Turkey’s accusations of “Nazi-style practices” in Germany cannot be tolerated and need to stop, Angela Merkel has said.

In her strongest reaction so far, the German chancellor told parliament that comments by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and other Turkish officials had saddened her “because comparisons with Nazi Germany always lead to misery, to the trivialisation of the crimes against humanity committed by national socialism”.

What are Turks voting on in the referendum? Turkey goes to the polls on 16 April to vote on constitutional amendments that would transform the country from a parliamentary democracy into a presidential system. The referendum could bring about arguably the most significant political development since the Turkish republic was declared in 1923: under the new system, President Erdoğan will be able to stand in two more election cycles, meaning he could govern as a powerful head of state until 2029. The president's supporters say the new system will make Turkey safer and stronger. Opponents fear it will usher in an era of authoritarian one-man rule.

Merkel described the comments as “misplaced” and “unjustifiable”, but also warned of the dangers of breaking off diplomatic relations with Turkey. “We want to live our basic values in the way we think it right”.



“We will not allow the victims of the Nazis to be trivialised,” she said. “These comparisons with the Nazis must stop.”

Erdoğan accused Germany of Nazi-like behaviour last weekend, after several German municipalities cancelled events in which Turkish cabinet ministers had planned to address rallies in support of a referendum next month on constitutional reform that would grant the Turkish president broad new powers. German officials have cited problems with overcrowding and fire safety, and other issues.

Debating in whispers: opposition fearful ahead of Turkish referendum Read more

About 1.4 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany are eligible to vote in the referendum.

Appealing to Turks living in Germany, Merkel said on Thursday: “You are part of our country. You contribute to our country’s wellbeing. We want to do everything to make sure that domestic Turkish conflicts aren’t brought into our coexistence. This is a matter of the heart for us.”

In a step back from the heated rhetoric of recent days, the Turkish prime minister, Binali Yıldırım, told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that Germany seemed to be taking sides in the upcoming referendum, but he did not repeat the Nazi comparison.

Asked about Merkel’s comments, Yıldırım said Germany “may be disturbed” that a yes vote was likely in the referendum, but that if it is interfering in the process it amounted to “meddling” in another country’s affairs and was “very wrong”.

Adding to the tension has been Turkey’s arrest in February of the Die Welt journalist Deniz Yücel, whom Erdoğan has accused of being both a German spy and a “representative” of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group PKK.

Yücel, who has German and Turkish citizenship, was detained in Istanbul over his reports about a hacker attack on the email account of the country’s energy minister.

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.

Three MPs from the German Green party were expelled from the chamber during Friday’s session after they stood up bearing T-shirts that read “Free Deniz”.



The Associated Press contributed to this report