American Council On Germany

Priorities for Germany's G7 Presidency
2022-05-05 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Germany has an ambitious agenda for its G7 Presidency in 2022 – and faces unexpected challenges. When Germany assumed the Presidency on January 1st, it sought to achieve “progress towards an equitable world” through a focus on sustainability, economic stability, public health, and investment in a better future. And, it recognized the importance of a multilateral approach to addressing common global challenges. In late February, however, Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine put the global economic and security order at risk.
How will Germany take the lead in developing global solutions in the face of open conflict in Europe? Join the American Council on Germany and the German Embassy in Washington, DC for the first of several events on Germany’s G7 Presidency. On Thursday, May 5, Dr. Jörg Kukies, State Secretary for Economic, Finance, and European Affairs – and one of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s closes advisors – will provide an overview of the G7 Presidency prior to the G7 Leaders’ Summit in late June. Dr. Jörg Kukies is the State Secretary for Economic, Finance, and European Affairs, and G7/G20 Sherpa in the German Federal Chancellery. Previously, he served as State Secretary for financial market policy and European policy at the Federal Ministry of Finance from April 2018. Before that, he was co-chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs AG and managing director of the Frankfurt branch of Goldman Sachs International from 2014 to 2018. He has previously held positions in the product development team of Goldman Sachs International in London, in the equities division for Germany and Austria in Frankfurt, and as head of equity derivatives for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Goldman Sachs International from 2011 to 2014.
Dr. Kukies studied economics at Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris. He has a master’s in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.

New Faces in the Bundestag: What’s on the Agenda
2022-05-02 12:30 - 14:00
On May 2, The American Council on Germany and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung will host a discussion and luncheon with Isabel Cademartori, Member of the German Bundestag (SPD).
For more information, please email events@acgusa.org.

Isabel Cademartori was elected to the German Parliament in 2021, where she represents the City of Mannheim. Ms. Cademartori is the only member of parliament with Hispanic heritage, and she serves on the Committee on Housing, Urban Development, Building, and Local Government, as well as the Committee on Transport. She is also a deputy member of the Committee on Health. Ms. Cademartori has also been a member of the Mannheim City Council since 2019.
Prior to her rise in electoral politics, she studied Business and Economics Education at the University of Mannheim, earning her master’s degree in 2014. Born in Brandenburg to a German mother and a Chilean father who immigrated to East Germany as a political refugee, Ms. Cademartori’s biography is one of the more unusual among her colleagues in the Bundestag. Her grandfather, Jose Cademartori, was the Minister of Economics in Salvador Allende’s government and was forced to flee Chile after Pinochet’s military putsch. She studied abroad in Chile and South Africa.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-05-02 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin.
Join us on Monday, May 2 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause on the latest developments in Berlin including Germany’s renewed commitment to sending weapons to Ukraine with Matthew Karnitschnig, Chief European Correspondent for Politico. Matthew Karnitschnig is POLITICO’s Chief Europe Correspondent, based in Berlin. He joined the publication in 2015 from the Wall Street Journal, where he spent 15 years in a variety of positions as a reporter and editor in the U.S. and Europe.
In a career spanning two decades, Mr. Karnitschnig has been on the front lines of some of the defining political and economic stories of our time. In 2008, he covered the fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial crisis that ensued. He was part of a team of Journal reporters that won a Gerald Loeb Award and was named a Pulitzer finalist for National Reporting in 2009.
He subsequently spearheaded the WSJ’s coverage of the eurozone debt crisis as the paper’s Germany bureau chief and European economics editor. He led the team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 2011 and won an Overseas Press Club award in 2012.
Mr. Karnitschnig previously worked as a journalist for Business Week, Reuters, and Bloomberg.
The son of an Austrian father and American mother, he grew up in Arizona, where he got his start reporting as a stringer for the Phoenix Gazette during high school.

Russia’s Renewed Offensive in Ukraine: Where Do We Go from Here?
2022-04-28 11:00 - 12:00
Russian troops have withdrawn from Kyiv, but Moscow has launched a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine with the aim of securing control over Ukraine’s Donbas region. Russia increased air and missile strikes against several targets across Ukraine in the run-up to the renewed offensive – particularly around the line of contact in the east and southeast. Intense fighting is likely to continue throughout this region. Heavy fighting also continues in the strategic port city of Mariupol, and the city will likely fall in the coming days.
Against this backdrop, President Zelenskyy continues to plead for more military aid. Join us for a virtual discussion about the ongoing war in Ukraine and the western response on Thursday, April 28, at 11:00 am ET with Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis and former Commanding General, United States Army Europe, and Dr. Claudia Major, Head of the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). Lieutenant General Ben Hodges holds the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis which he joined in 2018. From 2014 to 2017, General Hodges served as Commanding General, United States Army Europe before his retirement from the Army in early 2018. General Hodges has also served in a variety of Joint and Army Staff positions including Tactics Instructor; Chief of Plans, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea; Aide-de-Camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps; Director of the Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell on the Joint Staff; Chief of Legislative Liaison for the United States Army; and Commander, NATO Allied Land Command (İzmir, Turkey).
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After his first assignment as an Infantry Lieutenant in Garlstedt, Germany, he commanded Infantry units at the Company, Battalion, and Brigade levels in the 101st Airborne Division, including Command of the First Brigade Combat Team “Bastogne” of the 101st Airborne Division in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (2003-2004). His other operational assignments include Chief of Operations for Multi-National Corps-Iraq in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (2005-2006) and Director of Operations, Regional Command South in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2009-2010).
Dr. Claudia Major is Head of the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Her research, advisory work, publications, and media contributions focus on security and defense policy in Europe and in a transatlantic context (NATO, EU, Germany, UK, France). Recent publications deal with Germany’s security and defense policy, NATO’s strategic adaptation and future development, developments in EU defense, strategic autonomy, and Franco-German relations in defense. Previously she held positions at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations, the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the German Foreign Office, and Sciences Po Paris. She is a member of various boards, including the Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention at the Federal Foreign Office. She holds a diploma from Sciences Po Paris and the Free University Berlin and a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Financial Stability in an Unstable World: A Central Banker’s Perspective
2022-04-27 12:30 - 14:00
The American Council on Germany will host a discussion and luncheon with Professor Dr. Joachim Wuermeling, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank. Professor Dr. Joachim Wuermeling has been a member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank since 2016. He is responsible for banking and financial supervision, risk control, and information technology. Prior to taking on his current position, Professor Dr. Wuermeling, who has a Ph.D. in Law, held a variety of executive-level posts in the financial and insurance industries as well as in politics. From 2011 until his departure for the Bundesbank, Professor Dr. Wuermeling was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Sparda-Banken in Frankfurt am Main. Prior to that, he was a member of the Executive Board of the German Insurance Association (Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft) for about three years. From 2005 to 2008, Professor Dr. Wuermeling was State Secretary for European Affairs at the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, where he was also responsible for coordinating European policy matters. From 1999 to 2005, he was a member of the European Parliament (CSU). Professor Dr. Wuermeling also is a lecturer on European politics at the University of Potsdam.

What to Expect from the Next French President: A View from Berlin
2022-04-27 11:00 - 12:00
On Sunday, April 24, French voters will take to the polls in the second round of France’s presidential election. They will decide between a second term for President Emmanuel Macron or a new start with his right-wing challenger Marine Le Pen. The two candidates have very different views on foreign policy and France’s role in the world. While President Macron pushes for a more sovereign Europe and sees the European Union as the best vehicle to defend French national interests at the global level, Ms. Le Pen promotes a radically nationalist vision of sovereignty that includes leaving NATO and challenging EU treaties in order to regain independence. The results of the French presidential election will define the course of French—and European—politics for the next few years.
The race is a repeat of the 2017 election, in which Macron decisively defeated Le Pen with 66 percent of the vote. The latest polling points to a far narrower outcome in this election. Join us for a discussion with Jacob Ross about France’s election – and what it means for Germany and Europe. He is a Research Fellow in the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Franco-German Relations Program. Jacob Ross has been a research fellow in the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Franco-German Relations Program since January 2022. He had initially joined the program as a research assistant in June 2021. Previously, he worked as a research assistant at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels. He had already gained experience within the Franco-German context while working at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and during his work as a parliamentary assistant to Sabine Thillaye, Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly.
Mr. Ross also received the majority of his academic training in France: first, within a Franco-German double-degree program at the Institute of Political Science (IEP) in Lille and, later, at the IEP in Paris and at the Ecole nationale d’administration (Ena) in Strasbourg. He also studied at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna while earning a master’s degree in international relations and economics.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-04-25 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin.
Join us on Monday, April 25 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause following the elections in France and what it means for Europe with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth. Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Between March of 2017 and February of 2019, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global, the English-language edition of Germany’s leading business newspaper. For the two decades before that, he wrote for The Economist — in London, Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: A Watershed Moment for the International Order and a Critical Challenge for Global Leadership
2022-04-21 18:00 - 20:00
On April 21, the ACG will host a discussion and dinner with Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Member of the German Bundestag (CDU) and former Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety. Held in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The War in Ukraine: How Will This End?
2022-04-13 11:00 - 12:00
Although there has been a withdrawal of Russian troops in the north of Ukraine, the images of death and destruction from places like Bucha mark a grim turning point in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Join the American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion with Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and Dr. Liana Fix, Program Director in the International Affairs Department of the Körber Foundation in Berlin, about the latest developments of the conflict in Europe and its lasting consequences. Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin.
Dr. Liana Fix is a Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Washington office, while on sabbatical from the International Affairs Department of the Körber Foundation in Berlin. She is a political scientist and historian, and her work focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe, European security, arms control, and German foreign policy. She will focus on transatlantic policy toward Russia while at GMF. Dr. Fix has published widely in academia, think tanks, and national and international media. She holds a doctorate from the Justus Liebig University Giessen and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-04-11 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin.
Join us on Monday, April 11 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause which will discuss how the war in Ukraine is impacting German politics and the ongoing Covid-19 debates taking place with Brent Goff, Chief Anchor at DW News and Host of “The Day with Brent Goff”. Brent Goff is the Chief Anchor at DW News and Host of “The Day with Brent Goff”. He joined DW in 2000 and has become one of the most recognized on-air personalities. Prior to joining DW, Brent worked as a producer for CNN. He was both a Fulbright Scholar and a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow in Germany. Brent grew up in rural North Carolina, and his first job in TV journalism was at a small TV station in Missouri. He holds an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Ukraine: in Conversation with Consul General Moessinger
2022-04-05 17:00 - 19:00
Join the American Council on Germany’s Chicago Chapter for a discussion and reception with German Consul General Moessinger.

Wolfgang Moessinger is Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Midwest, based in Chicago. After school and military service he studied German, French, and History at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg. He joined the Federal Foreign Office in 1987. His first postings abroad were Dakar, Helsinki, and Moscow. From 2008 to 2012, he was Consul General in Edinburgh, from 2012 to 2015 Deputy Ambassador in Baku, from 2015 to 2019 Consul General in Donetsk (Official Seat in Dnipro). On July 1, 2019, he joined the Consulate General in Chicago.
Consul General Moessinger is married to Mairéad Winters-Moessinger, an Irish citizen. The couple has two adult daughters.
Please note that proof of vaccination and ID are required for entry to this venue.
The dress code is business attire. For more information, click here.

The War in Ukraine: Implications for the German-American Partnership
2022-04-04 18:00 - 20:00
Discussion and Reception in Berlin on “The War in Ukraine: Implications for the German-American Partnership” with Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Non-Resident Fellow with the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in conversation with Dr. Steven E. Sokol, President of the American Council on Germany.
To attend this event, please email Emily Downs (edowns@acgusa.org) by Friday, April 1.
(All attendees must show proof that they are fully vaccinated. (3G Regelung)

Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook is a non-resident fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi). Previously, she served as Director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). For over a decade prior, she was the Executive Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition, she directed a Harvard research program on Europe and transatlantic relations from 2018 to 2021.
Before that, she served on the management board of the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels and worked as both a consultant and senior journalist at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in France and China. She began her career as a television journalist at CNN International in Atlanta and London.
Ms. Clüver Ashbrook provides expert commentary in English, German and French on transatlantic relations, European, U.S., and German foreign and security policy, as well as technology policy and digital diplomacy. She holds an undergraduate honors degree in international relations and French civilization from Brown University, a master’s degree in European studies from the London School of Economics, and a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Steven E. Sokol is the President of the American Council on Germany (ACG). Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the ACG. Earlier in his career, Dr. Sokol served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
He holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-04-04 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin.
Join us on Monday, April 4 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause which will take a deep dive into how the Ukraine war has changed Germany’s energy and climate policy plans with ACG Kellen Fellowship alumnus Julian Wettengel, Correspondent for Clean Energy Wire. Julian Wettengel is a staff Correspondent for Clean Energy Wire. Before joining the team, he served as a parliamentary assistant to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament. In this role, he was responsible for the preparation of speeches, articles, and briefings for the chairman. Prior to his time in Brussels, he supported a professor at George Washington University as a research assistant. Julian has also worked for a number of TV productions as a camera assistant, sound operator, and researcher. He holds a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Kiel. In 2019, he was awarded an Anna-Maria and Stephen M. Kellen Fellowship from the American Council on Germany, during which he researched natural gas in the U.S.

Germany’s Response to the War in Ukraine
2022-04-01 12:30 - 13:30
Germany’s dramatic change in foreign and defense policy is a direct result of the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. Berlin quickly imposed sanctions on Russia in conjunction with its EU partners and the United States. It also took bilateral steps such as freezing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Further measures remain on the table as Germany seeks to reduce its dependency on imports of Russian gas, oil, and coal and accelerate its transition to renewable energy sources. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition government have pledged to establish a €100 billion defense fund and stated that German defense spending will rise to at least 2 percent of GDP (up from 1.53 percent in 2021, according to NATO data).
German actions to implement these commitments will play a crucial role in the Western response to Moscow’s aggression, strengthening NATO’s defense and helping meet the threat Russia poses to European security. Join the ACG and the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) for a hybrid event with Bundestag member Metin Hakverdi (SPD) on Friday, April 1. Metin Hakverdi joined the Social Democratic Party in 2002 and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2013. He serves on the Bundestag’s Committee on European Union Affairs and on the Budget Committee. He is the Chairman of the USA/North America Working Group within the SPD Parliamentary Group and a member of the German-American Parliamentary Friendship Group in the German Bundestag. Before being elected to the Bundestag, Mr. Hakverdi was a member of the Parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg from 2008 to 2013, where he was on the Budget Committee and the Committee of Public Companies and Assets.
Mr. Hakverdi attended high school in Simi Valley, California, in 1985/86 and studied law at the Christian-Albrecht University in Kiel and at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. He was a distinguished visitor at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies in 2019 and a 2020 John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow at Harvard’s Center for European Studies (CES). He is a member of the Atlantik-Brücke e.V.

What’s at Stake? Russia, Ukraine, and the Future of the Global Order
2022-03-31 08:00 - 10:00
On March 28, the ACG will host a breakfast briefing with H.E. Sigmar Gabriel, former Foreign Minister, Former Vice Chancellor, and Chairman of Atlantik-Brücke.

Social Cohesion in Uncertain Times: The Green Party’s Impact on Germany’s New Government
2022-03-28 12:00 - 13:00
In one month, Germany has received nearly 300,000 refugees from Ukraine and has hit a new record daily number of COVID cases. Coupled with growing concerns over energy diversity and rising costs, Germany is facing simultaneous crises, all of which put human rights front and center. As a member of the three-party Ampelkoalition, the Greens – which head both the Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Economics and Energy – have taken on an important role in shaping the social priorities of the new German government.
Join us on March 28 at 12:00 pm ET, for a conversation with the Co-Chair of the Green Party, Ricarda Lang. Ricarda Lang is a German politician who is serving as co-leader of the Alliance 90/Die Grüne since January 2022, alongside Omid Nouripour. She has been a member of the Bundestag since 2021. Previously, she was the co-deputy leader of the party from 2019 to 2021 and spokeswoman for women’s policy, and co-leader of the Green Youth from 2017 to 2019. In the negotiations to form a coalition government between the SPD, Greens, and FDP following the 2021 election, Ms. Lang led her party’s delegation in the working group on equality.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-03-28 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Monday, March 28 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Gabor Steingart, founder and publisher of Media Pioneer Publishing and head of the management board of Handelsblatt Media Group. Gabor Steingart is one of Germany’s best-known journalists, authors, and media managers. He is the founder and publisher of Media Pioneer Publishing, which also publishes the political and business newsletter ThePioneer Briefing. Previously, he was chairman of the management board of Handelsblatt Media Group and bureau chief at Der Spiegel in Berlin and Washington, DC. Mr. Steingart has received numerous honors for his analyses of the current world and economic events, such as the Helmut Schmidt Journalism Prize and the Business Journalist of the Year award.

What’s at Stake When Saarland Goes to the Polls?
2022-03-25 11:00 - 12:00
Following last year’s general election, voters in four German states will take to the polls this year. The first election is in Saarland on March 27 – followed by elections in Schleswig-Holstein and North-Rhine Westphalia in May and Lower Saxony in October. While the Social Democrats (SPD) are looking to consolidate their power at the state level (and in the upper house, Bundesrat), the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) will have four opportunities to try to win back support after major losses at the federal level.
The situation in each state is different – but these elections are likely to serve as both a referendum on the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Ampelkoalition and a litmus test for the new leader of the CDU, Friedrich Merz. Saarland is a small state on the border of France and Luxembourg, but it carries symbolic importance: The CDU has governed the state since 1999 but it is trailing the SPD in polls by nearly ten percent in some polls. A loss there could upset Merz’s momentum to rebuild the party.
Join us for a discussion about what’s at stake in Saarland with journalist Dr. Daniel Kirch, Chief Correspondent for State Politics at the Saarbrücker Zeitung, on March 25 at 11 am ET. Dr. Daniel Kirch has been the Chief Correspondent for State Politics at the Saarbrücker Zeitung since 2016. He joined the paper in 2010 after studying Political Science and Journalism at the University of Trier and American University in Washington, DC, and working with the Deutsche Presse Agentur in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, and Hamburg.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-03-21 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Monday, March 21 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause on the latest in German politics as well as developments in Ukraine with Rob Schmitz, International Correspondent for NPR, Berlin. Rob Schmitz is NPR’s international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, he has covered Germany’s levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland, and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
Prior to covering Europe, Schmitz provided award-winning coverage of China for a decade, reporting on the country’s economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China’s impact beyond its borders took him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he’s interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road (Crown/Random House 2016), a profile of individuals who live, work, and dream along a single street that runs through the heart of China’s largest city. The book won several awards and has been translated into half a dozen languages. In 2018, China’s government banned the Chinese version of the book after its fifth printing. The following year it was selected as a finalist for the Ryszard Kapuściński Award, Poland’s most prestigious literary prize.
Mr. Schmitz has won numerous awards for his reporting on China, including two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an Education Writers Association Award. His work was also a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. His reporting in Japan — from the hardest-hit areas near the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and tsunami — was included in the publication 100 Great Stories, celebrating the centennial of Columbia University’s Journalism School. In 2012, he exposed the fabrications in Mike Daisey’s account of Apple’s supply chain on This American Life. His report was featured in the show’s “Retraction” episode. In 2011, New York’s Rubin Museum of Art screened a documentary Schmitz shot in Tibetan regions of China about one of the last living Tibetans who had memorized “Gesar of Ling,” an epic poem that tells of Tibet’s ancient past.
From 2010 to 2016, Mr. Schmitz was the China correspondent for American Public Media’s Marketplace. He’s also worked as a reporter for NPR Member stations KQED, KPCC, and MPR. Prior to his radio career, he lived and worked in China — first as a teacher for the Peace Corps in the 1990s, and later as a freelance print and video journalist. He also lived in Spain for two years. He speaks Mandarin and Spanish. He has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

The First 100 Days For Germany’s New Government: A Steep Learning Curve And A Historic Shift
2022-03-18 11:00 - 12:00
Barely 100 days into office, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his three-party Ampelkoalition have already made history. After 16 years of government led by Angela Merkel and the Christian Democrats, in December a new government took over led by Olaf Scholz and the Social Democrats together with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats. Initially, Germany’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s economic recovery, and energy policy and climate change were at the top of the political agenda. While the new government was taking form, tensions were building with Russia over Ukraine. By the end of February, there was a full-scale war on Europe’s doorstep. Chancellor Scholz responded by holding a historic speech at a special session of the Bundestag where he outlined a new blueprint for German foreign and security policy. But, how has the new government fared during its first 100 days?
Join us on March 18 for an assessment of the new government 100 days into office with journalists Johannes Leithäuser, Political Correspondent in Berlin for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Dr. Anna Sauerbrey, Foreign Editor, DIE ZEIT. Johannes Leithäuser is Berlin Correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, where he covers politics.
After graduating from high school, he wanted to become a captain in the navy, but he left after his mandatory service. A newspaper internship turned him on to journalism. He studied History, Economics, and Political Science in Heidelberg and Hamburg. Mr. Leithäuser joined the political section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 1988 and moved to Berlin in the summer of 1990. He reported on the end of the GDR, the transition in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the move of the federal government to Berlin. Later he covered German domestic and foreign policy – except when he was correspondent in London from 2007 to 2012.
Dr. Anna Sauerbrey is the Foreign Editor at the weekly DIE ZEIT. Previously, she headed the opinion pages of Der Tagesspiegel and Tagesspiegel Causa, the paper’s online magazine.
She studied History, Political Science, and Journalism in Mainz and Bordeaux. From 2005 to 2009, she was a research assistant in the History Department at the University of Mainz. She worked as an intern at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and ZDF, among others, and as a freelancer for the Mainzer Rhein-Zeitung for several years. In 2009, Dr. Sauerbrey completed a traineeship at Der Tagesspiegel and became a staff member of its opinion/editorial department. In 2013, she was an Arthur F. Burns Fellow at the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2018, she was awarded an Anna-Marie and Stephen M. Kellen Fellowship for Berlin-based journalists by the ACG to conduct research on the role religion plays in American politics.

The Implications and Consequences of Russia’s War in Ukraine
2022-03-16 11:00 - 12:00
Each day, the reports from Ukraine are getting worse as the fighting continues and people try to evacuate their homes. Join the American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion with Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and Dr. Liana Fix, Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (invited). They will talk about the latest developments of the conflict in Europe and put it in perspective by discussing the lasting consequences.
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin.
Dr. Liana Fix is a Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund’s Washington office, while on sabbatical from the International Affairs Department of the Körber Foundation in Berlin. She is a political scientist and historian, and her work focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe, European security, arms control, and German foreign policy. She will focus on transatlantic policy toward Russia while at GMF. Dr. Fix has published widely in academia, think tanks, and national and international media. She holds a doctorate from the Justus Liebig University Giessen and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-03-14 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Monday, March 14 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause on the latest developments in Ukraine, among other topics, with Sumi Somoskanda, Senior News Anchor at DW News (Deutsche Welle). Sumi Somoskanda is currently a senior news anchor at DW News (Deutsche Welle), Germany’s international broadcaster. Sumi reports on Germany for various international publications, including The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Global Post, Newsweek, PRI, and USA Today. She served as an editor at the Berlin Policy Journal, Germany’s premiere English-language foreign affairs magazine.
She regularly moderates panels and conferences both in Germany and the US and lectures American university students at the CIEE Global Institute in Berlin. Sumi is an alumna of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship program and part of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network. In addition to her native English, she speaks fluent German and Spanish, and conversational Tamil.

Media Reporting of Russia’s War in Ukraine: What’s Being Covered and How to Avoid Fake News?
2022-03-10 09:30 - 10:30
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the war has dominated news coverage across Europe, in Germany, and the United States. The conflict in Ukraine is not just being fought militarily, but it is also very much an information war as Ukraine and Russia attempt to control the narrative about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine. What have news organizations been focusing on in their coverage of the conflict? How do they ensure the accuracy of the information they are presenting and avoid fake news? In this kind of crisis, do news organizations struggle to provide “balanced coverage” with differing viewpoints?
Join us on March 10 for a conversation with Christina Brause, Managing Editor Investigative Team at WELT & WELT AM SONNTAG, and ACG Young Leader alumna Cristina Gonzalez, POLITICO Europe’s Executive Producer for Audio, for a discussion about media coverage during conflict – and specifically the war in Ukraine. Christina Brause is Managing Editor Investigative Team at WELT & WELT AM SONNTAG, where she has worked since 2016. From 2009 to 2015, she was a freelance journalist with Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Leipzig. She has also worked at ZDF Heute. Much of Ms. Brause’s reporting focuses on influence and fake news in social media. In 2021, she won a German Journalist Award for her research and article on China’s secret propagandists in Germany. Ms. Brause completed her Master’s studies at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and her Bachelor’s studies at the University of Leipzig.
Cristina Gonzalez (2014 ACG Young Leader) is POLITICO Europe’s Executive Producer for Audio. In this role, she produces POLITICO’s podcasts and develops and oversees new audio products. She is also a guest professor of journalism practice at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Ms. Gonzalez previously worked for Cox Media Group as a Senior Producer for local and nationally-syndicated radio in the US. She was a visiting Robert Bosch Fellow (2015-2016) at SPIEGEL Online and ZDF Morgenmagazin in Berlin. Her reporting, analysis, and production have appeared on/been published in POLITICO Europe, SPIEGEL Online, Deutsche Welle, ZDF, NPR Berlin, WSB Radio, Rare.us. Ms. Gonzalez holds an MSc degree in Communication Studies: Journalism and Media in Europe from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from New York University (NYU).

New Leadership and New Priorities for the Greens - Canceled
2022-03-08 11:00 - 12:00
In December, the Green Party joined a three-party coalition government led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz. It will be interesting to see how the Greens under new leadership shape German domestic and foreign policy moving forward. In late January, Ricarda Lang became the youngest Co-Chair of Germany’s Green Party. Focused on feminism and ethical politics, she brings a passion for equity to the party platform. Her counterpart, Omid Nouripour, brings experience and pragmatism. Together, the two hope to strengthen the image of the Green party as the moral compass of the German government.
Join us on March 8, International Women’s Day, for a conversation with Ricarda Lang, Co-Chair of the Grüne and party spokesperson for Women’s Policy, on the equality goals of the party. Ricarda Lang is a German politician who is serving as co-leader of the Alliance 90/Die Grüne since January 2022, alongside Omid Nouripour. She has been a member of the Bundestag since 2021. Previously, she was the co-deputy leader of the party from 2019 to 2021 and spokeswoman for women’s policy, and co-leader of the Green Youth from 2017 to 2019. In the negotiations to form a coalition government between the SPD, Greens, and FDP following the 2021 election, Ms. Lang led her party’s delegation in the working group on equality.

Zeitenwende: Germany’s New Foreign and Security Policy
2022-03-08 08:00 - 10:00
On March 8, the ACG will host a breakfast briefing with German Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Emily Haber

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2022-03-07 09:00 - 10:00
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. Join us on Monday, March 7 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause on the developments between Russia and Ukraine and Germany’s response with Matthias Naß, International Correspondent for Die ZEIT. Matthias Naß has been the international correspondent for the weekly newspaper Die ZEIT since January 2011. He began his career as an editor in the politics department. In 1990, he became deputy head of the political department. From 1994 to 1997, he was editor-in-chief, and from 1998 to 2010 deputy editor-in-chief. He is also co-founder and scientific director of the Zeit Akademie.

Nord Stream 2 and Germany’s Precarious Dependency on Russian Gas
2022-03-03 17:30 - 19:30
Amid the tensions with Russia over Ukraine, Germany’s energy dependence and Nord Stream 2 have been major topics of discussion – with in Germany, across Europe, and in the United States. The pipeline has been a controversial subject for years, but in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine it is being used as leverage to try to get Russia to back down. However, the current moment is part of a longer narrative…
Join 1014 and the American Council on Germany for a discussion that will put the pipeline project and Germany’s energy dependency in a broader context. We will be joined by Sascha Müller-Kraenner, the Executive Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (Environmental Action Germany), an independent non-profit organization that was founded in 1975 and is focused on environmental and consumer protection. This event will be moderated by ACG President Dr. Steven E. Sokol and will be held as part of 1014’s “Two at 1014” series.
(All attendees must show proof that they are fully vaccinated. The wearing of masks is encouraged.) Sascha Müller-Kraenner has served as Executive Director/CEO of Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., DUH) since Janaury 2015. DUH is a leading environment and consumer advocacy organization that works mostly at the German state and national as well as on the European level. He is also a founding partner and board member to Ecologic Institute, a non-profit applied environmental policy research institute with offices in Berlin, Brussels and Washington, DC. Before assuming his current role, he held various positions with The Nature Conservancy between 2007 and 2014, and earlier in his career he worked for the Heinrich-Böll Foundation. Mr. Müller-Kraenner studied Philosophy in Munich and graduated with honors in Biology and Public Law from the University of Bayreuth.

Immigration and Integration – Between Federal Policy and State Legislators
2022-03-02 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for a discussion with Kerstin Celina, Member of the State Parliament of Bavaria (Alliance 90/The Greens), State Senator John S. McCollister of Nebraska (R), and Jan Marcus Rossa, Member of the State Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein (Alliance 90/The Greens). This discussion is held in partnership with Aspen Institute Germany as part of the State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue.
While global challenges are addressed by national governments, increasingly subnational actors such as states, communities, and cities have needed to step up to take action when traditional nation-states have been unable to make progress due to political polarization and partisan gridlock. This trend has also characterized transatlantic relations and the German-American partnership. The German-American State Legislator Dialogue draws on this notion, focusing on the role of state representatives from the United States and Germany in addressing common transatlantic challenges.
A common phenomenon that has marked the history of both the United States and Germany is that of immigration. The United States is often labeled as a nation of immigrants and the German Wirtschaftswunder would not have been possible without workers immigrating from abroad. Since then, immigration policy has moved into the center of public debate in both countries. In 2021, the United States has recorded some of the highest numbers of immigrants coming from South and Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border. In Germany, migration flows have slowed down after 2015 when large numbers of refugees fled the war in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Nevertheless, a large number of refugees take on the dangerous and often deadly journey towards the EU, fueling debates on how to address this issue on a policy level. Immigration policy is mostly a federal issue and yet it is the states and Länder that are tasked with ensuring successful integration. How can state governments help and encourage migrants to fully integrate into German and American society? What are the biggest hurdles in this effort for successful economic integration and social inclusion? What does migration mean for businesses and the economy? How important are collaborative efforts across the different levels of government and with different stakeholders? Understanding a local perspective on this big topic is the goal of this State-to-State-Dialogue.

Zeitenwende: A New Foreign and Security Policy for Germany?
2022-03-02 10:00 - 11:00
This past weekend marked a major shift in Germany’s foreign and defense policy. On Saturday, the German government announced it would send arms to Ukraine. Then on Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz outlined a new blueprint for German foreign policy at a special session of the Bundestag. In a significant shift, he committed to delivering weapons to Ukraine, increasing Germany’s defense spending, and also reducing Germany’s dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Join us on Wednesday, March 2, at 10:00 am ET for a discussion with Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, former Foreign Editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, about Scholz’s speech and what it means for Germany and Europe more broadly. Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (1985 ACG Legislative Aide Fellow) is a German journalist and political scientist. He is the former Foreign Editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, where he wrote about international politics. Before joining the newspaper’s editorial staff in 1986, Mr. Frankenberger gained deep insight into the U.S. political decision-making process when he worked as an assistant to a U.S. member of Congress. He was a Bosch Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, DC, in 2011 and a Marshall Fellow at Harvard University in 1990. He serves on the Board of various institutions dealing with foreign and defense policy issues. Mr. Frankenberger holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science, Economics, and American Studies from Frankfurt University.

Russia’s Full-Scale Attack on Ukraine: A View from Berlin
2022-03-01 11:00 - 12:00
Earlier this week, President Vladimir V. Putin recognized two Russia-backed separatist territories in Ukraine – the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics – and ordered the Russian military into those regions to carry out “peacekeeping functions.” After months of amassing troops along the border with Ukraine, in the early hours of Thursday, February 24, Russia launched simultaneous attacks from the north, east, and south on major cities, airports, and ports in Ukraine.
With a full-scale attack underway, major western countries have reacted with outrage at Russia’s invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden said that “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Mr. Putin was “responsible for bringing war back to Europe.” And, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called this “Putin’s war” and said the Russian leader would pay a “bitter price” for his “serious error.”
Join the American Council on Germany for a conversation with Dr. Claudia Major, Head of the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, about the unfolding conflict. Dr. Claudia Major is Head of the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Her research, advisory work, publications, and media contributions focus on security and defense policy in Europe and in a transatlantic context (NATO, EU, Germany, UK, France). Recent publications deal with Germany’s security and defense policy, NATO’s strategic adaptation and future development, developments in EU defense, strategic autonomy, and Franco-German relations in defense. Previously she held positions at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations, the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the German Foreign Office, and Sciences Po Paris. She is a member of various boards, including the Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention at the Federal Foreign Office. She holds a diploma from Sciences Po Paris and the Free University Berlin and a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, UK.
