The profile of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is also a pastor’s daughter, premieres on December 28.
On December 28, In Their Own Words will premiere a feature of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel is Germany’s first female Chancellor, and she will step down at the end of 2021.
Interviews with Hilary Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama will be featured in the documentary, which will show how she came to be in that position. Her episode will run on PBS, the PBS Video App, and PBS.org on December 28 at 8 p.m. ET.
Merkel was born in West Germany and went to East Germany with her father, a Lutheran preacher. While her family was trapped in East Germany, she witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1961. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Merkel joined Helmut Kohl’s Christian Democratic Party as a minister for women and children in an endeavour to reconstruct Germany.
In 1998, Merkel was appointed Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union. After claims that the CDU had taken illegal payments and maintained secret bank accounts during Kohl’s leadership arose in 1999, she turned on him. Merkel publicly blamed Kohl for the party’s demise.
Kati Marton, an author and journalist, claimed, “She, in effect, committed patricide.” “The most audacious political deed was Merkel’s defiance of her mentor [Helmut Kohl].” She also positioned herself as the CDU’s heir.”
Merkel became Germany’s first female Chancellor in 2005 and will step down after 16 years in office. It was the first time a woman had ever held that job. Merkel’s connection with the United States and presidents Bush and Obama is explored in interviews with George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton.
Merkel will stand down as Chancellor at the end of 2021. She has worked with five prime ministers of the United Kingdom, four presidents of France, seven prime ministers of Italy, and four presidents of the United States. “If a female says she wants to be chancellor, no one laughs anymore,” Merkel added.
Dalaklis Media, Prospero Media, and Lower Canada Productions Inc. collaborated on In Their Own Words. Chuck Dalaklis, Martin Katz, Matt Hanna, and Karen Wookey serve as executive producers. PBS’s executive in charge is Bill Margol. The series is distributed internationally by Rive Gauche Television, an Aftershock Media Company.
About the Show
Explore the lives and impact of the most transformative figures in modern history. Being a gamechanger is journey filled with determination, ambition, success, failure and drama. These powerful biographies capture the pivotal events of our subject’s lives through the eyes of those closest to them and people most impacted by their actions. All while hearing from our featured icons directly through meaningful and impactful and consequential quotes they’ve made throughout their life.
