Angela Merkel's memoirs: insights into 16 years of chancellorship!

Angela Merkel's memoirs: insights into 16 years of chancellorship!

What will happen on November 26, 2025? Today we look at the naming celebrations for Johannes and Konrad as we delve into the history of this date. Attentive readers may know that on November 26, 2024, Angela Merkel presented her long-awaited memoir entitled “Freedom: Memories 1954-2021” in Berlin. This book premiere took place in the “Deutsches Theater”, a place that has great personal meaning for Merkel as she grew up nearby and often went to the theater there in her childhood. Tickets for the event sold out in no time, underscoring the great anticipation for the book, which will be published in around 30 countries, including China. NWZonline reports that the book covers not only her childhood in the GDR, but also her entire political career up to 2021.

With a length of 736 pages and 92 photographs, “Freiheit” offers a deep insight into the most important stages and challenges in Merkel’s life. The protagonist not only discusses her political offices and experiences, but also highlights key events and decisions that shaped her chancellorship. The topics range from the financial and euro crisis to the Ukraine conflict and the European refugee crisis, which have affected society in recent years. The publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch announced an initial print run of 400,000 copies, with a reprint of an additional 200,000 copies, which means over 200,000 copies sold in the first month of sales. Wikipedia further explains that the first presentation of the book was so successful that several politicians exchanged views on the relevance of these memories in the current political context.

Insights into a political era

In her autobiography, Merkel not only gives a chronological overview of her life, but also addresses the challenges she had to overcome during her chancellorship. Critics emphasize that the book contains little self-criticism and that Merkel repeatedly refers to controversial political decisions, for example regarding Russia policy, in the published excerpts. She also speaks about her personal encounters with international heads of state, including Donald Trump, and her stance on current political issues such as migration and US politics. German wave informed that excerpts from her book have now aroused great interest and Merkel is also planning to set up her own foundation.

Merkel's memoirs are not only a literary success, but also an economic success. There is a lot of speculation going around regarding a high advance payment for the publication. According to reports, the sum could be up to twelve million euros. An audio book will also be released, which will be read by the well-known actress Corinna Harfouch, and a tour of major European cities is also planned.

A look back at November 26th

As we celebrate these memories, we must not forget that November 26th also represents other historical events. In 2020, the Bundestag passed a ban on plastic shopping bags in German supermarkets, which will apply from 2022. This measure is part of the growing discussion about environmental and climate protection, which also has a place in Merkel's book. We also remember the accident of an inspector at a Berlin Christmas market in 1995, in which 63 people were injured. Such events show how security at public festivals has constantly changed and what responsibility is being discussed between organizers, the police and the authorities.

This brings us full circle to a date that has many facets. And while today is also the birthday of greats like the German folk musician Stefan Mross and the British pop musician John McVie, it remains not only a day to reminisce, but also an evening in which we can immerse ourselves in the eventful history of the last decades.