In the world of security and defense, Germany presents an enigma. How can a country that has been re-unified and fully sovereign for almost 30 years, a country possessing a fully globalized economy (the fourth-largest in the world), a country with a few heavy history lessons under its belt, be so completely absent strategically? Why is it that especially in military affairs, Germany seems to be unable to play the role expected of it, given its size, strength, and geographic location?
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In order to understand Germany’s affliction, one needs to dig deeper. Of course, the real reason does have to do with Germany’s history. Germany’s trauma as the perpetrator of the Holocaust and Word War II runs deep and is nowhere near subsiding 75 years after the end of Nazi reign. But this trauma does not play out in one-dimensional sentiments of guilt and shame as is so often caricatured. To be clear, these tendencies do exist, but they are not what is holding the country back. Rather, within the third and fourth post-war generations, this trauma plays out primarily as a profound lack of trust in one’s own good intentions.
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This lack of trust in self has a dramatic effect on the way Germans discuss politics and form opinions. It leads to an enormous desire for establishing moral clarity upfront on all issues under dispute. On every single issue publicly debated, Germans need to settle one question first: if we take a decision, will we come out on the right side of the moral equation? Before interests or responsibilities can even become relevant criteria in a decision, every debate is infused with a moral dimension, serving one purpose only: establishing whether Germany can stay morally clean. The historic trauma of complete moral bankruptcy has made “staying morally clean” the overarching German national interest.
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