Europe must defend itself. The German yes to the leopard is a start

This week began with Germany's decision to supply battle tanks to Ukraine and will end with a memorial service by the Bundestag for the victims of National Socialism. German past and German present, they have come very close these days.

History is remembering. And remembering is more than not forgetting, more than a we-remember hashtag: remembering always comes with responsibility – for the past and for the present. Allowing other states to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine and to deliver them themselves is proof of this responsibility. Critics who use Germany's terrible history as an argument against offensive support for Ukraine are playing the past off against the present: the actions of the past are no carte blanche for inaction today. Staying out is not an option.

The fact that Germany plays a prominent role in the battle tank issue is also due to the fact that the Leopard – the most widespread tank in the European armed forces – is a German product. All deliveries to Ukraine are therefore inevitably dependent on the approval of the federal government. On the one hand, there are external circumstances that have pushed Germany into a decision-making role. On the other hand, this role also results from an inner attitude, and Olaf Scholz formulated it with the turning point: Germany wants to be a leading power. You could also call it accountability.

The good news: the alliance of states that support Ukraine trusts Germany. Yes, they even expect progress - whether it's NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has repeatedly warned of how urgently Ukraine needs main battle tanks to defend itself against a Russian offensive, or the USA, who have declared each country can decide for itself which weapons to supply. That was also a signal to the Federal Chancellor, who always justified his waiting with a reference to the USA.

This time, America has once again gone "all in" with its Abrams tanks. In the long run, however, Europe will have to defend its own security. The German yes to the leopard is a start.