As a British writer living in Berlin, I recently attempted something that now passes for quietly provocative: I tried to buy a book. Not just any book, but On Democracies and Death Cults, the latest from Douglas Murray.
On Democracies and Death Cults has been born of the last 18 months in Israel, beginning with the massacre by Hamas of Israeli citizens on 7th October. Douglas has sat with the families of those still held hostage in Gaza, mapped the long historical path that led us here, and examined – through first-hand testimony and serious scholarship – how the civilised world is losing its grip on moral clarity.
In most western countries, Douglas’s book has been reviewed, debated and discussed. Here in Germany’s capital though, it has not been challenged or rebutted. Instead, it has largely been sidelined.
To buy the book, I visited Dussmann – the self-anointed KulturKaufhaus (Culture Department Store) on Friedrichstraße, where you can browse books and media in many languages.
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