Andrew Sola and Günter Danner analyze the 2025 federal elections in Germany, focusing on the social, economic, and security challenges facing Germany, Europe, Ukraine, the USA, and the world.

In our final politics podcast of 2024, we look back at the political developments in France, Germany, and the US in 2024. We also look ahead to issues facing Germany, Europe, and the US in 2025.

Topics include the following:

-French President Macron's difficulties with internal French politics

-the collapse of Chancellor Scholz's coalition government in Berlin

-issues that will affect the elections in Germany in February, including the economy and illegal migration

-Trump's approach to tariffs and support for Ukraine

Happy New Year everyone!

***This episode is part of the ChicagoHamburg30 podcast series, which is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City partnership (1994-2024).***

In our 30th and final episode celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City partnership, we look at the German architects who literally built the buildings that Chicagoans live, work, and play in today.

After discussing the early history of German architects in Chicago, we discuss the life and career of Mies van der Rohe through the memories of his grandson Dirk Lohan. We cover van der Rohe's role in the Bauhaus movement, his difficulties with the Nazis, his escape from Germany, and his career in Chicago. Then, Dirk relates his memories of WWII in Germany and his cooperation with his grandfather on post-war buildings, including the New National Gallery in West Berlin as well as the IBM building and the Federal Center in Chicago. After a discussion about Helmut Jahn, another great German-American architect, Rolf and Dirk conclude with a heartfelt thank you to the people of Chicago for their generosity and kindness in accepting German immigrants throughout the years.

Our guests:

Dirk Lohan is a German-American architect who designed the Shedd Oceanarium, the Soldier Field expansion, and the McDonald's corporate headquarters. He is Mies van der Rohe's grandson.

Rolf Achilles is an art historian who has worked extensively on Chicago art and architecture. He was also instrumental in founding the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City partnership thirty years ago.

Photo Credit: Anna Kristina Sola, The New National Gallery, Berlin

In this episode, Andrew Sola and AFP journalist Christina Neuhaus discuss Germany's reaction to the US elections as well as the collapse of the German government.

Topics include the following:

-Public and private reactions to Trump's victory

-The reactions of all the different political parties, including BSW, AFD, die Linke, SPD, CDU, the Greens, and FDP

-Different policy issues that concern Germany and Europe, including Ukraine, trade, tariffs, and the climate

-The climate of predictable unpredictability that will characterize trans-Atlantic politics for the next four years

-The three paths that the EU and NATO might take in the future, including the Europe-first approach led by France, the Trump-adjacent approach led by Hungary, and the compromise approach led by Poland

-The reasons for the collapse of the coalition government in Berlin, namely the so-called debt brake, which is the constitutional rule preventing the government from accruing public debt

-The process of planning new elections

Lastly, they forecast the likely outcome of the elections, namely a coalition between the CDU and the SPD, with Friedrich Merz of the CDU as the new Chancellor in Berlin.

Check out Christina Neuhaus's excellent weekly podcast on current debates in the German Parliament (Bundestag) here:

https://unterderkuppel.de/

This episode is part of the ChicagoHamburg30 podcast series, celebrating the 30-Year Anniversary of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City relationship.

Happy German-American Heritage Month!

In this episode, we explore the remarkable story of one German immigrant who left Hamburg for Chicago in 1923, Walter Heinsen, through the lens of his grandson John.

Walter was an aerial photographer for the German Empire during WWI, where he met historical figures like the Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen) and Kaiser Wilhelm II. However, he also photographed regular soldiers, including British and American prisoners of war.

After the war, he immigrated to Chicago where he started a successful photography business in Rogers Park, Chicago.

Many years later, his grandson John re-examined his grandfather's photo archive and made some remarkable discoveries, leading to his quest to find the families of the British and American POWs his grandfather photographed over 100 years ago.

Join the hunt for the POWs' families on Facebook at:

returntolecateau1917.com

You can also use the hashtag:

#bringthemhomeagain

Also mentioned in the episode is John Heinsen's exhibit about his grandfather, which was shown at the Hamburg Emigration Museum, Das Auswanderermuseum Ballinstadt. More information is available here (in German):

https://www.ballinstadt.de/sonderausstellung-durch-die-linse-des-lebens/11754/

In this episode we commemorate the life and work and ongoing influence of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), 175 years after his death.

Poe is a fascinating historical figure and his literary work is known throughout the world. In this episode, we explore both his complicated life story as well as his ongoing influence on all forms of creative production. We discuss the loss of his mother and his early years in London; we examine the role of Romanticism in his writing; we take you through his time in Baltimore and his role in the development of the horror genre; and lastly, we discuss his continual presence in contemporary pop culture.

Gottfried Haufe moderates this episode with special guest Dr. Verena Adamik from the University of Potsdam.

This episode is part of the ChicagoHamburg30 podcast series, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City Anniversary.

We're celebrating Hispanic-American Heritage month with a deep dive into the rich history and diversity of the Hipanic/Latino/LatinX/Latine community in Chicago.

Topics include the following:

-the debate about the language we use to describe the Hispanic or Latino community
-the first Latinos in Chicago in the 1850s
-the political upheavals in Central and South America that drove migration
-the mass deportations during the Depression
-the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924
-the Bracero Program (1942-1964), which brought Mexican laborers to the US to help with the war effort
-the program of expulsion, unfortunately named Operation Wetback (1954), which forcefully removed Mexicans and Mexican-American citizens from the US
-the rise of the Chicano movement, the Young Lords, and the Brown Berets in the 60s

Check out the website for the exhibition on Latino Chicago at the Chicago History Museum here:

https://www.chicagohistory.org/aqui-en-chicago/

And here's the link to historical Spanish-language newspapers in Chicago:

https://www.nicolemarroquin.com/harrison-and-froebel/2019/12/4/latinx-newspapers-of-chicago

And here's a link to the book _Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s_ by Francisco E. Balderrama and Raymond Rodríguez: https://www.unmpress.com/9780826339744/decade-of-betrayal/

Our expert guests are Dr. Elena Gonzales and Dr. Lilia Fernandez.

Elena Gonzales is Curator of Civic Engagement & Social Justice at the Chicago History Museum where she is curating _Aquí en Chicago_ (2025). She is author of _Exhibitions for Social Justice_ (2019) in Routledge’s Museum Meanings Series.

Lilia Fernandez is Professor of History at University of Illinois-Chicago. She is the author of _Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago _ (2012).

It's Hispanic-American Heritage Month, so today's episode focuses on the unique role that Latino voters play in American politics.

Andrew Sola and New York Times National Politics Reporter Jazmine Ulloa analyse the Latino electorate and discuss the following points:

-the diversity of the Latino electorate
-the growing influence of Latino voters
-explanations for historically lower voter turn-out among Latinos
-Democratic and Republican strategies to reach out to Latinos
-the role of swing-states like Arizona in the presidential election
-Latino responses to aggressive anti-immigrant rhetoric
-the role of the economy and immigration policy in past and current elections

This event is part of the US Election Speaker Series, sponsored by the Association of German-American Centers, the Aspen Institute, and the US Embassy in Berlin.

This episode features an analysis of the local elections in the east German states of Thuringia and Saxony, which were held on September 1.

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) earned the most votes in Thuringia and the second most in Saxony. Furthermore, a brand-new party, the BSW or Bündnis Sahra Wagegnknecht achieved 16% in Thuringia and 12% in Saxony.

Who are the leaders of these parties? We introduce you to Björn Höcke, leader of the AfD in Thuringia, and Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the BSW.

What do they stand for? What are the issues that drive there campaigns? What role dose anti-Americanism play in their politics?

Both parties are pro-Russian, anti-Ukraine, anti-NATO, anti-EU, and anti-immigrant, but what are their differences?

We explore how Nazi ideology still influences the AfD and how East German communism found a new home in the BSW.

This episode is part of the ChicagoHamburg30 podcast series, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister-City relationship.

In this special episode, Andrew Sola and his guests discuss the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Topics include the similarities and differences between the 1968 DNC and the 2024 DNC; the use of gender and race in the speeches; the main themes of the convention, including the reclamation of a Democratic concept of patriotism; the relative paucity of European and global themes; VP Kamala Harris’s speech; and memorable speeches by other speakers, including Michelle Obama, Adam Kinzinger, The Central Park 5, Oprah Winfrey, and Hillary Clinton.

Lastly, we settle the dispute about how to create the possessive form of Harris. Is it Harris’ policies or Harris’s policies?