--- description: The Israeli Prime Minister had said a Palestinian persuaded Hitler to kill Jews title: Germany Says Nazis Were Responsible For Holocaust After Netanyahu's Remarks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7a5f37b7cc81f38/69886955f887dc1d9de92f88/merkel-netanyahu-germany-visit.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Germany Says Nazis Were Responsible For Holocaust After Netanyahu's Remarks  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 22, 2015 11:32 AM CUT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during their meeting at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, on Oct. 21, 2015. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during their meeting at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, on Oct. 21, 2015.Guido Bergmann—Bundesregierung/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 22, 2015 11:32 AM CUT A spokesperson for Angela Merkel clarified that Germany was responsible for the Holocaust after Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Palestinians. “All Germans know the history of the murderous race mania of the Nazis that led to the break with civilization that was the Holocaust,” said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor, [according to the _Independent_](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/netanyahu-holocaust-comments-are-no-reason-to-change-our-view-of-history-says-merkel-aide-a6702951.html "undefined"). “This is taught in German schools for good reason, it must never be forgotten and I see no reason to change our view of history in any way.” Seibert’s response came one day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu [claimed that](http://time.com/4080962/netanyahu-palestinians-holocaust/ "undefined") Haj Amin al-Husseini, a World War II-era Palestinian leader, convinced Adolf Hitler to exterminate the Jews as part of his Final Solution, rather than expel them from Germany. Netanyahu’s comments have incited backlash in Israel and around the world. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4083003/germany-holocaust-netanyahu-israel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4083003/germany-holocaust-netanyahu-israel/"},"headline":"Germany Says Nazis Were Responsible For Holocaust After Netanyahu's Remarks","datePublished":"2015-10-22T11:32:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:00:02.399Z","description":"The Israeli Prime Minister had said a Palestinian persuaded Hitler to kill Jews","url":"https://time.com/4083003/germany-holocaust-netanyahu-israel/","keywords":["Israel","Benjamin Netanyahu","Germany","Middle East","angela merkel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7a5f37b7cc81f38/69886955f887dc1d9de92f88/merkel-netanyahu-germany-visit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7a5f37b7cc81f38/69886955f887dc1d9de92f88/merkel-netanyahu-germany-visit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Merkel Netanyahu Germany visit","caption":"Merkel Netanyahu Germany visit","creditText":"Guido Bergmann—Bundesregierung/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4083003/germany-holocaust-netanyahu-israel/","name":"Germany Says Nazis Were Responsible For Holocaust After Netanyahu's Remarks"}}]}] ```