Leon Ospald. Thoughts on Gaza
Published: 06/05/2025
bearbeitet: 24.09.2025
“Soldiers! Brothers! If you are ordered to shoot at your brothers, then remember: no enemy stands before you — you are being told to shoot your brothers — your brothers, workers and proletarians like you! Refuse! Refuse to shoot!”
Rosa Luxemburg.
(This quote should now include “sisters,” “female soldiers,” “female workers,” and “female proletarians.”)
Just yesterday, I requested the Wehrmacht records of my grandfathers.
I don’t know what I’ll find. I already know some things — the usual stories of being “just a soldier.”
But what does that mean?
Did they kill innocents?
Did they follow every order?
Were they part of the mass murder of families — while living their lives as “normal” Nazi soldiers?
Does being aware of German history mean ignoring international law?
Does loyalty to the so-called German reason of state mean staying silent while Palestinians starve?
Do I — as the grandchild of Nazi soldiers (or worse) — have to stay quiet to prove that I’ve truly understood the horror of the Holocaust?
How can silence in the face of crimes against humanity be seen as an act of remembrance?
I am confused.
Ich habe die Akten über einen meiner Großväter erhalten. Besser gesagt, die Information darüber, in welchen Divisionen er gedient hat. Der nächste Schritt in der Recherche wird sein, herauszufinden, wo und mit welchen Befehlen diese Truppenverbände eingesetzt worden sind.
There is no question: Israel must be safe.
The Jewish people must have a secure homeland.
And it is the responsibility of the international community to protect that safety — even with armed force if necessary.
Period. No “but,” no “although,” no debate.
German media now report that many Israeli citizens want the “war” (which is not technically a war, since Palestine is not a state and has no formal army) to end — so that the hostages may be released.
That’s the only reason?
I refuse to believe that.
There must be more.
I believe the Israeli people want this war to end because they know: it’s the only path toward a safer, better future.
Let me be clear:
The hostages must be released — now.
Not someday. Today.
German journalists love to write:
“Critics say it might resemble a genocide of the Palestinian people.”
Then German politicians respond:
“Terrible, beyond imagination. Humanity must be upheld.”
And that’s it.
No word about starvation as a weapon.
No word about hospitals bombed.
No mention of medics murdered while on duty.
And no mention of German weapons.
The newly appointed German foreign minister tries to find a balance between critique and solidarity.
But still — no clear statement condemning the starvation of millions, used as a weapon “against Hamas.”
Is this what we’re supposed to accept now?
That starving babies is a form of protection — as long as it doesn’t violate international law?
Für die Bundesregierung unter Kanzler Friedrich Merz können die Lehren aus dem Holocaust nur sein, an der Seite Israels zu stehen. Dem möchte man zustimmen, bleibt die „Shoah“ in ihrem Horror des faschistischen und industriellen Massenmordes ein einzigartiges und unvergleichbares Ereignis. Der Schutz jüdischen Lebens und die Bekämpfung von Antisemitismus, sowie ein entschiedenes „Nie wieder!“ sind die einzig vertretbaren Konsequenzen aus dem Erbe der Nazis.
When we look at Staatsräson — the “reason of state” — not morally but pragmatically, the whole picture shifts.
Post-war German politicians needed Israel.
They needed the forgiveness of the victims.
To gain it, the children of Nazis — and even Nazis themselves — approached survivors and asked for forgiveness.
And they received it.
That remains one of the most overwhelming, extraordinary acts of human resilience in history.
Only a truly strong and wounded community could have offered such grace.
And now, just a few decades later, we Germans can say — with pride and gratitude — that Israel has become a friend.
Not just a partner.
Not just a distant country.
A friend.
Im aktuellen „Konflikt“ zwischen dem israelischen Militär und der Hamas geht es nicht mehr um den Schutz jüdischen Lebens. Es geht auch nicht um die Befreiung der verbliebenen Geiseln oder um die Zerstörung der Hamas. Es geht um die Zerstörung palästinensischen Lebens und um die Umsiedelung der Überlebenden. Ob es tatsächlich darum geht eine „Riviera des Ostens“ zu begründen, oder um der zionistischen Idee eines „Groß-Israels“ näherzukommen bleibt Spekulation, um eine Zweistaatenlösung, um eine friedliche Koexistenz geht es jedenfalls nicht.
Selbst die Briten, die bislang nicht dafür bekannt gewesen sind, eine andere Haltung einzunehmen als die (einmal!) auf der richtigen Seite der Geschichte gestanden zu haben (bloß, weil sie ein paar Nazis erschossen), bewegen sich: sie erkennen Palästina an. Immerhin! Schließlich geht ein guter Teil dieses gräßlichen Schlamassels auf eure Kappe, liebe Brexiteers! Long live the Queen, or whatever.
I believe in something we often forget when we talk about “German culture”:
Honesty.
One thing I genuinely admire about Germans is that we can be brutally honest.
Even when planning to wipe out entire peoples, we told the world openly.
Even when committing horrifying crimes, we explained them — in broad daylight.
(To be clear: I’m joking. But only partly.)
Still: I believe in that kind of honesty.
It opens wounds — but it can also help us move forward.
Richard von Weizsäcker’s speech on May 8, 1985, is an example of such honesty.
He said that the crimes of the Nazis mean that all Germans must carry the weight of history.
And the Aufarbeitung of Nazi terror — in memorials, in art, in schools — is a shining example of the kind of honesty I want to believe in.
So what does that mean today — for Germany’s position on Israeli policy?
A position fully aware of the Holocaust.
A position that recognizes the threat posed by Hamas, by Iran, by a volatile U.S. president, and by an Israeli Prime Minister playing every political card to stay in power.
How do we remain true friends to Israel?
By being honest.
Und was ist die viel-diskutierte deutsche Position? Es gibt keine. Weder innen — noch außenpolitisch. Die Regierung versagt komplett. Ebenso die Medien — mit einigen Ausnahmen. Eine Innenpolitik, die dem ursuppigen deutschen Antisemitismus tatsächlich in einem Kampf gegenübertreten wollen würde, würde sich bemühen die Kritik am Vorgehen der IDF ernstzunehmen, anstatt sie als Verfehlung abzutun. Eine deutsche Regierung, die nach Innen und nach Außen mehr sein wollen würde als bloßes Anhängsel der USA, würde Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit klar benennen, die Opfer schützen, die Täter sanktionieren und rechtliche, sowie friedensstiftende Schritte zur Beendigung der Katastrophe gehen, anstatt weiter Geschäfte mit Kriegsverbrechern zu machen.
Let’s imagine Germany and Israel as very close friends — like family.
What do you do when you see a dear friend spiraling out of control?
You don’t walk away.
You step in.
You stand in their way.
You use everything — love, compassion, commitment — to help them rethink.
And when things calm down, you don’t vanish.
You stay.
You stay even closer.
You help them change — with your support.
That’s what I expect from German politics.
From journalists.
From our society.
That’s what I expect from the politicians of my country — the country that perfected genocide.
Stand up. Be honest. Speak without fear.
Yes — that may end your career.
So what?
Do it anyway.
We forget the power of visions — of what if.
What if we all went to Gaza — and formed a human shield around civilians?
That’s what I wish for:
I want every politician who claims to want peace for both Israel and Palestine to go to Gaza — in person.
All of them.
Together.
Stand there. Form a line of bodies between Israeli weapons and Palestinian civilians.
That’s what real friendship would look like.
But instead, you sit comfortably in Germany.
You twist words. Reframe facts. Shift positions.
That’s not friendship.
That’s not even partnership.
That’s just lazy, ordinary, Nazi-grandchildren playing politics as usual.
Stop acting like the heartless neoliberals you are.
Be real. Confront the facts.
Prove that you are worthy of the forgiveness and friendship Israel offered you.
It is your duty to step in — to stop the ongoing crimes against humanity — and help build peace.
And yes — I know I couldn’t have written this in German.
The Nazis took our language and used it to build horror.
And still, that language is recovering.
To speak German about this conflict would be a way to reclaim it.
But for me, it’s impossible.
Maybe it’s still the language of the Nazis.
And that’s a shame — because we need to reclaim this beautiful, complex language.
Words like Wurzelgeflecht, Astwerk, Verästelung, sich verwurzeln, Wurzeln schlagen —
these are not Nazi words.
They are ours.
They mean something.
And they are worth reclaiming.
