Remembering MdB. Andreas Schockenhoff
Andreas Schockenhoff passed away recently, and AGI mourns a great loss. As a member of the Bundestag, Andreas was a frequent participant in our programs and a deeply committed transatlantic …
The Miracle of Leipzig
This is a story about the secret of freedom—courage. Germans in Leipzig courageously faced down a regime that had killed fellow citizens, whose only crime was to seek freedom and …
Post-Unification German Studies: Momentum Gained or Lost?
Carl Bildt, until recently Sweden’s foreign minister, told Thomas Friedman of the New York Times in 2003: “For a generation Americans and Europeans shared the same date: 1945. A whole …
The Day the Berlin Wall Really Fell
Contrary to popular lore, the Berlin Wall did not fall on November 9, 1989. Nor did it fall in Berlin. It fell on October 9 some 120 miles away, in …
2009 and 2014: Reflections
Time flies. I am struck by how recent the events of the twentieth anniversary of the Mauerfall feel. A rainy, but magical, memory. At first blush, 2009 seems a more …
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Support Our WorkAfter the Wall: Survivors’ Expectations
There were many expectations when the Wall came down. Not least among them that Holocaust survivors living in Eastern Europe would finally receive payments from Germany for their suffering. But …
November 1989
Like December 7, 1941, November 22, 1963, and September 11, 2001, November 9, 1989, is one of those dates remembered in freeze frame. But it’s the rare exception that most …
Saxonian Signals: The Future of the FDP and AfD After Saxony’s Election
The state election in Saxony on Sunday made some waves in Germany. While the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) was able to sustain its leadership of the state, despite its worst …
The Death Knells of Centrist German Liberalism-The Rise of the AfD and fall of the FDP
The rapid growth of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany has certainly been a clear departure from the mood of German politics prior to the most recent Bundeswahl (Federal …
The Cycles of Decline: Addressing the Political Backlash in Europe
Following the European Union elections, the main conclusion seems to be that bashing Brussels is a mobilizing force on both the left and the right and that national governments around …
The EU Elections: The Evolution of an Electorate
After India, the European Union is the second largest democracy in the world, with 400 million people entitled to vote. While India just finished its several-weeks-long election process, many Europeans …
From the AGI Bookshelf: Out of the Tower: Essays on Culture and Everyday Life
When was the last time you had a bit more than a “muggeseggele Zeit” to think about what really makes up our everyday cultural lives? For those familiar with German …