The author contends that political elites are responsible for initiating rhetoric and policy that have created an environment where xenophobic and racist violence can flourish. The idea of "positive normalization" is defined as a process for neutralizing the violent Nazi past of Germany and reconstructing a German nationalist identity. The idea of "negative normalization" is described as being responsible for decriminalizing and trivializing xenophobic and racist violence. The author also agues that criminological perspectives on the current situation in Germany will inevitably be limited unless changes in the German political culture are taken into account. 11 references and 2 notes