I’m writing this because I’m a journalist, I live in Berlin, and I feel the urge to communicate all these words that I’ve been keeping inside my chest. I’m writing this piece for us because I’m fed up with listening to that noisy silence, falling into that violent lie of ignoring and hiding what’s going on in Germany and its democracy.

It’s outrageous that every morning during my reading session, I never find anything in the formal, well-known, and famous newspapers. An eternal oblivion surrounds the silent atrocities perpetuated by the media. No one is talking about what’s going on in Berlin during the demos, or how the police and, mostly, the state are treating the freedom of each of us.

Germany, a nation that has long prided itself on confronting its dark past, finds itself at a crossroads once again. There’s a growing unease that permeates its streets, its institutions, its very identity. The echoes of history, ones we thought had been silenced, are growing louder. Police brutality is on the rise, fuelled by a chilling resurgence of authoritarian tendencies. The trust once placed in those sworn to protect has eroded, replaced by fear and suspicion.

The transformation of the police into agents of unchecked power isn’t merely anecdotal. It’s lived. I’ve seen it, up close and personal, and what I’ve witnessed would shake anyone’s faith in the system. Twice, I intervened to protect teenagers from police violence. The officers, bold in their aggression, handled these young people with a force that bordered on sadistic. But the moment they discovered I was a journalist, everything changed. Their faces fell. Their tone softened. Their demeanour shifted from predator to something almost servile.

That shift is telling. It’s not just about power; it’s about the fear of being exposed. These men, emboldened by their uniforms and their institutions, crumble the second accountability comes into play. They know they’re untouchable until they aren’t. It’s a sickening display of cowardice, revealing a system that thrives on secrecy and impunity. And it’s not just isolated incidents. This pattern of violence, arrogance, and sudden fear when confronted speaks volumes about what lurks beneath Germany’s polished democratic façade.

Worse still, the police have mastered a deeply cynical weapon: the manipulation of fear, particularly through the misappropriation of antisemitism. Instead of addressing real antisemitic threats, they exploit this painful chapter of German history to silence dissent. Activists are branded as threats, critics labelled as dangerous. The accusation alone is enough to discredit, to isolate, to crush opposition. It’s not justice; it’s calculated deflection, and it cheapens the fight against actual antisemitism. It makes a mockery of the very lessons Germany has worked so hard to teach the world.

But let’s not be naïve about what’s happening here. These aren’t random acts of violence or isolated cases of misconduct. There is something deeply rotten within German law enforcement. Investigations have repeatedly unearthed ties between the police and far-right ideologies. Private chats reveal officers sharing Nazi slogans and hoarding Third Reich memorabilia. The racism isn’t covert; it’s out in the open, a daily humiliation for those subjected to their profiling and violence.

These officers don’t see themselves as protectors of democracy. They see themselves as enforcers of an order rooted in control and hierarchy. Their disdain for marginalised groups, their targeting of migrants and protesters, their casual abuse of power—it’s all part of a larger, more sinister picture. The extreme right hasn’t just infiltrated the police; it has flourished there, emboldened by a system that looks the other way.

And it’s not just the victims of this violence who suffer. The entire country is complicit in the erosion of its freedoms. Protesters hesitate to take to the streets, knowing they’ll face batons and tear gas. Journalists tread carefully, aware they’re being watched. Everyday citizens, secure in their privilege, begin to wonder when their turn will come. The chilling effect is real, and it’s spreading. Germany is becoming a nation of silence, its democratic ideals crushed under the weight of fear.

The tools of this suppression are growing more sophisticated. Surveillance technologies like facial recognition and predictive policing are sold as neutral advancements, but they’re anything but. These tools don’t level the playing field; they tip it further against those already disenfranchised. Marginalised communities, already over-policed and under-protected, bear the brunt of this technological onslaught. It’s not progress; it’s oppression wrapped in the language of innovation.

What enrages me most is how deeply these actions betray Germany’s supposed commitment to its past. We were meant to learn from history, not repeat it. And yet, the police’s behaviour—their violence, their racism, their fear of accountability—reveals an institution still haunted by its own shadows. They haven’t just inherited the uniform; they’ve inherited the ideology.

This isn’t hyperbole. This isn’t alarmism. This is the reality of a Germany that is slowly but surely losing its way. The police, emboldened by a culture of impunity, are dragging us backwards. The manipulation of antisemitism, the targeting of minorities, the erosion of civil liberties—it all points to a nation that is forgetting what it means to stand for justice, for equality, for humanity.

But Germany is not beyond saving. It never has been. The country has faced its demons before, and it can do so again. The question is whether it has the courage to confront this crisis head-on. Will it demand accountability? Will it root out the extremists lurking in its institutions? Will it protect its citizens, not just in word but in deed?

This is a moment of reckoning. Germany’s future hangs in the balance. The choice is stark: continue down this path of fear and repression or reclaim the ideals that were meant to define this nation. The shadows are growing, but the light isn’t gone. Not yet.