You seem to imply that libel & defamation laws don't exist in the US, but they obviously do. So could you explain what difference you're pointing out?
And just like in the USA, that does not make it absolute. The exact interpretation and limitations are different, but saying saying that Germany does not have freedom of speech is disrespectful and incorrect.
Try saying the same about Merz
You can criticise Merz's hairstyle, his politics, and his small hands all you like though.
Ofcourse we can say a lot, but our speach is far from free. Volksverhetzung is another thing. Say the wrong thing about some groups and your in trouble. And im not necessarily saying its a bad thing that this exists. But we shouldnt pretend like our speach is free
in my opinion the problem with germans speech laws are not the limitations, but the risk of misinterpretation and the resulting uncertainty on border cases whose outcome depends on the opinion of prosecution and judges.
[0] https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_st...
If the government can arbitrarily designate groups it doesn't like as terrorists and restrict your freedom based on that, then there isn't free speech.
"Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea."[0]
[0] https://web.archive.org/web/20170510123932/http://hamas.ps/e...
Also, there is no free speech in Germany. There is freedom of opinion and expression thereof. I'm not an advocate of that, but it's also not arbitrary.
And I am glad we agree there is no free speech. "freedom of opinion and expression" without the freedom to speak may as well be a joke. And I wouldn't be surprised if they arrested people for doing interpretive dance in support of Palestinians.
Also, the swastika predates the NSDAP by millennia. It's still not allowed to use it in a context where it means "death to all Jews". Same is true for the slogan "from the river to the sea".
Freedom of speech, like it exists in the US is called "Redefreiheit", but Germany has "Meinungsfreiheit", which is not the same. Redefreiheit means you can say anything you want. This is not the case in Germany. Meinungsfreiheit means, you can think whatever you want, but not say whatever you want.
Even in the article of the Grundgesetz you listed, it's stated:
> (2) These rights shall find their limits in the provisions of general laws, in provisions for the protection of young persons and in the right to personal honour.
Or in other words: your freedom of expression ends, when you're expressing something that is deemed illegal by the law.
on the other hand, in germany unlike the US, even private entities can not limit your freedom of expression as long as it is legal (and not disruptive).
The constitution that you are governed by includes all of the judgements that have been made.
in other words, the constitution is defined by its practical application.
So saying "the US has free speech" does not mean "we have the first amendment". It means we have a long culture of judgements that have established free speech as a fundamental right.