The survey found that about 40 percent of Germans polled believed that Muslims should be prohibited from coming to the country, a surge from one-fifth of respondents in 2009, according to Reuters. The poll, carried out by researchers at the University of Leipzig in conjunction with a few German foundations, has been conducted every two years since 2002.

A report by the Local on the survey focused on another detail: When faced with the proposition that “we should have a dictator who rules Germany firmly for everyone’s benefit,” more than 10 percent of those polled agreed. That such a sizable number would consider a suspension of democracy — even in Germany, where many are aware of the traumas and misdeeds of the past — shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.