A great chancellor. He continues to shape Germany to this day.
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer contributed greatly to the success of democracy in Germany after 1945. His decisions in formulating the Basic Law, dealing with those implicated in Nazism, introducing the social market economy, and founding a Christian Democratic party have shaped the country. And Adenauer led Germany back into the circle of nations, in Europe and worldwide.
But he also placed an existential burden on the young democracy with illegal party financing and the secret service spying on the SPD. Friedrich Kießling paints a picture of an ambivalent character who possessed great power and knew how to use it for the country, his party, and, not least, for himself.
The book was published by dtv Verlag on October 16, 2025.
Friedrich Kießling: Adenauer - Dreieinhalb Leben. München 2025.