Great piece on a complex issue. For a country traumatised by its recent past and threatened by its immediate neighbour I imagine that it was understandable that the calming presence of an ‘elder statesman’ was reassuring, no matter how cranky or contradictory he was if you looked below the surface. But that is what historians do, and thank you and your profession for that.
That there is currently a wave of popular (populist) nostalgia for the man is a symptom of our insecurities in this fractured world, but, again, we need our historians to keep on asking the difficult questions.
A thoughtful and reflective piece. I only started to study German politics after he had gone, although I found the whole phenomenon of Christian Democracy fascinating i(also in Austria and Italy). How did it differ from the UK Conservatives. Perhaps West Germany needed an old fashioned conservative to find its feet, also I think any BRD leader at that time had to stay on terms with the west and try and repair relations with France. What about the ECSC and the EEC?
It strikes me that every nation needs two versions of its past: the traditional and the critical. The former affords us a certain cohesive, common self-respect. The second is the domain of dispassionate historian; it must be done, I suppose. As your final reflection suggests, we can make room for both, though we should take a care not to confuse them.
In that same spirit, I shall raise a glass of my last remaining bottle of Bushmills, to the great man this evening. Prost!
Another belter 👍thing is you can dissect any leader from these periods of history and dwell on the good or the bad of that said person . I like the fact that with yourself we could discuss for and against Adenauer and not try to score points because it would be factually based , unfortunately with the platforms we have now certain politicians get crucified and the discussion ends up being a slanging match , at least on here I think we all understand how bloody complicated looking at past actions can be .
Enjoyed that - Sometime can you do something on life in west and east Berlin from 1950s to 1989. Costs,culture comparisons with the rest of east and west Germany etc. Danke..
Thank you for another beautifully written and well-balanced piece. I was born in Berlin in 1942 and left Germany in 1962. Growing up I often heard the 'song:' "Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer sitzt der alte Adenauer."
Another reason why he is popular may be that he was attacked by the Nazis, and as Mayor of Cologne refused to put Swastikas on the buildings when Hitler visited the city.
Good read with my Sunday morning coffee. I know a little of the man from the book Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy (Henry Kissinger, Allen Lane 2022, you recommended the book to me), always good to learn more. Right man, right time I think, not unlike WSC perhaps? I may be mistaken, wasn’t Adenauer America’s man in Cologne immediately after the end of the war? Subsequently dumped.
Entirely unrelated to Adenauer but related to zeitgeist. You may already know this in which case forgive me. I have started to read Goethe A Life in Ideas (Matthew Bell, Princeton University Press, 2025) and I have again encountered Johann Herder (first in Magnificent Rebels, Andrea Wulf, John Murray 2023, second in Goethe His Faustian Life, A N Wilson, Bloomsbury 2024. The former, a recommendation from you, was first class. The latter very challenging which is why I bought another book about the great German polymath.). Herder in his essay Critical Forests introduced the word Zeitgeist to the German language.
Great piece on a complex issue. For a country traumatised by its recent past and threatened by its immediate neighbour I imagine that it was understandable that the calming presence of an ‘elder statesman’ was reassuring, no matter how cranky or contradictory he was if you looked below the surface. But that is what historians do, and thank you and your profession for that.
That there is currently a wave of popular (populist) nostalgia for the man is a symptom of our insecurities in this fractured world, but, again, we need our historians to keep on asking the difficult questions.
Superb again Katja. I studied German post war politics but still learnt so much from your piece.
A thoughtful and reflective piece. I only started to study German politics after he had gone, although I found the whole phenomenon of Christian Democracy fascinating i(also in Austria and Italy). How did it differ from the UK Conservatives. Perhaps West Germany needed an old fashioned conservative to find its feet, also I think any BRD leader at that time had to stay on terms with the west and try and repair relations with France. What about the ECSC and the EEC?
It strikes me that every nation needs two versions of its past: the traditional and the critical. The former affords us a certain cohesive, common self-respect. The second is the domain of dispassionate historian; it must be done, I suppose. As your final reflection suggests, we can make room for both, though we should take a care not to confuse them.
In that same spirit, I shall raise a glass of my last remaining bottle of Bushmills, to the great man this evening. Prost!
Another belter 👍thing is you can dissect any leader from these periods of history and dwell on the good or the bad of that said person . I like the fact that with yourself we could discuss for and against Adenauer and not try to score points because it would be factually based , unfortunately with the platforms we have now certain politicians get crucified and the discussion ends up being a slanging match , at least on here I think we all understand how bloody complicated looking at past actions can be .
Enjoyed that - Sometime can you do something on life in west and east Berlin from 1950s to 1989. Costs,culture comparisons with the rest of east and west Germany etc. Danke..
Thank you for another beautifully written and well-balanced piece. I was born in Berlin in 1942 and left Germany in 1962. Growing up I often heard the 'song:' "Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer sitzt der alte Adenauer."
Another reason why he is popular may be that he was attacked by the Nazis, and as Mayor of Cologne refused to put Swastikas on the buildings when Hitler visited the city.
Good read with my Sunday morning coffee. I know a little of the man from the book Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy (Henry Kissinger, Allen Lane 2022, you recommended the book to me), always good to learn more. Right man, right time I think, not unlike WSC perhaps? I may be mistaken, wasn’t Adenauer America’s man in Cologne immediately after the end of the war? Subsequently dumped.
Entirely unrelated to Adenauer but related to zeitgeist. You may already know this in which case forgive me. I have started to read Goethe A Life in Ideas (Matthew Bell, Princeton University Press, 2025) and I have again encountered Johann Herder (first in Magnificent Rebels, Andrea Wulf, John Murray 2023, second in Goethe His Faustian Life, A N Wilson, Bloomsbury 2024. The former, a recommendation from you, was first class. The latter very challenging which is why I bought another book about the great German polymath.). Herder in his essay Critical Forests introduced the word Zeitgeist to the German language.
What did Adenauer do in WWI and WWII?
One assumes he was too old to fight in either, but was he involved in politics? If not, how did he come to prominence in 1946?
Wikipedia is (to an extent) your friend.