Freedom Book Summary - Freedom Book explained in key points

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Freedom summary

Name: Freedom
Rating: 4.4 (112 reviews)
Author: Angela Merkel with Beate Baumann

Angela Merkel with Beate Baumann

Memories 1954 – 2021

4.4 (112 ratings)

32 mins

Brief summary

Freedom offers a personal exploration of Angela Merkel's journey in politics, reflecting on themes of liberty, resilience, and leadership. It shares insights into her decision-making processes and the challenges faced throughout her remarkable career.

Topics

Memoirs European History Change & Evolution German Politics Global Politics Political Figures

Table of Contents

Freedom
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Explore the life and career of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Picture growing up in the GDR dictatorship, getting a doctorate in physics, having to reorient yourself in an environment of unfamiliar freedom, and then having a stratospheric political career.

We’re talking about the one and only Angela Merkel, who went from being an average woman with a GDR haircut to the most powerful woman in the world.

Merkel held the top office in the Federal Republic of Germany for 16 years before handing it over to Olaf Scholz on December 8, 2021. In 2024, the year her autobiography was published, she was 70 years old and had experienced 35 years in the GDR and 35 years in the FRG.

You don’t have to be a fan of Angela Merkel’s politics or her party – open critique is one of the hallmarks of the liberal society for which Angela Merkel has always stood. But this Blink takes a look at the most important milestones from Merkel’s life to give you an understanding of the Chancellor’s extraordinary story.

It all began in Hamburg in 1954...

A sheltered childhood

Angela Merkel, née Kasner, was born in Hamburg in 1954, but the family moved to the GDR just a few weeks after her birth. The reason? Her father, a Protestant pastor, was convinced he was needed there. In Templin, the Kasners lived at the Waldhof, a seminary for church-based continuing education. There was also a church facility for people with mental disabilities on the same site, with a gardening, farming, and carpentry workshop attached to it. Essentially, the Waldhof was an alternative microcosm in an otherwise conformist country.

After the Wall was built in 1961, the Kasner family understood they were living in a dictatorship, where the rights of the individual only existed on paper. Angela had been aware since her early childhood that she had to watch what she said and did. Only at home and with her family could she speak openly, vent her frustrations, and talk to her two younger siblings about what they thought of the GDR. The Waldhof was a shelter for them – they kept their mouths shut outside their own four walls.

As a pastor’s daughter, Angela was an outsider at school. She was also the only child in her class who wasn’t allowed to eat in the canteen at lunchtime. Why? Because her mother didn’t work – a situation that was disparaged in the workers’ and farmers’ state. But that didn’t mean Angela wasn’t popular; actually, she had lots of friends.

Being an outsider drove her to excel at school. Angela knew she had to be better than her classmates, if only to get into college. But she wasn’t free when it came to choosing a major, even though she graduated from school with straight A’s. As a “politically unreliable element,” popular subjects weren’t open to her, so she decided to go with physics.

For one, physics had been easy for her at school. Also, she suspected the natural sciences were still the most ideology-free field. One plus one equals two – that was just as true under communism as it was under capitalism.

Restricted science

Angela was a dedicated student at Karl Marx University in Leipzig. But that doesn’t mean she was a boring nerd. Along with her classmates, she organized parties – where she worked as a barmaid – and went on adventurous trips to pretty much every country that was open to them with their GDR passports.

Although she’d thought she could avoid ideology by studying physics, that wasn’t exactly the case. A 14-day military service course was compulsory before starting her studies, and she couldn’t opt out of sports or lectures on Marxism-Leninism either. Angela despised the GDR for its injustice, narrow-mindedness, and attempts to intimidate her. But she still managed to maintain an inner lightheartedness and ease during her student years.

Turbulent times and the move into politics

When the GDR dissolved and the Berlin Wall fell, Angela Merkel felt one thing above all: relief. At last, the Stasi, the Volkspolizei, and the hated party no longer had any power over her. Shortly afterward, a new feeling was added: freedom. Suddenly, she could do and say anything she felt like. The role of the politically dubious outsider was a thing of the past – if she wanted to, she could now even help shape the future in her new country.

And she did want to.

Suddenly a minister

From that point on, things moved quickly. In the 1990 Bundestag election, not only did Angela Merkel win a direct mandate, but the CDU also secured the majority. Shortly after, Günther Krause, then Federal Minister for Special Affairs, approached Merkel and said, “I heard from Kohl that you’re going to be a minister. Something to do with women. In any case, you should get yourself something decent to wear.”

Of course, the fact that Merkel was both a woman and from East Germany played a role. She checked two key boxes for making Kohl’s cabinet more diverse. Also, she hadn’t made any missteps – a fact which, in the chaotic period right after reunification, was enough to land her a spot in the government.

Arriving at the top

Ask any German old enough to have witnessed it, and they’ll tell you about the election night of September 18, 2005. The results were super close – but by the end, it was clear the CDU was ahead. That didn’t stop Gerhard Schröder from declaring himself the winner in a post-election TV interview. Merkel was stunned but kept her composure, calmly responding, “The simple fact is, you didn’t win tonight.”

With that first statement as the clear victor, Merkel set the tone for her leadership as Chancellor: factual, steady, and firm.

A shaky global economy

In the summer of 2007, the first banks in Germany were hit by the credit crisis in the US. The problem was, if even just one bank went under, it could trigger a chain reaction of bankruptcies. Many financial institutions were simply “too big to fail.” The government, the banks, and the citizens all had a common interest: a stable financial system. But at the same time, there was a glaring injustice – banks that had mismanaged their funds were going to be bailed out with taxpayer money.

In September 2007, the US government under George Bush decided to set an example and not bail out the investment bank Lehman Brothers. The bank subsequently filed for insolvency, which set off a wave of bankruptcies that gradually affected not just financial institutions but also currencies.

“We can do it”

There’s another phrase from Angela Merkel that’s gone down in history: “We can do it.” Let’s put this into context.

In September 2015, the situation with refugees fleeing to Europe had reached a dramatic head in the wake of the Arab Spring. More and more people were coming to Europe seeking safety and a better life. The number of drownings in the Mediterranean continued to rise, and refugees were increasingly choosing the route through Eastern Europe. In turn, Hungarian President Viktor Orbán had many of them bused to the Austrian border.

Among world leaders

Over the course of her 16 years as Chancellor, Angela Merkel encountered pretty much all the big names in politics. With some, she formed friendships; with others, things were more challenging. So what were they really like – the most powerful people in the world?

Let’s start in the US. When Merkel became Chancellor in 2005, George W. Bush was in power. From the moment of her first official visit, Merkel could tell he was sincere and genuinely interested. That positive impression only grew stronger when she invited Bush to visit her constituency a year later. The two leaders didn’t just get along well – Bush was also a hands-on and down-to-earth guy, who, for example, wasn’t about to miss the chance to flip the spit roasting a wild boar during a social gathering. And in 2007, Bush invited Merkel and her husband to his ranch in Texas for a weekend with his family. This naturally made it much easier to negotiate with him at political summits and achieve joint results.

Navigating uncharted territory: The COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, Angela Merkel faced her final major test as Chancellor. A few years earlier, the media had mocked her when she referred to the digital world as “uncharted territory.” But now, it was truly uncharted territory for everyone. The world’s governments were all stepping into the unknown. No one had experience in how to handle a global pandemic. The virus spread at an alarming rate, and at first, no one knew how dangerous it was or how exactly it was transmitted.

So, Merkel spent the last two years of her chancellorship back in crisis mode. Although her scientific background helped her make sense of what was happening – she was aware of what exponential growth meant, for example – many politicians and citizens lacked this understanding, which made her job even more difficult.

Farewell

Even before the 2017 federal election, Merkel had wondered whether she should run again. But by 2021, she was sure – 16 years was enough.

As soon as Merkel decided not to run for office again, she realized how tired she was; she felt as if she was almost longing for the end. Her body was also clearly telling her how much she had pushed herself: at three official events, all held while standing, she started to shake uncontrollably and had to sit down. Because of that, she broke protocol and sat through her next few appointments.

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What is Freedom about?

Freiheit (2024) is the autobiography of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which she wrote three years after leaving office. In it, Merkel looks back on her life and offers a glimpse into a slice of contemporary events and political history.

Who should read Freedom?

Anyone interested in contemporary history
Fans and critics of Angela Merkel
People who want to learn more about democracies and dictatorships

About the Author

Angela Merkel, who holds a PhD in physics, transitioned into politics after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Merkel became Germany’s first female chancellor in 2005, serving for 16 years as a pragmatic and steadfast leader who shaped Europe through crises such as the Eurozone debt turmoil, the migration crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Categories with Freedom

History Politics Biography & Memoir

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