Merkel herself did not act on humanitarian grounds when she decided to let these people through to us. She thought it was an opportune way to supplement her image given the current mood in the country, which was very pro-refugee. Many people, including me, thought it was the right decision in this exceptional situation to allow a limited number of people to come here for a short time. Nobody guessed that this “state of emergency” would become permanent, not even the Chancellor and the government itself. Die Welt journalist Robin Alexander revealed in retrospect in his book “The Driven” that...