From German emigrants to the United States, through the ruptures of two world wars, to Donald Trump and his German roots — German-American relations in all their diversity.
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The Prussian officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben traveled to North America in 1778 and played a leading role in the American War of Independence against British colonial rule. This painting depicts the future first president, George Washington (far left), together with Steuben (third from left) and other officers. Since 1957, New York has honored him every year with the Steuben Parade.
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Millions of Germans emigrated to the US, particularly during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In a 2022 survey, around 50 million US citizens identified “German” as their primary ancestry. Americans of German descent constitute the largest ethnic group in the United States.
Image: Heritage Art/Heritage Images/Bain News Service/IMAGO
Two world wars in which Americans fought against the Germans put the relationship under severe strain. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, US soldiers landed in France, then occupied by the German Reich. Together with other Allied forces, they liberated Europe — and the Germans themselves — from National Socialism, even though not all Germans experienced it as liberation at the time.
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During the US occupation of Germany, romantic relationships between US soldiers and German women were strictly prohibited. However, the ban was lifted in October 1945. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 German women married US soldiers during and shortly after the war. The number of children born from such relationships — often out of wedlock — is estimated at between 100,000 and 220,000.
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After the end of World War II, Berlin was divided into four occupation sectors controlled by the US, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. In 1948, the Soviet Union cut off access to West Berlin, raising the prospect of an acute supply crisis. In response, the Western Allies established an airlift lasting many months, providing the population with all essential goods.
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By the time Elvis Presley began his military service in Germany in 1958, he was already an international pop star who embodied the spirit of an entire generation. As a result, he became an unofficial ambassador for his country in Germany. While stationed in Friedberg, he lived in nearby Bad Nauheim, in the state of Hesse. Today, a bronze statue stands there in a square named after him.
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By 1963, a wall had run through the heart of Berlin for two years, separating the Soviet sector in the east from the three western sectors. US President John F. Kennedy (left) visited West Berlin, declaring in German, “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”), affirming the US commitment to Berlin’s protection.
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Everyday “American culture” was eagerly embraced by Germans, including one of its most famous products, Coca-Cola. German Chancellor Willy Brandt was even seen drinking it during a holiday on a Florida beach in 1972.
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Few things are as strongly associated with Germany in the American imagination as its automobiles. The Volkswagen Beetle was already a major export success in the United States in the 1950s. Later, it was above all the premium vehicles produced by Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche that came to define Germany’s reputation.
Image: Rüdiger Wölk/IMAGO
Munich’s Oktoberfest is perhaps seen as the ultimate symbol of German tradition and folklore. German emigrants brought this tradition with them to their new homeland in the US. Here, the American German Club hosts its own Oktoberfest in Lake Worth, Florida, complete with German beer and traditional costumes.
Image: John Indiveri/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/picture alliance
Another famous Berlin speech by a US president: Standing before the Brandenburg Gate (with Chancellor Helmut Kohl on the right), which lay within the restricted zone of the Soviet sector since the construction of the Wall in 1961, Ronald Reagan in 1987 called on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev: “Open this gate! Tear down this wall!” Just over two years later, that dream became reality.
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Following the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (left), expressed his solidarity with the US. However when US President George W. Bush (center) launched a war in Iraq, Schröder refused to support the intervention. The dispute triggered a crisis in German-American relations that lasted for years.
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Angela Merkel became the second German head of government after Konrad Adenauer in 1957 to address a joint session of the US Congress in 2009, saying: “We Germans know how much we owe to you, our American friends. We will never forget it!” Her speech was followed by nine minutes of applause.
Image: Steffen Kugler/Bundesregierung/AFP
Perhaps the closest political relationship between the leaders of the two countries was that between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama. The two remained in contact even after leaving office and met privately on several occasions. Most recently, Merkel attended the opening of the Obama Center in Chicago in June 2026, while President Donald Trump did not.
Image: Michael Kappeler/AP Photo/picture alliance
Since Donald Trump’s return to office, almost nothing in transatlantic relations has been quite the same. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has visited Trump at the White House three times, exercising restraint on contentious issues. Still the two have repeatedly clashed in public, most recently over the war with Iran.
Image: Guido Bergmann/BPA/dts Nachrichtenagentur/IMAGO
US troops have been stationed in Germany since the end of World War II. Around 37,000 soldiers are currently based in Germany while the total US presence, including civilian personnel and family members, numbers roughly 75,000. Recently President Trump announced a reduction by at least 5,000 troops. The US security guarantee for Europe is now increasingly being called into question.
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An unremarkable house in Kallstadt, in Germany’s Palatinate region. This is where Donald Trump’s grandfather was born before emigrating to the United States in 1885 at the age of 16. Should Donald Trump visit Germany, he would likely make a stop here. Yet an overwhelming majority of the village’s residents say they would prefer he didn’t. In Germany, Trump’s popularity rating is very low.
Image: Michael Bermel/Eibner-Pressefoto/Imago17 images1 | 1717 imageshttps://p.dw.com/p/5GJKH
Since the founding of the United States in 1776, Germans have played an important role in the country. According to surveys, US citizens of German descent are even the largest ethnic group. And the influence of the United States on Germany, particularly since the 20th century, can hardly be overstated — a reality that continues to this day.
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