German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued firm remarks against the white supremacist demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, with a spokesperson calling "such images and chants … disgusting wherever they may be and ... diametrically opposed to the political goals of the chancellor and the entire German government," Agence France-Presse reports.
The "Unite the Right" march brought together a number of white supremacist groups including the KKK and neo-Nazis. Germany in particular has a zero-tolerance position on such shows of "ethno-nationalism," The Economist writes:
Every German school child must visit a concentration camp; as essential a part of the curriculum as learning to write or count. The country's cities are landscapes of remembrance. Streets and squares are named after resisters. Little brass squares in the pavements (Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones) contain the names and details of Holocaust victims who once lived at those addresses. Memorials dot the streets: plaques commemorating specific persecuted groups, boards listing the names of concentration camps ("places of horror which we must never forget"), a giant field of grey pillars in central Berlin attesting to the Holocaust. [The Economist]
"The scenes at the right-wing extremist march were absolutely repulsive," Merkel's spokesman added. "Naked racism, anti-Semitism, and hate in their most evil form were on display."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Trump also offered forceful comments on Charlottesville on Monday after being accused of being too muted in his response over the weekend. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence," he said. "It has no place in America."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in MoroccoSpeed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
