Talk about being “alarmist.” Der Spiegel wants to warn us that right-wing attitudes are suddenly on the rise again in Germany. Hmmm. Where did that come from all of a sudden? They wouldn’t be trying to ride on that obligatory anti-Sarrazin hysteria wave, now would they?
“A new study has revealed that far-right attitudes are deeply rooted in German society.” Wow, like we really needed a new study to know that.
“30 percent think that foreigners come here to take advantage of the welfare state.” Another shocking new revelation. I bet it was closer to 50 percent thirty years ago.
“More than one-tenth would like a ‘Führer‘ who would govern the country ‘with a firm hand’ for the benefit of all.” Again, honestly, do any of you really believe that this number has ever been any lower in this country since World War II?
None of this is new, in other words. Germans have always been xenophobic and somebody’s “victim”–that’s just what they do.
So is this fear mongering? Yes. Am I being complacent? Yes. It’s because Germans have never been more strapped in to democracy than they are now–whether any of them like it or not–and although I can imagine a whole lot of things, anything even remotely resembling Nazi Germany taking place here again is definitely not one of them.
“More than 90 percent of respondents felt it was useless to become involved in politics.”
Observing Hermann 
It’s even more funny when you realize that the Nazis were a Leftist, not Right-Wing, group.
You are right jonolan. I think to a large extent, Germans love to beat the mythical nazi figure to death, but they have yet to come to grips with the fact that many of the ideas that are commonly accepted today would be wholly supported by the real nazis. This strange feeling of having lost a mythical utopia in the past where everything was perfect, the inability to understand the other, and even the idea that Jews have too much influence and are responsible for most war in the world are quite common. Likewise, the constant feeling of being bled dry by some foreign group or other, be it “international bankers” or “Turks” or what have you, is disturbingly widespread.