Anti-Deutsche (Anti-German), the article aims to unpack some nuances concerning the acceptance of censorship, reproduction of fascism and support for the Palestinian-genocide that are advanced by the German state and its followers across the ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ political spectrum.