German prime minister merkel as a child
German prime minister merkel as a child of king.
Merkel recalls childhood, Putin, and Trump in new memoir
Angela Merkel was the longest-serving chancellor of a post-war, united Germany, earning a reputation for calm and pragmatic leadership.
On Thursday, Die Zeit published passages from her highly anticipated book Freedom.
German prime minister merkel as a child
Memories 1954-2021.
Here are some of the key takeaways.
On growing up in East Germany
Born in Hamburg in what was then West Germany in 1954, her father's work took the family to Brandenburg in the former East Germany when she was a baby.
In her book, she describes childhood under the East German (GDR) dictatorship as "a life constantly on the edge.
No matter how carefree a day began, everything could change in a matter of seconds" if someone around her stepped out of line.
"The state knew no mercy," she writes, adding that realizing what lines could not be crossed was an important skill, even for a child.
"My pragmatic approach helped me" in that regard, she says.
The ex-chancellor writ