The 60s were a time of change world-wide. In Germany and the United States, the liberal movement revolutionized our way of looking at the world. Yet, if we take the opportunity to reflect on this 40th anniversary of the 1968 student rights movement, the evolution of the liberal movement has played out quite differently in each country. As exemplified by the history of the Green Party, it could be argued that Germany internalized and implemented many of the liberal ideals that emerged during the political questioning of the 60s. Paul Hockenos argues that the spirit of German political debate “could possibly inject fresh critical thinking into debates beyond Europe’s borders, not only in the United States.”

Recorded Thursday, February 21, 2008 at Goethe-Institut Chicago.