That Evil That Lies Within : Germany’s problem can scarcely be overstated

Federal authorities in Germany have made two arrests and say they now have confessions from both suspects in the wake of last week’s firebombing that killed three Turks, two of them children, in the town of Moelln. But even as officials were taking credit for quickly solving one hate-motivated crime, new attacks against non-Germans were taking place.

In the eastern city of Magdeburg eight youths were arrested after a hostel housing African refugees was stoned, adding to the more than 1,600 acts of violence committed against foreigners so far this year.

The arrests in the Moelln case are plainly only the beginning of what must be an urgent effort to contain and suppress the vicious elements that now threaten Germany’s democratic order.

The slowness of Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government to respond forcefully to this threat has served both to embolden neo-Nazis and other right-wing elements and to darken Germany’s name in the world.

Only when the Moelln attack was followed by a telephone call to local authorities that ended with the words “Heil Hitler!” did the federal prosecutor discern a threat to national security that would allow his office to take over the investigation.

In fact, the threat to national security has existed since the wave of anti-foreign violence began shortly after unification two years ago. For a nation’s safety is not measured simply by its ability to defend itself against external dangers. National safety also very much depends on whether the rule of law prevails at home, and whether the government meets its responsibilities to protect the rights of all within its borders.

Of course no society is immune to crime, and no society--even when it embodies longstanding democratic traditions--is free from organized political extremists and individual violence-prone crazies. And, yes, Germany does face a unique problem, the result of its policy of virtually open borders for foreigners who claim to be victims of political persecution and of the economic and social turmoil that has accompanied unification.

Granting this, the fact remains that the Kohl government has been inexplicably late in acknowledging that a specific and tangible threat to foreigners exists. And it has been woefully lax in moving to make sure that those who are most threatened have adequate police protection.

The arrests made in the Moelln atrocity are an indication of what can be accomplished when there is a will to invest time and resources. That same will must now be vigorously applied to preventing further such crimes.