"[T]oo often there is prejudice, coldness, even hatred, in their hearts"

In an unusually strongly worded New Year address that also condemned Russia for its actions in Ukraine, Merkel said it was essential for Germany to help the children of persecuted people to grow up without fear.

Many Germans are worried about a flood of asylum seekers, many from Syria, pouring into the country. A new movement, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA), is holding weekly rallies in the eastern city of Dresden.

Referring to protests that took place before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Merkel said, “Today many people are again shouting on Mondays: ‘We are the people’. But in fact they mean: You do not belong – because of the color of your skin or your religion.

“So I say to everyone who goes to such demonstrations: Do not follow those who are appealing to you! Because too often there is prejudice, coldness, even hatred, in their hearts.”