Shake hands and read Goethe: attempt to define German values draws ire

Interior minister Thomas de Maizière’s newspaper column on Leitkultur seen by some as implicit attack on Muslim immigrants
An ear for Bach and Goethe, a willingness to shake hands, and pride in Europe, are just three of the distinguishing characteristics that the German interior minister has included in a catalogue of guidelines about what it means to be German.The minister, Thomas de Maizière, has reignited a debate about the need to foster a Leitkultur – a dominant cu