
Merkel: Coronavirus is Germany′s greatest challenge since World War Two - Tomte
https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-coronavirus-is-germanys-greatest-challenge-since-world-war-two/a-52830797
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rohan1024
I think Germany is handling this crisis really well[0].

Almost 20-25 days back, Merkel herself stated that they are expecting 70%
people to get infected and that their main objective is to flatten the curve
so as not to stress healthcare. It's hard in times like these to be so
truthful about numbers(right from start) especially when other leaders were
just denying the truth until the cases ramped up.

It also shows that the administration was listening to experts right from the
beginning rather than playing the wait game or blatantly denying the
seriousness of situation.

[0]: [https://bnonews.com/index.php/2020/02/the-latest-
coronavirus...](https://bnonews.com/index.php/2020/02/the-latest-coronavirus-
cases/)

~~~
lm28469
> I think Germany is handling this crisis really well

People are out in groups, in parks, drinking with friends, I see old people in
line in supermarkets next to coughing people, no safety distance, no masks,
supermarket shelves are more and more empty, people dinning with their entire
family from toddlers to grand parents, &c.

I expect Merkel to announce an Italy/France style full lockdown in the next
few weeks when they figure out that people simply don't care about what the
gov is asking for.

~~~
ramblerman
Perhaps, but at least Germany is tackling this on the data front. They are
performing over 160,000 tests a week [1]. That's more than most countries have
tested in total.

[1]
[https://www.ft.com/content/c0755b30-69bb-11ea-800d-da70cff6e...](https://www.ft.com/content/c0755b30-69bb-11ea-800d-da70cff6e4d3)

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zufallsheld
The headline is misleading. Merkel never said that Corona is Germany's
greatest challenge.

~~~
deweller
It is a paraphrase. But I believe it accurately reflects the spirit of this
quote from the address:

> ...since the Second World War, there has been no challenge to our nation
> that has demanded such a degree of common and united action.

~~~
beatgammit
Yeah, I still disagree with that. I'm sure the Cold War era with a split
Germany and high tensions world wide would certainly qualify, unless she's
lumping that in with "ww2" (which is fair from the anti-Nazi German
perspective).

~~~
cameronfraser
100% agree, was downvoted for saying so elsewhere though.

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orasis
I don’t know if the rest of the world highly regarded Germany’s efforts during
WWII...

~~~
dang
Please don't post shallow dismissals or snarky nitpicks to HN. We're trying
for something different than that here.

Actually, a line like this could well be part of curious conversation in
person. But on the internet these things come across differently.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

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mFixman
The phrasing is definitely weird. "Germany's greatest challenge since the rise
of Nazism" seems a lot more appropriate.

~~~
101404
If anything, nobody has ever accused her of being a good public speaker.

Also, this is what she said, only then NOT to implement any mandatory stay-at-
home policies.

~~~
l_davis
I actually thought that was a good speech. I can't comment on Germany's
policies on this as I haven't been following them that closely.

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einpoklum
1\. I'm entirely unsure German politicians will say this in hindsight.

2\. De-Nazification, and coming to grips with what had happened in Germany
during those years, was a greater challenge - which Germany overall failed. In
West Germany most of the regime simply persisted (the Nazi party was
disbanded, but most of the rest of it just stayed in place; and the ownership
of capital remained mostly untouched); in the East, there were numerous
executions and significant social changes, but a lot of this was Russian
influence and it was more heavy-handed than a deep social process AFAIK.

3\. Forty years of cold war were also a great challenge, probably more so than
the covid-19 pandemic.

~~~
panarky
She said "since" the war.

Which means she considers the pandemic a bigger challenge than German
reunification after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

~~~
beatgammit
Which is really odd. Germany was completely wrecked after WW2, relying largely
on US aid for much of the period leading up to the Berlin Wall coming down.
She was only a child for much of that period, and arguably wasn't around for
the worst of it.

Yeah, this rapidly spreading disease is a royal pain, but it'll most likely be
resolved within the year, with the worst of it probably ending within the next
couple months. In fact, they could probably do absolutely nothing to fatten
the curve and have a lower mortality rate than Cold War Germany.

Yes, this coronavirus is nasty, but it's definitely not worse than the Cold
War.

~~~
luckylion
> She was only a child for much of that period, and arguably wasn't around for
> the worst of it.

She was also in East Germany and somewhat close to the ruling party, being an
active member of their youth organization. She was, allegedly, working for
them on spreading propaganda at the university she was studying at. She half-
heartedly denies it and cites her failing memory, obviously.

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cameronfraser
I kind of disagree, I would consider reunification efforts during the cold war
to be a much bigger challenge than coronavirus. Also making comparisons to
ww2, however valid, is just about the fastest way to get people to disregard a
statement as hyperbole. Optics is important.

