For 16 years, from 2005 to 2021, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany. Her term in office encompassed the global financial crisis, the Euro crisis, the famous phrase "We can do this!" in response to the arrival of many refugees in 2015, and, not least, a global pandemic. As a woman from East Germany, Merkel had an unprecedented political career – and although she had announced that after her time as Chancellor she only wanted to attend "feel-good events," she has now written a nearly 740-page book about her life. For her, it consists of two parts: the 35 years leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 35 years that followed.
"You know me." Angela Merkel said this during the 2013 federal election campaign. But is that true? In this episode, Anne Will talks with Angela Merkel about her life, her time in office, and also about what is missing from the book. They discuss Merkel's East German identity, being a woman in top-level politics, and also a political retrospective. Angela Merkel's political legacy continues to resonate: For example, in 2008, she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out decisively against further steps toward Ukraine's NATO membership. How does she assess this decision today? What is her perspective on the rise of the AfD and the global political situation in 2024? And are there things she regrets?
The editorial deadline for this episode was Monday, November 25, 2024, at 10:30 a.m.
IMPORTANT SOURCES:
Angela Merkel (with Beate Baumann): Freedom, published on November 26, 2024
https://www.kiwi-verlag.de/buch/angel...
Livestream of the book launch at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, November 26, 2024
Angela Merkel im Deutschen Theater: Die Bu...
Spiegel: “Yes, you can say: It was Merkel,” November 22, 2024
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutsc...
Speech by Chancellor Angela Merkel at the ceremony commemorating German Unity Day, October 3, 2021
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-d...
Tagesschau: “I invite Ms. Merkel to visit Bucha”, April 4, 2022 https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/ukr...
Federal Agency for Civic Education: Germany's Dependence on Russian Gas, April 13, 2022
https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/hinterg...
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Film: "The Unyielding 2"
https://www.dieunbeugsamen-film.de/te...
IMPRINT
Editors: Marie Schiller, Gina Enslin
Executive Producer: Marie Schiller
Producers: Maximilian Frisch, Lukas Hambach, and Patrick Zahn
Sound Design: Hannes Husten
Marketing: Mit Vergnügen GmbH
A Will Media GmbH Production
For 16 years, from 2005 to 2021, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany. Her term in office encompassed the global financial crisis, the Euro crisis, the famous phrase "We can do this!" in response to the arrival of many refugees in 2015, and, not least, a global pandemic. As a woman from East Germany, Merkel had an unprecedented political career – and although she had announced that after her time as Chancellor she only wanted to attend "feel-good events," she has now written a nearly 740-page book about her life. For her, it consists of two parts: the 35 years leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 35 years that followed.
"You know me." Angela Merkel said this during the 2013 federal election campaign. But is that true? In this episode, Anne Will talks with Angela Merkel about her life, her time in office, and also about what is missing from the book. They discuss Merkel's East German identity, being a woman in top-level politics, and also a political retrospective. Angela Merkel's political legacy continues to resonate: For example, in 2008, she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out decisively against further steps toward Ukraine's NATO membership. How does she assess this decision today? What is her perspective on the rise of the AfD and the global political situation in 2024? And are there things she regrets?
The editorial deadline for this episode was Monday, November 25, 2024, at 10:30 a.m.
IMPORTANT SOURCES:
Angela Merkel (with Beate Baumann): Freedom, published on November 26, 2024
https://www.kiwi-verlag.de/buch/angel...
Livestream of the book launch at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, November 26, 2024
Angela Merkel im Deutschen Theater: Die Bu...
Spiegel: “Yes, you can say: It was Merkel,” November 22, 2024
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutsc...
Speech by Chancellor Angela Merkel at the ceremony commemorating German Unity Day, October 3, 2021
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-d...
Tagesschau: “I invite Ms. Merkel to visit Bucha”, April 4, 2022 https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/ukr...
Federal Agency for Civic Education: Germany's Dependence on Russian Gas, April 13, 2022
https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/hinterg...
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Film: "The Unyielding 2"
https://www.dieunbeugsamen-film.de/te...
IMPRINT
Editors: Marie Schiller, Gina Enslin
Executive Producer: Marie Schiller
Producers: Maximilian Frisch, Lukas Hambach, and Patrick Zahn
Sound Design: Hannes Husten
Marketing: Mit Vergnügen GmbH
A Will Media GmbH Production