Up to 500 children and adolescents in Germany attempted suicide between March and May last year. The true numbers are likely even higher, however, as the reported cases reflects only those who were treated in an intensive care unit. It’s becoming increasingly clear that government-mandated lockdowns caused hundreds of children to attempt suicide. Yet the government and politicians have overlooked or ignored this crisis.

As Germany entered the second phase of its lockdowns in 2021, newspapers sounded the alarm. On March 10, 2021, Bild wrote an article titled, “One in Five Children Who Come Forward Have Suicidal Thoughts.” The authors quoted psychology student Bernd Janning, who said: “Children who are beaten up or locked up write to us several times a day. … With all the load increases by the lockdown, the nerves lie bare. Every fifth child who writes in has suicidal thoughts and is hurting himself. Many people feel nothing but futility during the coronavirus.”

But it is only getting worse for Germany’s young people.

German politicians are urging that children be vaccinated. When the chairman of the Standing Commission on Immunization in Germany, Thomas Mertens, said in December that he wouldn’t want his children to be vaccinated, politicians were quick to criticize him. Yet on March 21, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that 38,444 people experienced an “adverse event” after getting jabbed. In Germany there also have been various cases where a vaccine that wasn’t recommended for children has been used on young people and where an adult-sized dose was given to children.

Schools have been closed, social events have been limited, and job opportunities have been curtailed. This unprecedented response is having a great impact on our young people. At the start of the pandemic, Trumpet executive editor Stephen Flurry asked, “covid-19 will eventually go away, but what will be the long-term impact of the drastic countermeasures taken to fight the disease?”

Our governments have acted recklessly, without fear of consequence. The Bible warns of this behavior: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Politicians have not been held accountable for their actions, and the results are disastrous. I encourage you to read Mr. Flurry’s article “The Cure Is Killing Us” for God’s perspective on the recent pandemic and the suffering it has brought. In his article, Mr. Flurry provides the hope we so desperately need.