In a historic television speech on March 18, 2020, Angela Merkel addressed the nation with dramatic words.

"It's serious.

Take it seriously too.” The corona virus, which was first introduced from China, could no longer be stopped here either.

Germany was facing the greatest challenge since the Second World War, as the then chancellor described the seriousness of the situation.

Almost three years later, the disease has claimed the lives of almost 15 million people worldwide, according to WHO estimates.

So far, more than 164,000 people have died in Germany in connection with Covid-19.

Tens of thousands, including many young people, suffer from Long Covid, some also from vaccination damage.

But in the third Corona winter, an endemic phase began, and the infection rates fell sharply.

The virus occurs again and again, but usually without serious illnesses.

As before, almost all corona measures are rightly dropped in most other countries.

However, it is worth taking a (self-) critical look back – possibly in the form of a commission of inquiry – which politicians unfortunately still shy away from.

How did Germany fare in the fight against Corona?

Has the state been able to adequately protect its citizens from a deadly pathogen against which there was no vaccine or effective medication?

Were all the measures really necessary, or did they even cause more damage than Corona itself?

New Zealand performs best

If you only look at the excess mortality during the pandemic years, according to a study by American scientists, Germany is at the bottom.

In an international comparison, New Zealand performs best.

In the first corona wave, the island state sealed itself off with the more dangerous delta variant through rigorous quarantine and entry rules in order to later vaccinate its population.

The strategy was greatly favored by the geographical remoteness.

In this country, the partial lockdown that was decided by the Bundestag through the adapted Infection Protection Act already had an effect.

The first wave was flattened out significantly, and the number of corona deaths was limited.

But even the purchase of the FFP-2 protective masks, which was worth billions for the taxpayer at the time, was more than an annoyance for which the then CDU Health Minister Jens Spahn was responsible.

The direct line of enterprising Union politicians in health ministries led to mask deals like Raffke.

Fraud with state-funded test stations and corona aid, which did not go to needy entrepreneurs and the self-employed, but to criminals, were also avoidable mistakes.

It should have been avoided that schools and daycare centers were closed for months.

For many children and young people, this measure meant great mental suffering.

The downside of this exaggeration was the delay in policy before the first fall and winter wave of 2020, but also in the second one a year later.

Contact restrictions, mask requirements and free citizen tests came too slowly.

The prime ministers' conference, in cooperation with the chancellor, proved to be an exemplary federal instrument, but it often acted far too sluggishly and contradictorily.

The greatest achievement: the vaccines

In no phase of the pandemic did politics come before the wave, but always waited, although scientists predicted its extent quite accurately.

The fatal consequence of the first wave was that the particularly vulnerable residents of retirement and nursing homes were neglected.

The fact that the death rate has been significantly reduced in this main risk group is thanks to the vaccines.

That is the greatest achievement of this pandemic: the vaccines that have been developed, approved, distributed and administered in record time.

The accompanying circumstances were bumpy.

First there were too few, then too many vaccines.

The information campaigns were often powerless against vaccination skeptics and vaccination opponents.

Months of parliamentary tug-of-war over mandatory vaccination ended in embarrassment for the traffic light coalition and its chancellor.

As in the USA, but at least to a much lesser extent than there, part of society became radicalized as “lateral thinkers”.

Their sometimes anti-Semitic mobilization against a hated “vaccination and mask dictatorship” remains a challenge for democracy even after the end of the pandemic.

However, the fact that many lives were saved in Germany through government and voluntary commitment, but also through solidarity, shows that a democratic country is superior to a dictatorship like China with a zero-Covid strategy, draconian measures and too few vaccinations, especially for older people .

The strength of an open society also lies in the fact that science and citizens are not muzzled.