"Who is German and what exactly makes someone German? Germans have been arguing about these issues for centuries. The current German constitution, called the Basic Law, is clear and concise: a German is anyone with a German passport. Citizenship cannot be revoked. And discriminating against citizens on the basis of their religion, origin or language violates the fundamental values of the constitution."
"This is one of the lessons learned from the Nazi regime's reign of terror from 1933 to 1945, which systematically disenfranchised, terrorized and murdered the Jewish German population in particular, but also Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, disabled people, and political opponents, among others. They were arbitrarily denied their German identity. However, 80 years after the end of Nazi rule, the fundamental value of equality for all Germans is increasingly being called into question."
""Whether you are German is decided between your ears, not on paper," wrote Stefan Moller, a politician from the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), on the social media platform X in July 2023. His remark is one of hundreds of reasons why numerous German courts have repeatedly confirmed the unconstitutionality of parts of the AfD. Historian Rolf-Ulrich Kunze from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in southwestern Germany sees the AfD as part of a historical continuum, partly because of statements like these."
German citizenship is legally defined by possession of a German passport, and citizenship cannot be revoked. Discrimination against citizens based on religion, origin, or language violates constitutional fundamental values. The Nazi regime (1933–1945) systematically disenfranchised, terrorized, and murdered Jewish Germans and other groups, arbitrarily denying them German identity. Eighty years after Nazi rule, the constitutional principle of equality for all Germans faces renewed challenges. Far-right rhetoric asserting that German identity is determined mentally rather than by documents has contributed to court scrutiny and rulings declaring parts of the AfD unconstitutional. Historical parallels are drawn between Nazi-era legal distinctions and contemporary exclusionary ideas.
Read at www.dw.com
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