The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel

Chapter 1 focuses on the early life of Angela Merkel, born Angela Kasner, which was especially marked by her father, Horst Kasner. Horst Kasner was a member of a Nazi youth organization during Hitler’s control of Germany. From there, he was recruited into the Nazi armed forces at 18 years old and later captured by the Allies. Upon release, he trained in theology and became a pastor. The author, citing Angela Merkel’s interviews, portrays Kasner as a stern and ascetic man, who remained unappreciative of his daughter’s achievements throughout his life.

Angela Kasner was born in the port city of Hamburg, which was recovering from the devastation of World War II. By the time of her birth in 1954, the city was rebuilding and regaining its status as a center of trade and culture. However, the Kasner family soon moved to the small town of Quitzow in East Germany, where Horst Kasner began his ministry, driven by his decision to serve the underserved zone. This was considered a risky and unconventional choice at the time, as East Germany was marked by instability, poverty, and political unrest.

Kasner prioritized his faith and congregation over family, leaving his daughter Angela longing for his approval and presence. Horst Kasner’s accommodation with the East German regime was controversial in the religious community. While he did not challenge the communist state, his actions taught Angela valuable lessons in political maneuvering, such as seeking a compromise and looking for the best in any situation.

The contrast between bustling Hamburg and the austere East German life was stark, yet Angela adapted to the rural surroundings of Templin, her new home. Angela’s childhood was marked by simplicity and a deep connection to nature. Her early experiences were shaped by the values of sacrifice, self-discipline, and service, instilled by her parents. Despite the oppressive political climate, Angela’s intellectual curiosity flourished. She developed a love for Russian literature and language, and she often retreated into literature. The Kasner family lived on the Waldhof church compound, which was plain but provided a unique community, including a shelter for disabled individuals, which left a lasting impression on Angela. Even later in life, she continued showing support for the disabled community.

Angela showed academic potential from early on, as she earned top honors and opportunities. She learned to navigate the difficulties of East German society, balancing her participation in both religious and communist youth activities. However, in her last year of high school, a prank of including an English-language version of a song in a celebration of Marxism-Leninism nearly cost her graduation, as she was punished by the political authorities in her school. English was considered an imperialist language, and its use was highly frowned upon. However, intervention from her father’s connections saved her academic future. She was, therefore, able to enroll in Leipzig University and continue her studies.

Chapter 2 details how, in the fall of 1973, at 19 years old, Angela started her studies at Leipzig University, also in East Germany. At that time, the political atmosphere was even more tense, as many people were imprisoned for supporting the Prague Spring reformist movements during Leonid Brezhnev’s rule, which maintained hardline Stalinism. It was, therefore, difficult to study the humanities, as books were not easily available, and discourse was closely monitored. Seeking refuge in the sciences, Angela chose to study physics to avoid ideological restrictions. Leipzig had a rich academic history and offered a fresh start and distance from her critical father.

At Leipzig, Angela was one of seven women in her physics program, known for her brilliance and quiet precision. She navigated the challenges of East German education, where access to Western scientific literature was restricted, and her only poor grade came in Marxism-Leninism. Merkel also managed her faith discreetly. Her practical nature played an important role in her bartending job at the student union, where she sold a whiskey and cherry juice drink to students, keeping the profits.

Eventually, on a trip to the USSR, she met Ulrich Merkel, a fellow physics student, with whom she fell in love. The couple married when Angela was 23 years old. Their living conditions were modest, but the couple was committed to a future together. However, despite her notable academic achievements, Angela’s career options were limited due to her family’s background (which was considered bourgeois), making university teaching untenable. Instead, she pursued an MA, followed by a PhD, in nuclear physics.

After finishing her PhD, Angela Merkel sought a job at Technical University Ilmenau, where Stasi agents tried to recruit her as an informant. Successfully evading their pressures, she and her husband, Ulrich, obtained research positions at the East German Academy of Sciences in Berlin. There, Angela worked in a poorly-equipped lab and grew disillusioned with her tedious job.

Living in East Berlin in a small and noisy apartment near the Berlin Wall, Merkel’s personal life also faced struggles, eventually leading to her amicable divorce from Ulrich. She nonetheless kept his last name even after she remarried. She then moved to a modest flat in a marginal neighborhood. Her father was unsupportive of her new situation, but she maintained her resilience.

Following these changes, Angela Merkel’s social circle expanded, but she unknowingly befriended a Stasi informant, Frank Schneider, who was working in the same lab as Merkel. However, he did not have anything political to report to the authorities about Merkel. Instead, he informed them of Merkel’s supposed multiple love affairs and of her parents’ life in Templin, where Merkel invited him, unsuspectingly.

Angela Merkel also befriended Michael Schindhelm, a quantum chemist. He brought news of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms in the USSR, where he had spent years studying. Their friendship deepened Merkel’s understanding of the broader political landscape, fueling her political aspirations.

A pivotal moment came with her exposure to West German President Richard von Weizsäcker’s speech in 1985, which commemorated the end of WWII, including the Holocaust. This event profoundly impacted Merkel’s understanding of Germany’s history and responsibilities in light of the Holocaust.

In 1986, Merkel traveled to West Germany, solidifying her belief in the East’s inevitable collapse. This conviction, combined with her budding relationship with Joachim Sauer, her future husband, marked the beginning of her political and personal transformation.