Última actualización Sábado, 26/04/2025
In recent years, the German image of the U.S. as a liberator and close partner has changed: Trump’s “America First” policy and the influence of right-wing populist movements in both countries have shaken old certainties.
“For us Germans, the U.S. was always a promise. There’s nothing left of that now,” my 91-year-old grandma says to me over tea. All her photos are in the cupboard behind her – grandchildren, children, weddings, birthday parties. There are also photos from the dark times: the old Berlin apartment that no longer exists, her father freed after being an American prisoner of war, her as a refugee child in a small village somewhere in Bavaria in the American occupation zone. “We looked up to the Americans, we wanted their fashion, their music, their movies”, she continues.
For her generation, Americans were Germany’s friends and saviours: they brought liberation from the Nazi regime and democracy, they established federal states and even the free press. In 1947, the U.S. Secretary of State George Catlett Marshall laid the foundation for a European reconstruction programme after the Second World War. The so-called Marshall Plan created the necessary conditions for the reconstruction of Germany, including the provision of loans and the supply of goods and food. Even when the Soviet Union blocked all land and water routes to Berlin in June 1948, cutting off the city from any supply of food and industrial goods, the U.S. stood by the Germans. Together with the British, they ensured access to food, water and other necessary goods to more than two million people via an airlift (the so-called “Berliner Luftbrücke”) that lasted 322 days until the USSR lifted the blockade again.
My grandmother doesn’t have many memories of the Americans in the occupation zone itself. Sometimes, she talks about a jeep passing by, but the family was busy with themselves. With a total of four children, it was hard to get everyone through. They lived in a small wooden hut, no running water, heat only came from the fire over which they cooked. My great-grandfather wrote a little poem about it:
My makeshift home
No matter if my house is small,
It still has enough space for all –
For wakeful hours and nights of rest,
For happiness and hearts distressed.
And all around – just look and see! –
A lovely spot of earth stands free,
No towering walls, no hidden view.
How war has scarred, with a ruthless hand,
So much beauty in this land!
My city, too, once full of light…
Yet this one view lets me forget:
A patch of woods, a field so bright –
My little world, my heart’s delight.
January 1946
Translated to English by Friederike Kroeger
The American occupation of Germany officially ended on 5 May 1955, with the signing of the Paris Treaties, which gave Western Germany its sovereignty back. However, U.S. troops remained where they were as Germany became part of NATO and the Cold War continued. In Berlin, the Allied presence lasted until 3 October 1990, when Germany was reunified. Even the Cold War strengthened the friendship between the two nations – the U.S. was a protective power and close ally.
It feels like the Germans’ view of the U.S. has changed: the United States, once seen as a role model for freedom and democracy, has changed a lot from the German perspective. The change didn’t come abruptly but gradually. Yet, with the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president in 2016 and the U.S. spying operation on European politicians, including on Angela Merkel, which became public in 2021, it became clear that transatlantic relations would no longer be the same as before. Already in his first term of office, at the 2018 NATO conference, Trump accused Germany of being a “free-rider” concerning military actions and being controlled by Russia. The language and thoughtless manner of Trump’s criticisms sparked outrage with the public. Suddenly, the U.S. was no longer a reliable partner but an unpredictable player on the world stage.
Now, as well, in his second term of office, Trump’s motto is “America First” and he’s making the whole world, but especially Ukraine and Gaza, feel it. Newspapers, radio and television are flooded with news about him, he crowns himself king on the White House’s Instagram account and happily posts inhuman and vile videos on various social media accounts.
In an AI-generated video called “Gaza 2025 What’s Next?”, children can be seen on a road covered in rubble that leads out of a tunnel onto a beach with palm trees, skyscrapers and sailing yachts. Later, children dance under a shower of banknotes and hold a golden Trump balloon. Trump’s adviser, the billionaire Elon Musk, also makes several appearances in the video. A scene of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting by a pool drinking cocktails is also included. A giant golden statue of Trump himself tops off the video, which is accompanied by the lyrics “Trump Gaza Number One. No more tunnels, no more fear. Trump Gaza shining bright. Golden future, a brand new life. Trump Gaza Number One.”
On the White House Instagram channel, the U.S. President proudly posts pictures of the assassination attempt in July 2024, in which he can be seen with blood on his face and surrounded by security.
There’s also a video on this account showing people being deported from the U.S. and returned to their home countries. Handcuffs clink, and people are filmed with their feet chained together as they are forced to board airplanes. “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight” is the title. ASMR stands for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response” and describes a relaxing, often calming feeling, often associated with a tingling sensation in the body. Calling people “aliens”, filming them during their repatriation and selling this video as relaxation is incomprehensible to many users. The top comment under the video reads: “This is the most absurd, inhumane, embarrassing and downright disturbing thing I’ve seen in a while. I can’t believe this is the account of our country’s leader. It’s worse than a bad joke at this point.”
These videos are not just random posts – they are carefully designed to provoke reactions. Trump’s opponents angrily share the message, calling it offensive and delusional, while his supporters see it as bold or visionary. Either way, the conversation revolves around him. When trying to report the content, you receive an answer from Meta a few hours later, saying: “Our team reviewed realdonaldtrump’s [profile’s name] post. They found that it does not go against our Community Standards on violence or dangerous organisations.”
But it’s not only in the U.S. that the political climate is changing. The right-wing party “Alternative für Deutschland” (“Alternative for Germany”) is the second strongest force in the federal elections. Elon Musk even took part in an AfD election campaign event in January. In his speech, he reiterated his support for the party and emphasised the importance of people taking pride in Germany and being German. Many of the AfD’s representatives, above all the party’s candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, regularly express sympathy for Trump, his migration policy and his dismissive attitude towards the established media. The party has adopted terms such as “lying press” and propagated conspiracy theories. For my grandma, this situation is incomprehensible. “How can people not see that the same thing that happened when I was very young is happening again?” she comments.
“Can we take out the album with the happy pictures?” I ask my grandma. She smiles: “Sixties or seventies?”
The author’s great-grandfather, drawing of himself after coming back from war, January 1946
ORIGINAL POEM
Mein Behelfsheim
Ist auch das Häuschen noch so klein,
Genügt’s doch meinen Braven
Zum Wachen und zum Schlafen,
Zum Glücklichsein, zum Traurigsein.
Und rings herum,- schauft du raus,
Stellt sich dem überraschten Blick
ein allerliebstes Erdenstück;
Brandmauer nicht, noch Hinterhaus.
Wie ist von Kriegesnot entstellt
So viele Schönheit dieser Welt!
So auch die Stadt, die einst mein Glück…
Vergessen läßt’s mich dieser Blick:
ein Winkel Wald, ein Winkel Feld
ist jetzt mein Glück und meine Welt.
Jan. 1946