High-profile German politicians have joked that they should deal with other countries as Germany did a few decades ago—by invading them. More wealthy nations like Germany dislike losing out on tax revenue when their citizens put their money in tax havens. “In the old times one would have sent in troops …. We have to be rid of tax havens,” prominent German politician Franz Müntefering said recently.

Luxembourg is unhappy about the way it has been treated by the larger European nations, especially Germany. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is furious that his country has been put on the tax haven “gray list” by the G-20 after his EU colleagues promised him that it would not happen. But he is especially upset about the remarks from Germany: “We Luxembourgers don’t like it all when someone like Social Democrat Chairman Franz Müntefering says calmly, apparently thinking it humorous, that in the past soldiers were sent to resolve the sorts of problems they are now having with us. We don’t find it funny. We have been occupied before, and we suffered under German occupation. Thank God we no longer use soldiers to resolve our problems,” he said in an interview with Spiegel on May 11.

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück also provoked outrage when he used a Wild West analogy that some interpreted as likening Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg to the Indians. “It also isn’t funny to hear German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, who apparently has a better understanding of Karl May than Karl Marx, using images of the Wild West,” Juncker said. “He apparently wants to deploy the U.S. Cavalry from Fort Yuma to fight the Indians. And when he mentions the Indians, he means either the Swiss or us. We don’t talk about the Germans that way. And the Germans have no right to talk about the Luxembourgers that way.”

This seemingly minor headline gives a quick glimpse into a now-public change in the German attitude. It shows German leaders are becoming callous to what happened 70 years ago. Although Berlin is only joking about using force now, the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. It also prophesies that Germany has one more major imperialist adventure in its future.

For more information, read Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.