Why is Germany so resistant to multiculturalism?

I've lived in Germany. Not for a very long time, but it was enough to immerse myself in their culture and at least begin to understand it. But I must say that the German Chancellor's recent statement that multiculturalism is essentially not working in Germany comes at no surprise. Talking to many young people there, the sentiment of Germans toward the Turks is akin to that of many Americans toward Latin Americans. Both minority groups play similar roles in each culture as well, taking up much of the labor force and both are the largest minority groups in each nation.

I find these comments, however expected, quite disturbing. There are many jobs in Germany that are currently vacant. And with a surging technological market, and the desire for tens of thousands of engineers, Germany should be opening their borders, not closing them off. Being part of the EU, thats not really an option to close the borders. But Germany has strict laws regarding citizenship that are similar to those in the United States. If Germans care at all about their reputation in the world, they must recognize that many people still think of Nazism when they think of Germany. While this is unfortunate, it is understandable. World War II made an enormous impact on the entire world, and we still hear about it today, 65 years after its end. So if they really care about how the world thinks about them, they must understand their distaste for immigration is going to be compared with their distaste for other cultures 70 years ago. They must embrace immigration, and start making their public education system more streamlined and accepting to immigrants rather than creating a process that shuns them. If we want to live in a world of tolerance, we must accept one another's cultures, and we must adapt and evolve beyond these arcane convictions.