Books
Guido Goldman: Transatlantic Bridge Builder
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The son of Nahum Goldmann, who was the founder of the World Jewish Congress, Guido Goldman was one of the most distinguished protagonists of the reintegration of Germany into the international community after the defeat of Nazism in 1945. Later he helped establish the German Marshall Fund and created Harvard University’s Center for European Studies as one of the pre-eminent research institutes and meeting places in the world for scholars, graduate students, prominent politicians, and artists. His large network of friends and interlocutors included Willy Brandt and Helmut Kohl, Henry Kissinger and Ronald Reagan, Harry Belafonte and Marlene Dietrich. His generous philanthropy extended to the preservation of non-Western cultures threatened by extinction, such as the IKAT project through which he revived the unique ancient textile arts of Central Asia. All this comes alive in Martin Klingst’s careful reconstruction of Goldman's life.
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‘In his distinguished career, Guido Goldman has made important contributions to both the American and German societies in art, education, and their political evolution. He has created essential institutions to enhance the interaction of America and Germany. And he has been an inspiring and reliable friend through a long life.’
– Henry A. Kissinger
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Guido Goldman's life reflected the ruptures of the twentieth century. His life story is that of a German Jew whose family was driven from their homeland, but who then devoted his life to promoting better transatlantic relations. The story of a person who, throughout his life, was convinced that genuine mutual sympathy can only be based on mutual understanding.
Goldman was one of the central architects of postwar transatlantic relations, but until now he has remained one of the great unknown figures in the history of German-American relations. (From the Foreword)
‘Martin Klingst has impressively portrayed
Guido Goldman’s enormous life’s work.’
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Werner Weidenfeld,
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‘Guido Goldman laid the foundation for transatlantic relations in the 21st century. Their value is being rediscovered – also through this book by Martin Klingst.’
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Thomas Speckmann,
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
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‘How Klingst juxtaposes the visits of Willy Brandt (1972) and Angela Merkel (2019) to Harvard University makes for very good reading – without being too simplistic.’
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Volkmar Heuer-Strathmann,
Trumps Amerika. Reise in ein weißes Land
(Trump's America. Journey to a White Country)
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Since 2017 Donald Trump is president of the United States. But how did it happen that his supporters, mainly conservative white men from rural America, were able to prevail against the supposedly invincible Democrats?
Martin Klingst, longtime US-correspondent for Germany’s national weekly
DIE ZEIT, traveled to various regions and has taken a closer look at how Americans view their president.
Through numerous conversations, the social and ideological conflicts of the USA become tangible. An increasingly influential group resists any change, the ruling elite and its ‘political correctness’. Martin Klingst takes his readers on an insightful journey to rural America.
‘Certainly, Klingst is not the first to write about the phenomenon of Trump voters.
But he doesn’t do it from behind his desk or by looking down on people. He does it with empathetic understanding and with the depth of focus and sharpness of a reporter who has personally spoken with dozens of the president’s supporters […]
Anyone who wants a more thorough understanding of why after two years the president is still firmly in the saddle must read this entertaining book written by a proven expert on the United States. This book closes an important gap in the German reception of Donald Trump.’
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Thomas Spang,
Menschenrechte
(Human Rights)
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Every human being has the right of self-determination, the right to freedom of expression, freedom of religion, to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence. Every person has a right to protection from torture and political persecution, but also a right to education, property and an adequate standard of living. And all these regardless of one’s gender, where one lives, one’s religion, whether one is rich or poor. These rights are inherent to us as human beings.
But these rights are all but guaranteed. In dictatorships and authoritarian regimes fundamental freedoms are all too often undermined and inhumane conditions subsist. But even in democracies within the EU and the Western world human rights are regularly curtailed and disrespected. Examples of this are the prison camp in Guantánamo or the treatment of refugees at the Hungarian border.
Martin Klingst, a political journalist with the German weekly DIE ZEIT, outlines the current state of our fundamental rights. He reports on setbacks, but also on successes, and makes one thing crystal clear: human rights must always be respected and defended anew.