Board Member Carlyn Steiner shares her trip to Germany

In late April I took part in an American Jewish Committee exchange program which took me to Germany for a week. This particular program was established in 1980 in conjunction with Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Our group of 14 American Jews visited Hamburg and then Berlin. We met with many government officials, journalists and leaders of the Jewish community and got some interesting insights into German life today especially as it pertains to Jews, Judaism and Israel.
 
German Guilt. Germany is still guilt ridden from its history during 1933-1945.  A member of our group commented on how surprised she was by the incredible depth of guilt and shame, attributable to the Holocaust, felt by the current generation of Germans.  She got the same story when she had dinner with non-Jewish friends in Berlin, as she had wondered if this shame was being expressed due to speakers knowing that we were a group of Jews. Apparently it's genuine.

We were bombarded with statements about Germany's special role and special responsibility vis a vis Israel and the Jews. It came from many quarters, including both government officials and private citizens.  As a group I think we came to believe that the Holocaust caused serious scars to the Germans as well as to the Jews, and these scars are still unhealed. Another member of our group concluded that "Germany appears to be tied to the Jews forever." 
 
I think Germany's guilt and shame has been addressed, in part, by Germany's well-known special relationship with Israel.  Throughout the trip, it was universally proclaimed that "Israel has no better friend than Germany."  Providing Israel with 7 submarines was cited as an example of this friendship and loyalty. While I agree that the Holocaust is still a broadly motivating political force, especially for elected officials and the military, I question whether this is going to remain true for the general population.  [See my comments on this point at the end of this article]. 
German Institutions, Post WWII
 
Its political organizations, foreign policy, economic policy, the Basic law (Constitution), the military and the intelligence organizations are structured to explicitly protect Germany from their repeating their 20th Century history.  Again, the guilt and shame from the Holocaust translated into "Never Again" There is no doubt that it is the major driving force for the design, structure and reorganization of post WW II Germany.  Then and today the country is focused on squelching nationalism, which they carefully monitor and police; discouraging anti-Semitism; avoiding independent expeditionary military actions; and maintaining transparent and, from my point of view, seemingly redundant political institutions at the federal and state levels. They are very focused on decentralization of power. 
 
Military.  Before 1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the military was purely defensive, avoiding any independent use of force (as opposed to coalition actions); the training and military education was geared to self-protection, and defense.   The military's objectives: no power politics; no imperial ambitions; and the military as a last resort (leading to a somewhat anomalous but strongly pacifist orientation in the military).  
 
Military.  After the Wall came down Germany was pressured to participate in Kosovo as part of an U.N. expeditionary force; service with France in Croatia followed in 1996; currently Germany has 7-8000 troops in Afghanistan and they are taking casualties.  The military understands it "cannot be a big Switzerland" but the society is uncomfortable with the casualties and is engaged in an active discussion about when it is appropriate for Germany to engage outside its borders.  
 
The public is turning against the Afghan counter insurgency effort, as it runs counter to three generations of re-education that taught the citizenry that Germany's military was a purely defensive military. Currently, the German high court is attacking/questioning the Taliban as a legitimate target under the German Constitution.  In essence the population's support for providing expeditionary support is limited. The population is very pacifist. 
 
In fact today, as I was finishing this article, Horst Kohler resigned as Germany's President.  Kohler was widely criticized for linking Germany's troop deployment in Afghanistan to its heavy reliance on foreign trade, saying that "......military deployment is also necessary to protect our interests."  According to The Local, a English language German News Report, " [h]is remarks were seen as a 'major departure'  from the political orthodoxy on the Afghanistan mission, which says the Bundeswehr is there to protect Germany from terrorist groups who would use the country as a base were it to descend into lawlessness or Islamist theocracy."
 
Germany and the Middle East
 
Germany has been a very good friend to Israel and is emphatically not neutral.  Germany has taken a leading maritime role by supplying Israel with submarines from which to launch missiles; it has also played a role in Lebanon
 
However, there is increasing hesitancy to have the military engage directly in the Middle East.   If Germany "has to engage" then that engagement should be in a mediating role.  The "68er's" is the society's mature generation today, and they are receptive to the values and the arguments of the Palestinians, which makes it more difficult for Germany to unqualifiedly support Israel and ignore popular opinion.  The "68er's" refers to the generation that came of age around 1968.   This generation asked penetrating questions about Germany's history.  Often their queries were fobbed off by parents or ignored or answered untruthfully.  Inter-generational confrontations were rife in Germany as the 2nd generation questioned parents and grandparents about their roles in the Holocaust and during the period 1933-1945.
 
Germany and Israel
 
Countless times government and military representatives opined that it would be easier to support Israel if the government were more modest:  freely translated, there is overriding objections to the settlement policy throughout Germany.  In general, the Germans feel that the Israeli government's settlement policy is illegal and wrong, and that the government is too right wing.  Why do they feel so strongly on this issue? One policy maker said that Germany follows the lead of the US in foreign policy matters concerning Israel.  Meaning that President Obama set the tone regarding the settlements and Germany is following "our" lead.   True or not, this allows Germany to limit its support.  
 
Germany and Iran
 
How Germany connects to Israel is connected to Germany's approach to Iran.  Germany does not believe that there is a viable military option; if sanctions fail, then perforce, Iran will have nuclear capacity.  All acknowledge that this would be disastrous for Israel and the Western European capitals.  Germany sees its remaining options as the adoption of effective sanctions or the development of a missile defense capability.  Iran is a threat to both Israel and Iraq, as well ass Germany by extension. This gives Germany a strong rationale for developing a missile defense as a credible threat against Iran.
 
Unfortunately, according to a seasoned analyst from the German Marshall Foundation, with the exception of South Africa, sanctions have never been very successful; worse, at this time there is no demonstrably reliable missile defense technology on which to build a missile defense and thus no effective way to create a viable threat against Iran.
 
Conclusion
 
The German government is a good friend to Israel, but there are indications political posture is under substantial pressure from the general population. Germany is committed to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.  Collectively the failure of the peace process, Germany's post-war "pacifism" and Israel's settlement policy are intensifying the pressures on the government to reduce its historic staunch support for Israel.