Merkel and Modern Germany

Merkel and Modern Germany - lecture: Friday 27 November 2026, 10:00–12:00, Foreningshuset – Sønderborg Kaserne, Sønderborg. Tickets cost 175 kr.

From East Germany to Federal Chancellor

Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg in 1954 but grew up in East Germany, where her father was a Lutheran pastor. She studied physics at Leipzig University and later worked as a researcher in East Berlin - all in a society marked by surveillance and ideological control.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 changed her life dramatically. She quickly became involved in politics, joined the CDU, and was elected to the first unified German Bundestag in 1990. This began a political career that ended with 16 years as Federal Chancellor - making her Germany's first female chancellor and the first head of government with roots in East Germany.

The lecture examines how Merkel's upbringing behind the Iron Curtain may have shaped her views on power, democracy, and international relations. It looks closely at her policies toward Russia, the United States, Turkey, Greece, and the EU, as well as her handling of the financial crisis and the refugee crisis.