How Germany Became Mean
About the Event
Over the past decade, Germany has often been lauded for being economically prosperous, politically stable and more welcoming to immigrants than most other countries. In recent months, however, Germany has produced mainly negative headlines. The economy is stuttering, the far right continues to rise, and migrants are increasingly in politicians’ cross hairs. The country’s response to the war in Gaza has been illustrative of this new spirit. Germany’s leaders, aided by major media figures, are using the fight against antisemitism as a pretext to encourage racist resentment and anti-migrant sentiment. Journalist Lukas Hermsmeier discusses his recent op-ed essay for The New York Times in which he connects Germany's right wing turn with the austerity policies of the last two decades.
About the Speaker
Lukas Hermsmeier is an independent journalist from Berlin based in New York. He writes for publications such as Zeit Online, Die Wochenzeitung and The New York Times about politics and culture. His first book »Uprising – Amerikas neue Linke« (Klett-Cotta, 2022) is about the resurgence of the US left since Occupy Wall Street.