»Incredible pressure«

The Green Party politician Claudia Roth caused a stir with statements about German guilt in an interview on the “Jung & Naiv” podcast.

The Green Party politician Claudia Roth caused a stir with statements about German guilt in an interview on the “Jung & Naiv” podcast.

After the massacre of Israelis and other nationals by the terrorist militia Hamas on October 7, 2023, there were predominantly two reactions in the German debate: On the one hand, some were outraged at how something like this was still possible. By that they didn't mean the massacre, but the anti-Semitic reactions on German streets in the hours and days, then weeks, after October 7th. German politicians complained about this, modifying a Jewish teaching from the Shoah: Never again is now. Increasingly becoming a cliché, the question was often asked as to how all this would still be possible given the many millions that the German state would invest in memorials. 

Then there were those who legitimized the massacre as an act of resistance, a liberation struggle and a breakthrough against the Israeli occupation (Israel had already evacuated all troops and settlements in Gaza in 2005). 

It is precisely these anti-Semitic narratives that became increasingly stronger in German discourse in the wake of the Israeli reaction to the October 7th war in Gaza. In the face of Israel's military violence, we must finally develop a different relationship to German history. This is precisely what warns the Germans to warn about injustice and genocide in the world and not to close their eyes. This is linked to the demand to say goodbye to the German raison d'état of supporting Israel and protecting Israel's existence. 

The Shoah itself is used as a reason to question the necessary consequence of the Shoah, a Jewish state as a protective space. Here one's own guilt is transferred to the supposedly new culprits (as in every comparison between National Socialism and Israel). An alleged genocide in Gaza is aligned with the Shoah. 

The anti-Srael defense of guilt continues in statements such as those made by the former Minister of State for Culture and current development policy spokeswoman for the Federal Green Party, Claudia Roth, in an interview in the “Jung & Naiv” format by the journalist Tilo Jung. Roth explained: “Some good friends of mine, foreign friends, say, when will you finally free yourself from this guilt of history? Or when do you deal with it differently and when do you become free to deal with it differently? And that was a situation where I couldn't do it, although I never justified what happened in Gaza - or we never justified what happened in the Gaza Strip. Never." 

She also complains about the “incredible pressure” from the Central Council of Jews to which she was exposed as Minister of State for Culture and Media when the films “No Other Land” by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor as well as “Direct Action” by Ben Russell were shown at the Berlinale. She now regrets giving in to the pressure and criticizing the filmmakers, such as Russel's "genocide" statement and Abraham's term "apartheid." Roth complains about a “toxic debate” that she also experienced at Documenta Fifteen. But the question is, what exactly was toxic about this debate? Obviously, this does not mean defending against guilt or trivializing anti-Semitism. 

One's own excessive demands are given as a reason for an action that the journalist Jung apparently did not like: the criticism of the genocide statement only came about because of pressure, giving in to it was a mistake and the causes were one's own excessive demands and the Central Council of Jews. So the Jews are to blame. 

In 2026 there is no better way to get to the heart of how to defend yourself against guilt. The reference to the Central Council also carries another anti-Semitic connotation: that of the powerful Jew. A topic that also appears regularly in conspiracy stories. Defense against guilt or the desire for collective (German) innocence also serves as a motive for anti-Semitic conspiracy ideologies. Guilt-defense anti-Semitism offers a projection surface for one's own need to free oneself from the burden of history. Apparently, this is also a consequence of the shift in discourse after October 7th, given the Israeli government's reaction, which was perceived to be at least disproportionate. Gaza seems to make it easier for the Germans to “free themselves” from their perceived historical responsibility. Gaza is the new reference point for Germany's anti-Semitic defense of guilt.