Erdogan Nazi Comments About German Government Defended By Turkish Officials

Sunday, Erdogan criticized Berlin for banning, on security grounds, two of his ministers from making speeches to ethnic Turks in Germany in support of April’s referendum in Turkey on extending presidential powers.

And last week, Turkey arrested a reporter for the German newspaper Die Welt.

The long simmering dispute between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partners Germany and Turkey, a key ally in a strategic position bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran, deepened on Sunday when Erdogan accused German officials of acting like Nazis, prompting outrage in Berlin.

The diplomatic relations between Germany and Turkey hit a new low as leaders of both the countries exchange harsh statements immediately after German authorities cancelled several political rallies involving Turkish ministers.

She said they should try to overcome their differences but that Nazi comparisons were unjustifiable and “so misplaced that you can’t seriously comment on them”.

Germany has dismissed Erdoğan’s claims about Yücel as “absurd”, and Merkel told parliament that the government was working “with all its means” to win Yücel’s freedom.

Erdogan has accused Germany of “fascist actions” reminiscent of the Nazi era.

Cavusoglu spoke about the referendum campaign in Hamburg on 7 March from the balcony of the Turkish consulate.

Erdogan’s ministers are keen to tap into the diaspora in Germany, which includes 1.4 million people eligible to vote in Turkey – the fourth-largest electoral base after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Germany has the largest population of Turks living overseas, with approximately 3 million living there.

Speaking to journalists at Berlin’s International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Fair on Thursday, Avci said Turkey has shown huge success in the tourism sector in the past 15 years. “The accomplices of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other terrorist organizations freely operate in Germany”. “Please, do not give us lessons in human rights and democracy”.

“The dividing lines between the various camps in Turkey are mirrored in Germany”, he added.

Gabriel meanwhile sought to prevent an “us-versus-them” sentiment from building up among Turks in Germany. “I made clear that equations of modern Germany with Nazi Germany and attacks against democracy and justice are not acceptable”.

He said Erdogan’s strategy of “defiance” could cause concern among some parts of the electorate “because Turkey is, again, isolating itself completely”.