West Germany is increasingly angered by American allegations that German companies have supplied chemicals and technology to Libya to build a poison gas factory.
One widely viewed television show blamed Jewish influence.
Chancellor Helmut Kohl called the charges “unhelpful” and complained of an American “media campaign” against his country.
Government spokesman Friedholm Ost said Sunday that the chancellor was especially irritated by newspaper articles in the United States that suggested the Germans are reviving the Nazi practice of killing people with gas.
Other Bonn officials have reacted in similar manner. The moderator of the prime-time television show Heute Journal told viewers that the American attacks were led by The New York Times, which he said was dominated by Jews and reflected Jewish and Israeli interests.
The Germans insist the Americans have consistently failed to produce conclusive evidence to back up their charges. Moreover, the German authorities are doing their own investigating.
One company, Imhausen-Chemie of Lahr, in southern Germany, has been cleared by a government panel of helping Libya build a chemical weapons plant.
Another company, based in Hamburg, is under investigation. Government sources said it should be known by Monday if there is enough evidence to bring charges.
Meanwhile, a government report released Saturday concluded that German companies were heavily involved in building a poison gas plant in Iraq.
The report named the Karl Kolb Co., among others. Kolb was accused by the United States five years ago of helping Iraq produce poison gas. The government denied the charge at the time and said the U.S. “campaign” was unjustified.
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