Germany Launches a Program inviting the public to Snitch on Friends, Family, and Neighbors for Unacceptable Political Views
Germany’s Return to Totalitarianism
Germany continues its unstoppable slide into the darkest cesspools of its own history. The Ministry of the Interior has now opened a hotline encouraging citizens to report friends or family members who might hold views deemed unacceptable by the state—particularly those critical of Israel, its political situation, its treatment of Palestinians, and the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza but includes the wrong ideas about Covid, equivocation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, presumably, number of issues on which the German state believes it should tell you how to think.
The new nationwide service, is called “Consultation Compass on Conspiracy Thinking” and it has been launched to provide, so says the ministry support for individuals affected by or seeking guidance on conspiracy thinking. The service is part of a broader initiative funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI), operating under the “Living Democracy!” program. The project is being executed by the Violence Prevention Network, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, and modus – Center for Applied Deradicalization Research.
Germany renews its totalitarian vows
Under this new initiative, the government has rebranded legitimate political dissent and moral outrage as "conspiracy theories," setting the ground for the criminalisation and prosecution of thought and speech that stands against the state sanctioned narrative. The interior minister, Nancy Faeser kindly explains, "Conspiracy narratives go hand in hand with lies and disinformation. They are deliberately spread to divide our society and destroy trust in independent science, free media and democratic institutions.”
This is the first full-scale program in which the German government openly invites the public to report on friends and family for what can only be described as crimes of conscience. This initiative evokes the worst practices of German political history, where the state relied on citizens to surveil and denounce one another, dissolving trust and turning social bonds into instruments of repression. What is unfolding now is not a mere bureaucratic misstep but a dim-witted retraces into the most sinister traditions of state control. Lisa Paus, Federal Minister of Family Affairs, claims that “Conspiracy narratives are not only poison for our democracy, they also place an enormous burden on the families, friends and colleagues of conspiracy believers.” The German government is now in the business of offering family political therapy and counselling: “‘An open dialogue at eye level often seems impossible because the other party is not open to arguments. The establishment of the nationwide advice centre is therefore an important building block in the holistic fight against extremism and disinformation.”
The consequences extend far beyond the suppression of speech and thought; this policy actively dismantles the fundamental guarantees of democratic society. The fabric of totalitarian regimes is woven through precisely methods like this one—turning children against parents, brothers against sisters, and neighbours into informants. This is not merely an ill-advised decision; it is a project that bespeaks breath-taking imbecility or maliciousness and cannot but do what all previous iterations of this monstrosity have done: erode open discourse and push the country further into a culture of fear, silence, and self-censorship.
With this, Germany lapses back into one of its oldest pastimes: public and secret denunciation. The potential damage is immense. As in the days of old, political conversations within families will become fraught with fear, parents will hesitate before speaking openly near their children, students will think twice before expressing their views to teachers or friends.
From the Elbe to the Spree
The repression of Israel critics and demonstrators in Germany has reached an alarming intensity, especially with the growing crackdown on protests against Israel’s genocidal destruction of Gaza. In the wake of the ongoing conflict, voices critical of Israeli actions have faced escalating suppression. Demonstrations, which have seen tens of thousands of people protesting the brutality in Gaza, have been increasingly met with state repression. Police forces have been deployed with greater frequency to disperse crowds, often using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators. Notably, many of these protesters have voiced their condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which they describe as genocidal, only to be labeled as extremists or even antisemites by state actors and media outlets. The campaign of intimidation already has all the ingredients of the worst German nightmares: state actors working in tandem with public figures and the press to chastise and suppress political positions that challenge their interests and agendas.
This repression extends beyond the physical suppression of demonstrations to the criminalization of dissenting views. Legal challenges, heavy fines, and the threat of imprisonment loom over those who publicly criticize Israel, its policies, or its military operations in Gaza. This atmosphere of fear has already stifled public debate and silenced a significant portion of the population that seeks accountability for the mass atrocities committed against the Palestinian people often with German blessings or weapons. With the German government supporting these repressive measures, the space for legitimate critique is rapidly shrinking, marking a dangerous moment in the erosion of democratic freedoms in the country. The chilling effect of such actions cannot be overstated, as it silences not only the vocal critics but also those who would have otherwise spoken out.
This general environment of public fear propelled by empty accusations of antisemitism, pre-dawn raids against activists, massive police abuse in demonstrations and the purge of institutions around the question of the Slaughter of Gaza, has now a machine of state-repression that will push paranoid hysteria into the very social fabric of Germany by drilling deep into the private lives of citizens. The hotline itself states that its goal is to provide ‘confidential counselling’ for those who suspect someone in their environment may be falling into "conspiratorial thinking." (Verschwörungsdenken)
With the project now operational, the system now has an infrastructure—employees, phone operators, administrators, payrolls, contracts. This is not anymore a stupid and dangerous political machination; the little unit for monitoring and observing the wrong “thinking” of people by recruiting their families and friends is an operational machine with massive potential for repression. This is the most blatant and visible commitment of the German state to the rehabilitation and redeployment of a totalitarian agenda.
The hotline describes its services as ‘initial orientation and help to find suitable counselling services in the vicinity’ which adds a well-rehearsed layer to the program of ideological repression in totalitarian regimes, to wit, the pathologization of misaligned thoughts.
The only way to remedy this grotesque violation of democratic principles is a complete institutional purge of those who conceived and implemented this policy. Those responsible must be investigated, removed from office, and held to account. A public apology to the German people is not just warranted—it is essential. Furthermore, every organization involved in crafting and executing this abomination must be defunded and dismantled. Nothing short of this will suffice to halt Germany’s descent into authoritarianism and restore the fundamental rights that are now under siege. In the meanwhile. Nancy Faser, should be asked to spend the last few weeks of her tenure at home so as to avoid causing any more massive damage to German democracy with the political perversity and ineptitude that seem to have become only more pronounced in her last days in office.
When I was in Berlin the last time, I had the pleasure to discover a museum dedicated to the German Democratic Republic.I had assumed that it is a record of a past that Germans were NOT proud of and should not be repeated or encouraged. The film “Lives of Others” was a passionate indictment and consequences of the sort described in this piece. I would have imagined that they were indicators of how German society had moved away from this sort of repression. Yes I was imagining and forgetting the complexity of all societies. Then I heard how Yanis Varoufakis, Francesca Albanese and a women caringing a sign against genocide have been treated by Germany, I find it will be hard to convince me that Germany has abandoned the sort of repression that the film and museum seem to abhor.
Yes, these programs must be terminated. I do not know what should be done with all the people that ran them and advocated for them and put them in place. If we fire them, are we not supporting an action that we are protesting against? I do not have a full practical answer as a solution. There must be more engagement and social education with the premise of free speech. Your work is very informative and helps me understand Germany a lot better. Thanks.
I seem to recall that denouncing your neighbours was heavily encouraged in 1930s Germany.