Rieke Havertz: Goodbye, Amerika? Die USA und wir – eine Neuvermessung

In the organizer's words:

Reading and discussion

Moderator: Dr. Andreas Etges (Amerika-Institut Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich)

Weather permitting, the event will take place in the library garden.

Registration is not required. Seat reservations are possible at https://www.offen-fuer-kultur.de/programm/2026/07/05/rieke-havertz-goodbye-amerika-die-usa-und-wir-eine-neuvermessung/.

A president who openly attacks the constitution, the Oval Office as an exchange of favors, the transatlantic alliance in crisis. Even in the first year of Donald Trump's second term of office, it is clear that these four years cannot simply be sat out unscathed. Rather, we are faced with the fundamental question: "Goodbye, America?", which Trump has forced upon us.

Rieke Havertz, an expert on the USA for many years, invites us into her America. On a personal journey through memories, American ambivalences and a changing country that affects us all. - Always with the hope of not having to give up on this contentious, unnerving, wonderful, exciting country.

"Rieke Havertz knows America better than most Americans. Her voice is crucial in bringing us closer to this deeply divided country." Anne Hull, Pulitzer Prize winner and longtime journalist for the Washington Post.

Rieke Havertz, born in 1980, is an international correspondent for ZEIT and has been co-host of the podcast "OK, America?" since 2020. For several years, she has reported from Washington on the country she fell in love with over 20 years ago - even if she sometimes despairs of it. Havertz studied journalism and American studies in Leipzig and at Ohio University. After working for taz, she joined DIE ZEIT in 2016.


The event is part of the OFFEN FÜR KULTUR project at the Hansabibliothek and is free of charge.

You can find the complete program of OFFEN FÜR KULTUR here: www.offen-fuer-kultur.de.


OFFEN FÜR KULTUR is funded by the LOTTO-Stiftung Berlin.


(Photo: Jacobia Dahm)