De Balie Podcast

The ‘Zeitenwende’, announced by Olaf Scholz days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, meant a profound shift in Germany’s self-image. With writer Philipp Oehmke and political analyst Caroline de Gruyter we explore the implications of this new cultural reality.After its defeat in the Second World War, Germany transformed from a militaristic regime into a soft power house. Self-conscious pacifism became a core part of the German identity. Is Germany now ready to become a military player of geopolitical significance? And how would that affect the German sense of self? We discuss this with German author Philipp Oehmke, who dissected post-war Germany in his family novel The Schönwalds, and Caroline de Gruyter, journalist and political commentator for outlets including Dutch newspaper NRC.Philipp Oehmke (1974) grew up in Bonn and studied journalism at Columbia University. After four years working for the magazine of the renowned Süddeutsche Zeitung, he switched to De