Angela Merkel was German Chancellor for 16 years, from 2005 to 2021. Her term in office saw the global economic crisis, the euro crisis, the famous phrase "We can do it!" when many refugees arrived in 2015, and, last but not least, a global pandemic. As a woman from East Germany, Merkel has had an unprecedented political career - and although she had announced that after her time as Chancellor she would only do "feel-good appointments", she has now written a book about her life that is almost 740 pages long. For her, it consists of two parts: the 35 years up to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 35 years after. "You know me." That's what Angela Merkel said during the election campaign for the 2013 federal election. But is that true? In this episode, Anne Will talks to Angela Merkel about her life, her time in office, and what is missing from the book. It's about Merkel's East German identity, being a woman in top politics, but also a political review. Because Angela Merkel's political legacy continues to have an impact: for example, in 2008 she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out firmly against further steps towards Ukraine joining NATO. How does she assess this decision today? How does she view 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 26th, 2024 https://www.kiwi-verlag.de/buch/angel... Livestream of the book presentation at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, November 26th, 2024 • Angela Merkel at the Deutsches Theater: D... Spiegel: “Yes, you can say: It was Merkel”, November 22nd, 2024 https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutsc... Speech by Chancellor Angela Merkel at the ceremony for German Unity Day, October 3rd, 2021 https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-d... Tagesschau: “I invite Mrs. Merkel to visit Bucha”, April 4th, 2022 https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/ukr... Federal Agency for Civic Education: Germany's dependence on Russian gas, April 13th, 2022 https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/hinterg... RECOMMENDATIONS: Film: “The Unyielding 2” https://www.dieunbeugsamen-film.de/te... IMPRINT Editor: Marie Schiller, Gina Enslin Executive Producer: Marie Schiller Producer: Maximilian Frisch, Lukas Hambach and Patrick Zahn Sound Design: Hannes Husten Marketing: Mitvergnügen GmbH A production of Will Media GmbH