Blind to Extremism: How Germany Overlooked the Threat from the Right

A horrifying trail of blood extends across the entire country -- and perhaps the most spine-chilling aspect of all is that so few people have noticed it. It's been a long time since Germans have staged candlelight vigils in memory of the victims of far-right violence. This gives the impression that politicians and the general public were busy with more important things than this form of murderous, everyday violence. But perhaps simply no one, aside from a small circle of committed citizens, saw the connection -- the hate that tied all the crimes together.

Now, Germany has been startled from its slumber. Ever since the discovery of an underground far-right terror group which apparently targeted Turkish small businessmen all across Germany for many years, the law enforcement agencies have been asking themselves how they could have overlooked something that is actually impossible to overlook.

There's a deep sense of shock and dismay. German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke of a "disgrace for Germany" and German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich warned of "enormous damage to the trust that people have in our law enforcement agencies" in an interview with SPIEGEL. On Tuesday, the German parliament, the Bundestag, will deal with the issue. On Friday of last week, a large crisis summit was held in Berlin. Participants discussed every option that could be quickly implemented: a new joint center to curb far-right violence, more staff members for the special units of police and the public prosecutors' offices and a renewed attempt to ban the NPD. The government is trying to calm the public -- and also itself.

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