The law was put in place by among others, the US.
What's the point here? What's the point in casually not naming the "others" as you ensure the "U.S." is expressly printed? Are you now going as far as to declare America
evil for wanting to protect Hitler's victims directly after WWII?
These laws were of German creation at the urgence of the allied powers. They were
necessary at the time and still are, but the punishment is entirely too harsh. Ironically, what was meant to protect Jews, now endangers them and threatens the health of German society.
It is true that no nation in the world bears so great a burden of shame as do the Germans. And it is true that many see that their only hope is to convince themselves that others are as loathsome now as they so recently were. But they are not alone. By and large people in
Eastern Europe and in Hungary in particular, to put it mildly, did not acquit themselves well during the years of Nazi rule. Too many became accomplices, but even those who did not, could not have had a clear conscience, knowing that they had done nothing to save their innocent fellow citizens. It is a well known psychological phenomenon that the worse we behave toward an individual, the more we dislike him. It lessens our sense of guilt if we can believe that the person we mistreated was in fact deserving in some way. Undoubtedly, the same mechanism also works on the level of social groups.
But, what exactly do today's Germans have to do with the Germans of two generations ago? There is a psychological damage that exists in Germany because of the quickness to protect a certain element of the population. Today's Germans are constantly reminded of their past with these laws and they can't quite escape the stigma. Every time one of these laws is enacted and unfair discipline is handed out, countless Germans resent their history and resent the existence of Jews. These laws are necessary, but they better understand the psychological impacts on the society today. Anti-Semitism is
on the rise in Europe, especially in Germany, and German politicians don't know what to do about it.
So, it's not as simple as preaching about "free speech" or pointing the finger at the U.S. for the existence of these laws in the first place. The German government has chosen to carry forth with these laws and enforce them. These laws are a paradox. What protects one element serves to remind and shame another. Germany must get past the stigma that haunts them.
