Willkommenskultur

The import of German words into the English language has a long tradition. It probably started with Werther's, or rather Goethe's, Weltschmerz, continued with Blitzkrieg and Waldsterben, and will certainly not end with Willkommenskultur.

The way Germans have greeted Syrian refugees following their miserable trip through the Balkans even made it onto the front page of the New York Times. What a change in public opinion!

Primarily young people (©NYT)

Happy people and smokers: A journalist who had accompanied refugees on the train
from Budapest to Vienna reported that during the trip, the smoke detectors
in the toilets triggered at least twenty fire alarms (©NYT)

Merkel über alles (©NYT)

The Greeks hate stubborn Germany. It definitely became Europe's bogeyman when it, assisted only by some smaller northern European countries, insisted on coupling another, a third European loan of 86 billion euros, to profound social and financial reforms in Greece. 

Even American Democrats would get headaches if more than 20% of the population were employed by the government, thus living on taxpayers' or, even worse, on borrowed money. The Greeks favor early retirement, and their military expenses are high. No wonder Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio is 171%, compared to the US at 106% and Germany at 71%.


With all the Willkommenskultur extended primarily to Syrian war refugees asking for political asylum in Germany, we are making some of our European neighbors rethink their refugee policy. Mind you, not all that glitters is gold. Right-wingers in my country are becoming more and more virulent, throwing Molotov cocktails into asylum-seekers' hostels. 

While a right-wing scene is regarded as "normal" in other countries, the vast majority of Germans do not accept such a movement, given our past. Currently, proceedings are pending before our Constitutional Court to ban the right-wing party NPD. Red Baron opposes such a ban, as it will only push right-wingers underground. An established democracy should know how to fight right-wing excesses politically.

Presently Sweden and Germany are welcoming most of the refugees. While visiting Angela Merkel, Stefan Löfven, Sweden's prime minister, said,  "The burden is acceptable: When on a market square, where 500 Germans are gathered, and one foreigner joins them, they do not feel the additional person." Still, like our chancellor, he asks that other European countries share the burden.

Germany's Willkommenskultur was heavily criticized by Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National, France's right. She, who asked for the closure of France's borders - le bateau est plain - accuses Germany of giving political asylum to people that it will subsequently force into slave labor. Compared with the French, Germans do not have enough babies. So they are attracting young foreigners to fill the gap.

Marine possibly does not read Charlie Hebdo. Nevertheless, she may have liked the following "joke" published by the French satirical paper: What is the difference between a refugee and an immigrant? A refugee is a guy who was badly treated in his home country. An immigrant is a guy who likes to be badly treated as slave labor in a foreign country.

Indeed, many Germans regard the refugees as an antidote for their country's shortage of skilled workers and their anemic birthrate, leading to a rapidly aging society. As a first measure, Germany will set aside six billion euros to integrate the well-educated refugees, knowing that the lion's share of the invested money will flow back into the country's economy:

Refugees, Welcome! Two refugees are passing by, and one of them asks his colleague,
          "Is the guy a trafficker of refugees? No, he owns a factory making tents."

Enter Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister: "While our country is trying hard to fulfill the Schengen Treaty protecting the outer boundaries of the European Union against the influx of refugees, Chancellor Merkel is suspending the Treaty and accepting the refugees. Therefore, those refugees are no longer a European but a German problem. Chancellor Merkel's policy will attract even more people to flee their country."

On the other hand, columnist Matthew Karnitschnig writes in Politico: Merkel's migrant morality play, "Willkommenskultur marks a startling shift for a country more often associated with Schadenfreude than benevolence. Germany has struggled for decades to escape the shadow of the Nazi period. Still, some observers say the response to the refugee crisis represents a seminal shift in Germans' view of their role in the world."

Is Germany turning into an Einwanderungsland, a country of immigration, accepting people of different colors, faiths, and origins? Here is a flattering cartoon:

Here is a very angry cartoon giving the reason for the flood of refugees:

Secure Germany's Future: Without our arms exports, no wars!
Without wars, no refugees! Without refugees, no skilled labor!!

Note added in proof: Although the Willkommenskultur of the German people is still unabated, on September 13, our government suspended the Schengen Treaty a second time by introducing border checks between Austria and Bavaria. This should control the intense stream of war refugees entering Germany to a lower rate so that housing could be provided. At the same time, "economic" migrants from the Balkans will be filtered out and sent back home.

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