What is ‚Denk ich an Deutschland‘
The German poet Heinrich Heine wrote his famous poem “Nachtgedanken”, which starts with the line “Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht – bin ich um den Schlaf gebracht”(When I think of Germany in the night, I am deprived of my sleep), when he was living in exile in Paris in 1844. Since 2009, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung have jointly hosted a conference inviting participants to contemplate the issues facing Germany and Europe. Astonishingly, Heine’s thoughts still resonate today: nationalism and populism are creating fissures within the European Union. The issues of identity and background continue to play a crucial role as they did over 170 years ago. During the 19th century the industrial revolution changed people’s lives just as dramatically as digitalisation is doing today.
“Denk ich an Deutschland” addresses Germany’s role in the European Union and the key issues of our times. The events, attended by approximately 300 guests, take place in Berlin and feature such high-profile speakers as Angela Merkel, Ursula von der Leyen, Joachim Gauck, Peter Slotterijk, Jeroen Dijsselbloem and Daniel Kehlmann.
Why ‚Denk ich an Deutschland‘?
How is ‚Denk ich an Deutschland‘ organized?
Denk ich an Deutschland 2019
On March 15th, 2019, the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung are jointly organizing the tenth Denk ich an Deutschland conference “Who Do We Think We Are? German Self-Perception in a Tumultuous Europe”.
On this occasion, we will tackle the question of how the self-perception of the Federal Republic has changed due to historical developments and contemporary challenges. Among other things, we will discuss the ways in which Germany’s understanding of its international role is undergoing a process of transformation.