These Germans’ love letter to Britain went viral because it’s giving people feelings about Brexit
In all the bitterness and back-biting about Brexit, something rather lovely happened.
More than two dozen prominent Germans including Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the favourite to become the country’s next chancellor, and former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann – sent a love letter to Britain, published in the Times.
And it went viral because, well, have a read for yourself.
The most remarkable & significant letter to the Times of my lifetime pic.twitter.com/obRlFbJVkt
— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) January 18, 2019
“After the horrors of the Second World War, Britain did not give up on us.
“This we, as Germans, have not forgotten and we are grateful … Britons should know: From the bottom of our hearts, we want them to stay.”
And here are some of our favourite responses.
This letter makes vivid the tragedy of Brexit. The triumph of fear and anger over hope and reason. The triumph of a bleak and outdated political ideology that has festered in the darkest corners of the Conservative Party for decades and has now escaped to rot the heart of Britain https://t.co/sPIxXQxJM4
— Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox) January 19, 2019
This is the kind of EU I want to belong to 🎺👏.
— Toby Price #FBPE #peoplesvote #finalsay 🔶 (@tobypriceis) January 18, 2019
It wasn’t making me well up until I saw that the last signatory was Jens Lehmann. https://t.co/YxEM1cF4Px
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) January 19, 2019
Brought a lump to my throat…the warmth, generosity of spirit and appreciation of Britain that right now I am not sure we match up to…. https://t.co/H3mPhF3Mwd
— Deborah Meaden (@DeborahMeaden) January 18, 2019
As a German i spend a lot of time in your great and wonderful country. My love is in the UK. My friends are British. I work here. I learned to walk in Brighton over 40 years ago. It is my second home. I second every single one of those words.
Stay
— Rob Schaefer (@GERArmyResearch) January 18, 2019
I'm on the very edge here guys. The sheer class of this. I don't know why, but the goalkeeper at the end really got to me. https://t.co/PTJo6CkcjK
— Ingrid Oliver (@ingridoliver100) January 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/mudjokivis/status/1086338755991142401
And just in the interests of balance and all that, there was also this guy.
Believing that nation states should be independent, sovereign and free isn’t bleak and outdated and nor does it represent the triumph of fear and anger over hope and reason. On the contrary, it is one of the cornerstones of liberalism, rooted in the values of the Enlightenment. https://t.co/ugLgjd4rKp
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) January 19, 2019
Oh, and this guy.
I wasn’t aware that leaving the EU means we’re aren’t allowed to be friends with Germans? https://t.co/RA6H3KNLK7
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 20, 2019
