In his famous 1916 pamphlet “Imperialism and the Split in Socialism,” Lenin described imperialism as “political reaction all down the line.” In both foreign and domestic policy, “finance capital does not want freedom, but domination.” At the same time, “the difference between the republican-democratic and the monarchist-reactionary imperialist bourgeoisie... is blurred precisely because both are rotting alive.”
Lenin’s analysis aptly describes the reactionary spectacle that took place yesterday in the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament. Chancellor Olaf Scholz issued a government statement in which he once again fully supported Israel’s genocidal destruction of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, he threatened Hezbollah and Iran and announced further arms deliveries to Kiev for the expansion of the NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. His speech culminated in a massive attack on democratic rights and a veritable declaration of war against refugees and migrants. For this, representatives of all parliamentary parties—from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to the Left Party—repeatedly applauded him.
After his return from the Middle East, Scholz began his speech with a renewed declaration of support for Israel. “After the terrible attack by Hamas on Israel,” he said, it was very important for him “to underline on the ground in Israel what many of us expressed here in the Bundestag last week: In this difficult time, Germany’s place is firmly at Israel’s side.”
According to the German government, “standing firmly on Israel’s side” means 100 percent solidarity with the far-right Netanyahu government and its brutal onslaught against the Palestinians. These include horrific war crimes such as the targeted bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday night, which killed close to 500 people alone, and the air strike on a Greek Orthodox church which killed more than a dozen people taking shelter there. Scholz and the federal government are directly involved in these acts of terror. Immediately before the attack on the hospital, Scholz gave Prime Minister Netanyahu his full backing at a joint press conference.
Behind the backs of the population, the Bundeswehr (German army) is also preparing to intervene. On Thursday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Israel. According to media reports, the talks with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant focused, among other things, on “supporting the Israeli army with Bundeswehr material.” German warships and soldiers are also being mobilised.
Pistorius announced that, in addition to the frigate Baden-Württemberg, the troop supply ship Frankfurt am Main would take a position off the Lebanese coast as part of the UN’s UNIFIL mission. In addition, soldiers from the Bundeswehr’s Special Forces Command (KSK) and the elite police unit GSG 9 were transferred to Cyprus.
It is becoming increasingly clear that Israel and its imperialist backers are not only concerned with the Gaza Strip, but with control over the entire Middle East. The US has already deployed two aircraft carriers, fighter jets and soldiers to the region, and there are many indications that war preparations against Iran and its allies in the region—especially the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the Assad regime in Syria—are well advanced. Such a war would turn the entire region into a battlefield and threaten millions of lives.
At the same time, the NATO powers are escalating the war against Russia in Ukraine. Germany is also playing a leading role here. “We will discuss in the European Council what we have to do, how we can continue to support Ukraine,” Scholz said. Germany is already doing this “by putting together a winter package that includes many elements.” Specifically, Scholz announced the delivery of an additional Patriot unit, new IRIS-T missile defense systems, new Cheetah anti-aircraft guns, and the “ammunition required for them.” “We will not let up in our support for Ukraine,” he added.
The very fact that German imperialism is once again waging war against Russia after the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union in World War II and is relying on far-right forces in Kiev shows what criminal traditions the ruling class is reestablishing. The same applies to the rhetoric and methods of the war offensive against the Palestinians: brutal collective punishment, the systematic bombing and murder of civilians and the degradation of an entire people to “human animals” (Gallant) are in line with the policies of the Nazis.
The height of cynicism and criminality lies in the fact that this essentially fascist approach and the suppression of the growing opposition to it is being promoted in the name of the fight against antisemitism. “A firm stand is required here, and we are showing it together in Germany,” Scholz threatened, demanding: “The authorities must be clear and must not allow gatherings where such crimes are likely and there is a fear that antisemitic slogans will be shouted.”
In fact, the German ruling class—which murdered six million Jews under the Nazis and is today building another fascist party with the AfD—is not concerned with the fate of the Jews. German imperialism is also pursuing geostrategic and economic interests in the Middle East and is prepared to risk an all-out war. At home, the argument of antisemitism serves to establish a dictatorship. Anyone who speaks out against Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians is considered an “antisemite” and “terrorist”—Jewish war opponents are also persecuted. Under these auspices, even Hitler would support the official campaign against “antisemitism.”
The fact that the fascist AfD, whose leaders have described the Holocaust memorial in Berlin as a monument of shame and the Nazi era as “bird shit” in history, enthusiastically celebrate the actions of Israel and the German government also speaks volumes. Scholz and the parties in his coalition, the Social Democrats, Greens, and Free Democrats, for their part, are implementing the racist and inhuman refugee policy of the extreme right.
In addition to strengthening Europe’s external and internal borders, Scholz announced in his government statement a “large repatriation package, which the Federal Government is now considering and will bring to the Bundestag for a vote before the end of the year.” The name of the package sums up its programme. The federal government is planning the mass deportation of refugees. The measures would “make it easier to carry out deportations,” Scholz announced. “It will make it easier to establish identities. It will make it easier to deal with those who keep coming back and trying to make new requests. It will make deportations easier to enforce, including by extending custody.”
There is a direct link between the war offensive and the attack on refugees. The more aggressively the ruling class pushes its criminal war policy and the associated social spending cuts, the more it closes ranks and relies on dictatorship and fascism to suppress the growing social and political opposition at home. The ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations and the outright war on refugees are directed against all workers. The ruling class is alarmed by the worldwide mass protests and fears the explosion of the class struggle in Germany as well.
The Socialist Equality Party (SGP) and the World Socialist Web Site support the antiwar protest movement in Germany and internationally. It must be developed and expanded on the basis of a revolutionary socialist programme. In a recent statement from the WSWS editorial board, we write:
Workers must demand an immediate halt to the Israeli bombing of Gaza and the demobilization of all Israeli troops and their withdrawal from the border with Gaza. The siege on Gaza must be ended, and food, water, electricity, medical care and all other necessities must be made available immediately.
The International Criminal Court must initiate proceedings against Netanyahu, Scholz, Biden and all the leading figures in the US-NATO axis who are supporting the Israeli genocide against Gaza.
It is only through the intervention of masses of workers and youth throughout the world that this unfolding genocide can be stopped and those responsible be held to account.