{"id":2349,"date":"2021-12-09T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natixis.ezine.intercountry.com\/?p=2349"},"modified":"2021-12-09T11:11:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T10:11:01","slug":"germanys-merkel-at-farewell-ceremony-dont-tolerate-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/natixis.ezine.intercountry.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/09\/germanys-merkel-at-farewell-ceremony-dont-tolerate-hate\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s Merkel at farewell ceremony: Don’t tolerate hate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Level : Intermediate<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Outgoing<\/span> Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Germans to stand up to hatred, at a military ceremony Thursday bidding<\/span> her farewell after 16 years in office.<\/p>\n

Merkel was honored with a traditional military musical performance and march in front of almost all the country’s political elite \u2014 save for the far-right Alternative for Germany, who weren’t invited.<\/p>\n

“Our democracy also lives from the fact that wherever hatred and violence are seen as a legitimate means of pursuing one’s interests, our tolerance as democrats has to find its limit,” said in a speech ahead of the ceremony.
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The event, which was held at the Defense Ministry rather than in a more public setting due to pandemic constraints, involved a parade and a brass band playing three songs of Merkel’s choice.<\/p>\n

The first piece was “You Forgot the Color Film” released<\/span> in 1974 by East German-born punk singer Nina Hagen. In it, the singer recounts a young woman’s lament that her boyfriend failed to take color pictures of their beach holiday.<\/p>\n

Hagen, like Merkel, grew up in East Germany, but emigrated to the West in 1976 after clashing with the communist country’s authorities.<\/p>\n

Merkel explained that the song was “a highlight<\/span> of my youth, which is known to have taken place in the GDR.” East Germany was officially known as the German Democratic Republic.<\/p>\n

“By chance, (the song) is also set in a region that was in my former<\/span> constituency” on the Baltic Sea, she added. “As such, it all fits together.”<\/p>\n

Her second choice was a popular chanson by German singer Hildegard Knef called “It Shall Rain Red Roses for Me.” She was presented with a bouquet of the flowers.<\/p>\n

The final piece chosen by the daughter of a Protestant pastor was an 18th century Christian hymn, “Holy God, we Praise thy Name.” <\/p>\n

Merkel remains<\/span> caretaker chancellor until her successor, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, is sworn in next week. She wished him and his new center-left government “all the best, good luck and much success.”<\/p>\n

The long-time leader also urged her audience to “always see the world through the eyes of others too” and to work “with joy in your hearts.”<\/p>\n

Before Thursday evening’s ceremony, she met other federal and state leaders to agree on new measures to curb<\/span> coronavirus infections in Germany.<\/p>