German minister links conditions faced by Jewish artists to Nazi era

German Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer believes anti-Semitism is on the rise in the German and European cultural sector, claiming the situation is similar to that under the Nazi regime when Jewish artists were banned from performing at all.

Many artists are no longer allowed on stage, Weimer told the deputy editor-in-chief of Germany's Bild tabloid in a podcast episode released on Wednesday.

He linked the situation to the 1930s, when Adolf Hitler's Nazi party took power and began excluding Jewish citizens from daily life, in what would culminate in the Holocaust.

"Jews are not allowed to perform here, Jews are not allowed in," Weimer told journalist Paul Ronzheimer, claiming this had become the new normal in Europe.

"We are dealing with a situation in which Jews in Germany – and especially those who are somehow visible in public, such as those in the cultural sector – are afraid," Weimer said.

He said the fear experienced by Jewish citizens was a reaction to a completely changed climate and to the latent aggression they are facing.

"In 2025, Jews in Germany are afraid in public," Weimer stated, adding he found having to utter this sentence unbearable.

The minister accused some of those criticizing Israel's conduct in Gaza of anti-Semitism, a much-cited claim by German authorities repeatedly used to restrict pro-Palestinian protests.

Tensions have been running high in Germany since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 250 abducted to Gaza.

More than 64,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign launched in response, according to local health authorities.

Germany has been one of Israel's most vocal backers since the start of the conflict, with the two countries' relationship deemed part of Germany's "reason of state" anchored in its responsibility for the Holocaust.

In that climate, both Jewish and Israeli as well as pro-Palestinian speakers and artists have repeatedly been excluded from events amid fears of controversy.