By Rob Fenstermacher and Steven E. Sokol As Friedrich Merz visits Washington for the third time since becoming Germany’s Chancellor, it is important to remember that alliances are not just abstract notions or ideas in people’s minds. They are built on a foundation of shared experiences, common interests and collective risks. For more than 70 years, the partnership between Germany and the United States has been exactly that kind of alliance – practical, principled, reliable, and resilient. At a moment when the international order is experiencing unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty, it is worth stating clearly why Germany remains one of America’s most indispensable allies. Read more here.
DER SPIEGEL interview with ACG President and CEO Dr. Steven E. Sokol [Scroll down for the English translation] Imperialismus unter Trump »Das alte Amerika kommt nicht wieder« Donald Trump trifft mit seinem harten Blick auf Europa eine allgemeine Stimmung in den USA, sagt Steven Sokol, Präsident des American Council on Germany. Hier erklärt er, was Europa tun kann, damit Amerika sich nicht komplett abwendet. Ein Interview von Simon Book 16.01.2026, 14.06 Uhr • aus DER SPIEGEL 4/2026 Foto: Florian Gaertner / photothek / picture alliance Steven E. Sokol, 59, ist Präsident des American Council on Germany (ACG). Die unabhängige, überparteiliche und gemeinnützige Organisation wurde 1952 als amerikanisches Pendant zur Atlantik-Brücke gegründet und will die Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und den USA stärken. Sokol lebt und arbeitet in New York....
June 16, 1975, was a pivotal day in the history of the American Council on Germany. Fifty years ago today, the ACG was deeply privileged to receive a $1 million grant from the German government. At a White House ceremony German Federal President Walter Scheel handed a check earmarked for the Council to U.S. President Gerald Ford – and the ACG’s John J. McCloy Fund was born. The generosity of the German government – and its confidence in the work of the Council – was a gamechanger for the organization. This gift laid the foundation for a range of programs and activities designed to strengthen German-American relations. It also gave us the wherewithal to be an enduring actor in the transatlantic community. Looking back,...
As the results of the U.S. presidential election sink in, some members of the American Council on Germany community will be pleased. Others will be disappointed with the outcome. In a fair and democratic election, the American voters have had their voices heard, and Donald Trump will be the 47th President of the United States. Regardless of how one might feel, we still have a job to do. The American Council on Germany strives to strengthen the German-American alliance as an indispensable cornerstone of democracy and cooperation in service to an open, sustainable, and peaceful world. Our mission, core values, and work have not changed and remain just as true today as they were before the election – and other elections in the past. The bilateral...
Germany has changed profoundly in the past 14 months. But measured against the challenge, it has not changed enough. At stake are no less than peace and freedom in Europe and with it the future of the European project. If Ukraine does not succeed in pushing back Russia and if Putin is even just partially successful with his aggression, this would have dramatic and decades long consequences for the whole of Europe. We would be divided again, a border of military confrontation would run across Europe and the sovereignty of countries like Moldova and Georgia would be endangered. The confidence of the Balts, the Central and Eastern Europeans in the EU and above all in its two largest member states Germany and France would be...
