Echoes of the Past: German Tanks and the Turkish Government Assaulting Minorities
An article in the German newspaper Deutsche Welle reports on the consternation of members of the German government over the use of German Leopard tanks by the Turkish army in its cross-border invasion of the Kurdish enclave in Syria.
The Germans should be concerned, not only because of the use of German tanks for an act of aggression, but also because of the disturbing imagery and historical resonance associated with this aggression.
In World War I, the Ottoman Turk’s longstanding military ties with the Germans paved the way for the entrance of the Ottomans into the war against the Allies. Under the the pretext of the war, the Turkish government proceded to conduct a genocide against its Armenian minority.
Today, the Kurds are the target of the Turkish regime’s wrath.
Furthermore, the imagery of the Leopard tank, which bears a striking resemblance to the infamous World War II Tiger tank, may not be lost on German politicians concerned with Germany’s image; nor does the fact that the Kurds have the moral (and wavering military) support of the United States and fellow democratic coalition members.
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