Overview
- Coverage marking the 150th birthday spotlights Adenauer’s Westbindung, rearmament, early European integration and social stabilization as the pillars that shaped postwar West Germany.
- Political scientist Herfried Münkler tells ZDF that Westbindung remains the anchor of German policy, with Europe expected to shoulder more security as U.S. reliability recedes, noting Adenauer’s dual focus on U.S. security and French‑led economic integration.
- Former foreign minister Joschka Fischer warns that the AfD challenges Adenauer’s Europeanization and endorses Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s push for a tighter core of European states on security.
- Merz, in a guest essay, praises Adenauer’s deterrence doctrine and ties it to rebuilding the Bundeswehr and a more assertive European role, while reaffirming ties that include reconciliation with Israel.
- The reassessment revisits contentious choices such as his semi‑autocratic style and the appointment of Hans Globke, as official tributes and events proceed in Cologne and via the Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung.