Dear members and friends of the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation,

In these days of pre-Christmas preparations, there is often little time for reflection. But we should take the time to do so. Our country and our culture are undergoing dangerous changes in many respects.

For centuries, we in Germany have lived on the foundations of a Christian-influenced Western world. Art and culture, science and research, our towns and villages are shaped by this and have developed on this basis.

But too often, nothing is the same as it used to be. And that's not a statement made to prevent progress, because we need progress, but because we are heading in the wrong direction. Our fundamental traditions are under threat and the foundations that support us are beginning to crumble.

The security measures for our Christmas markets are the most obvious sign of this. Since the Islamist massacre at Berlin's Breitscheidplatz in 2016 and last year's Islamist attack on visitors to the Magdeburg Christmas market, even the most ignorant must recognise that we are in the midst of a culture war. These attacks, as well as the almost countless knife attacks with fatal consequences and gang rapes, have a far over-representative proportion of perpetrators from Muslim countries.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg.