Der Spiegel is a German weekly magazine based in the city of Hamburg. They have a weekly circulation of about 840,000 readers. The magazine, whose name means “The Mirror” is one of Europe’s largest publications.
This past week, Der Spiegel got a lot of attention for its shocking cover image. It showed President Donald Trump with a large knife in one hand and the bleeding, severed head of the Statue of Liberty in the other.
The magazine cover became a rallying cry for anti-Trump protests around the globe. It was shared on signs at marches and was retweeted thousands of times.
Now the magazine is taking its next step, moving beyond the powerful image and asking for direct action.
In an editorial published yesterday, executive editor Klaus Brinkbäumer wrote:
“Germany must stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government.”
Brinkbäumer went on to explain that it was painful for him to write such strong anti-American rhetoric, citing the fact that Germany owes its Democratic government in large part to the United States.
But he added that part of the difficulty in writing his editorial comes from the unpredictable nature of Trump’s reactions. He added that without other nations supporting Germany, resistance to Trump might be impossible.
He added this:
“It is literally painful to write this sentence, but the president of the United States is pathological liar. The president of the U.S. is a racist (it also hurts to write this).”
“He is attempting a coup from the top; he wants to establish an illiberal democracy, or worse; he wants to undermine the balance of power.”
President Trump’s words, his actions, his flagrant lies, are all reminders to the German people of how easily a dictator can gain control of the people. The editors of Der Spiegel are urging German leaders to stand up to Trump.
They remember what happens when a populist demagogue manages to convince the public that all their problems are caused by “others” and by the “lying press.”
The editors of Der Spiegel are determined not to go back to those terrible, dark days.
Featured image by jfxgillis via Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
