In Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home, Nora Krug writes of her life being raised in Cold War West Germany. She speaks of a land in which, after the horrors of World War II, “it was important to maintain peace at all costs. The notion that other countries still wage war was incomprehensible.” Yet today — amidst speculation that Russia-Ukraine tensions could escalate into Europe’s biggest conflict since 1945 — this prospect is becoming more “comprehensible,” with Germany under pressure to more firmly take sides.

Pundits in fellow NATO members deride Berlin for failing to arm Ukraine; Polish chat shows even mock it as Vladimir Putin’s “Trojan horse.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly complains that Germany is being criticized by allies more than Russia is. Domestically, two rival foreign policy camps accuse each other of either “saber-rattling” or else shirking responsibility faced with Russian aggression. In the middle of this is Nord Stream 2, a controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that critics say could be used as leverage against Ukraine.

Despite the heated rhetoric, the debate is focused on a very small range of security options: whether Germany should deliver a small quantity of “defensive” weapons to Ukraine and allow German-manufactured weapons in other countries to be delivered, or if Germany should focus on its role as regional mediator. This role was especially earned through the Minsk Protocol in 2014, when Germany, alongside France, attempted (and failed) to negotiate a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. A recent decision to deliver a field hospital and five thousand helmets pleased neither side.