The Spiegel interview headlined by Drudge is a fascinating one. It’s fascinating because it really does give us a glimpse into the worldview of a fanatical anti-Semite. This man doubts the fact of the Holocaust; and describes the defeat of Hitler as a national humiliation for the German people. Here’s a riveting exchange:
Ahmadinejad: I’m wondering why you’re adopting and fanatically defending the stance of the European politicians. You’re a magazine, not a government. Saying that we should accept the world as it is would mean that the winners of World War II would remain the victorious powers for another 1,000 years and that the German people would be humiliated for another 1,000 years. Do you think that is the correct logic?
SPIEGEL: No, that’s not the right logic, nor is it true. The Germans have played a modest, but important role in post-war developments. They do not feel as though they have been humiliated and dishonored since 1945. We are too self-confident for that.
The Germans were humiliated and remain humiliated by their 1945 defeat? Ahmadinejad’s worldview is that international Zionists controlled the alliance powers in the Second World War, invented the Holocaust and then used that to create the state of Israel. Ahamdinejad is a neo-Nazi, who also believes the world is soon coming to an end. And he is eagerly seeking a nuclear bomb. Whatever policy we adopt, it needs to be based on a very clear grasp of what we’re dealing with.
(Photo: Lynsey Addario/Corbis.)
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