Merz Tells Immigrants to Accept Holocaust Responsibility or Leave

The warning came on Friday, November 6, at a Federal Chancellery reception honoring German medal winners from the 2026 Maccabiah Games, after a basketball coach told the chancellor that athletes feared wearing Jewish symbols in public, the German press agency dpa reported.

“This historical responsibility of our country applies just as much to those who come here to Germany from Islamic countries,” Merz said.

“And anyone who fails to abide by this must leave our country.”

Warning Follows Concerns Over Jewish Athletes’ Safety

Merz was speaking while hosting German medalists from the Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish sporting competition held every four years in Israel.

Germany won 128 medals, making it the most successful European team at the Games.

A basketball coach at the reception said athletes feared being attacked on German streets if they wore their red Maccabi training jackets bearing the Star of David.

Merz answered by arguing that Germany’s responsibility for Nazi-era crimes extends beyond people born in the country.

According to dpa’s account, the chancellor’s comments referred to antisemitic offenses committed by Muslim migrants.

Merz Invokes Germany’s Holocaust Responsibility

He cited a 1985 address to the Bundestag by former German President Richard von Weizsäcker, delivered on the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Reflecting on Nazi crimes and the systematic murder of millions of Jews, von Weizsäcker had said: “The young people are not responsible for what happened back then. But they are responsible for what becomes of it in history.”

Merz described that principle as “set in stone,” saying it remained binding on German society and, “given the current circumstances,” also on people immigrating to Germany.

His warning specifically identified arrivals from Islamic countries.

The comments were reported by dpa and carried by German and international outlets, including Berliner Zeitung.

Merz has also taken a hard line on who may remain in Germany, including plans to deport convicted Syrian criminals and end asylum claims from Syrians.

Remarks Absent From Prepared Speech

The language about immigrants from Islamic countries does not appear in the formal speech published on the German government’s website.

That prepared address focused on the athletes’ achievements, Jewish life and sport in Germany, the fight against antisemitism and the country’s historical obligations.

The more explicit warning that those who fail to abide by that responsibility must leave appears to have been delivered in the exchange prompted by the coach, rather than as part of the prepared remarks.

Merz did not announce a new immigration law or a formal deportation order in the reported exchange.

Germany’s president has separately said rejecting antisemitism must be a condition wherever coalitions are formed.

Antisemitism Figures Show Different Sources of Offenses

Merz has previously connected antisemitism in Germany to attitudes among some Muslim and Arab immigrants.

After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, he argued that some people had arrived from countries where antisemitism was taught and accused German authorities of having “turned a blind eye” for too long.

Figures from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office recorded 6,236 antisemitic offenses in 2024, up about 21% from the previous year and a new high.

The largest category was right-wing extremism, accounting for 3,016 cases, or roughly 48% of the total.

About 1,940 offenses, or around 31%, were categorized under foreign ideology, while 685 were attributed to religious ideology.

Those figures do not establish that Muslim immigrants were responsible for most antisemitic crimes recorded in Germany.

Merz has also discussed Germany’s postwar responsibility when criticizing Israel’s campaign in Gaza as no longer comprehensible.

As of early November 7, major political party reactions or an official Chancellery clarification of the warning had not featured prominently in reporting.