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Merkel's Memoirs Reveal: Why Germany Ignored Putin's Warnings!
On October 12, 2025, experts will discuss Angela Merkel's memoirs and Germany's Russia policy in the context of geopolitical challenges.
Merkel's Memoirs Reveal: Why Germany Ignored Putin's Warnings!
On October 12, 2025, the explosive topic of German Russia policy was discussed in an insightful podcast by Paul with the journalist and Russia expert Katja Gloger and the former SPIEGEL editor-in-chief Georg Mascolo. The focus was on her new book “The Failure – An Investigative History of German Russia Policy”. It reveals how German secret services warned early on about Vladimir Putin and why these warnings were ignored by politicians like Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. Despite obvious wars, murders and propaganda, Germany developed a disastrous closeness to Russia. The discussion addresses old networks and economic dependencies as well as the worrying question of why Putin's geostrategic goals remained unrecognized for so long, as Apple Podcasts reported.
In another interesting context are Angela Merkel's recently published memoirs, entitled “Freedom”. In it she not only describes her memories of her 16-year chancellorship, but also reflects on her strategic decisions regarding NATO and Ukraine. This is how she explains why she rejected Ukraine's rapid accession to NATO: “I feared a military response from Russia.” These concerns remain a hotly debated topic in Kiev today, and its Russia policy has been criticized by many. The 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, at which the candidate status for Ukraine and Georgia was discussed, is highlighted by Merkel as a crucial phase of her term in office, as Tagesschau states.
Difficult decisions and challenges
Merkel reports on her finding that only a minority of the Ukrainian population supported NATO membership at the time. “Risks for Ukraine, especially in Crimea,” were an important argument for them against rapid NATO integration. The compromise at the NATO summit resulted in both Georgia and Ukraine not receiving MAP status, which was a disappointment to many in those countries.
She describes her first meeting with Donald Trump in 2017 particularly impressively, where the frosty atmosphere between the two was immediately noticeable. Trump showed great interest in Putin and, unlike Merkel, who always had the geopolitical consequences in mind, her communication with Trump was characterized by fundamentally different views. Merkel also remembers advice from Pope Francis that helped her to remain more calm when dealing with different opinions. These insights into their conflicts and challenges are particularly valuable in order to understand the politics of the last few years, according to ZDF.
Reflection on the past
In her memoirs, Merkel also addresses the elephant round after the 2005 federal election, in which Gerhard Schröder did not want to admit his defeat. Such memories reflect the challenges that Merkel always faced during her government. Finally, she reflects on her musical home series with three selected songs that will accompany her farewell.