Atlantik-Brücke

Eric Moritz Warburg

Friedrich Merz (Chair)

The Atlantik-Brücke eV was founded in 1952 as a private, non-partisan and non-profit organization with the aim to build a economic, financial, educational, and military and political bridge between the victorious powers USA and the Federal Republic of Germany. Its membership now includes more than 500 leading personalities from banking and finance, business, politics, media and science. The Atlantic Bridge acts as a network and private political consulting institute. Seat of the association is the Magnus-Haus in Berlin.

Club and purpose

The association bears the name Atlantik-Brücke eV and is registered in the register of the Amtsgericht Berlin -Charlottenburg under the number B 20196 registered.

The Association pursues its statutes " educational, scientific, cultural and charitable purposes, and the promotion of international understanding. Here, the association aims to promote professional and public education at the national and international level, especially in the United States of America, Canada and Europe. Furthermore, the association wants to promote understanding of Germany as in other countries, especially in the United States of America, Canada and the European countries, the understanding of the aforementioned states in Germany and thus make a contribution to the friendship between Germany and other countries. "

The organs of the Association are the General Assembly and the Executive Board (§ 5), which is supported by an International Advisory Council in the performance of his duties ( § 8).

The Atlantic Bridge is financed by membership fees. Some events are selectively promoted by companies and institutions such as Deutsche Bank, the private bank MM Warburg & CO, Nomura Holdings investment bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the DZ Bank, the technology company IABG, Volkswagen AG and the Foreign Office.

Regular Members and Young Leader alumni meeting in New York City and Washington, DC instead.

History

The transatlantic club was founded in 1952 in Hamburg by the bankers Eric ( h) Moritz Warburg and Gotthard Freiherr von Falkenhausen, the entrepreneur and politician Erik Blumenfeld, the two journalists and editors of the weekly Die Zeit, Marion Dönhoff and Ernst Friedlaender, the entrepreneur Hans Karl initially founded by Borries and the President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Albert Shepherd as transatlantic bridge. As the initiator had the former President of the World Bank, director of the private U.S. think tank for the design of U.S. foreign policy, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR ) and CEO of Rockefeller's Chase Manhattan Bank, John J. McCloy, decisively. As patrons served the mayor of Hamburg Max Brauer and the Mayor of West Berlin, Ernst Reuter. On January 18, 1955, the association was registered at Amtsgericht Hamburg. The officially in Atlantic Bridge renamed on July 4, 1956 Elite network is regarded as "one of the most influential and most exclusive organizations in the Berlin Republic ".

The main focus of the association is to promote personal contacts between German and American leaders from economic and cultural life since its founding. Dönhoff named shortly after founding the club long-term objective, policy advisory private institutions such as the British Chatham House and the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations having to resemble. The Atlantic Bridge saw in the age of mass democracy and media effectiveness as a part of public opinion, which was to influence it with all the possibilities of the association. The Atlantic Bridge had therefore claim to act as a private, non-governmental think tank and to shape opinions and solutions suggested. 1981 dedicated the FAZ this basic approach of the Atlantic Bridge detail union journalistic space. In allusion to the spread in the U.S. system of private companies, " who have not to decide, but still part of the decision- background " and therefore form an incredibly new experience in Germany, it was said, " a purist democracy could objections to such elitist participation groups have. "

From 1957 to 1970, the association published the English-language leaflet Meet Germany stationed in Germany for U.S. soldiers. 1963 this was supplemented by seminars for U.S. officers that continue to this day. Since 1990 in the Magnus-Haus annual expert meetings with the United States European Command instead, which bring together German and American generals with representatives from politics, business and media. By the fiftieth anniversary of the Atlantic Bridge in 2002 had participated in over nine thousand American officers in these seminars.

Other seminars, conferences, Young Leader meetings, round-table discussions and honors are regularly held in the premises of the club amicably affiliated institutions and corporations. The Atlantic Bridge is a founding member of the New Traditions Network, a network merger of 60 Germany-based pro-American think tanks, foundations and government organizations, coordinated by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin.

During 2002/2003 the German -American relationship was broken, turned off the Atlantic Bridge on 16 February 2003, the Solidarity Display A Message from Germany - A message from Germany for 140,000 U.S. dollars in the Sunday New York Times. The full-page message was also printed in German in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, THE WORLD and the Financial Times Germany.

On 12 March 2010 a meeting of the Atlantic Bridge in the public television has been sent in cooperation with the television Phoenix for the first time. The Atlantic Bridge held on 10 March 2010 a conversation in the Helmut Schmidt University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg with the members of former Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, and the Federal Minister of Defence, Karl- Theodor zu Guttenberg, on the subject " Bundeswehr missions: hotspot Afghanistan." The discussion moderated the chairman of the Atlantic Bridge Friedrich Merz.

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the association in the German Historical Museum in Berlin on July 2, 2012 held German Chancellor Angela Merkel the respective speeches at " the dear Friedrich Merz, the Warburg family, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, Excellencies and dear friends and members of the Atlantic bridge ". Under the theme 60 Years of Transatlantic Relations 170 Young Leaders Alumni of the Atlantic Bridge came together in Berlin on the morning of July 2, 2012. Occasion of the conference was also the 60th anniversary of the Atlantic Bridge. The then German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle spoke to the Young Leaders on " Partners in responsibility." Hosted by the European School of Management and Technology. For the 60th birthday of the Atlantic Bridge published on Youtube 14 interviews with Henry Kissinger, Angela Merkel, Guido Westerwelle, Kai Diekmann, Richard von Weizsäcker, Walther Leisler Kiep and other long -term members.

The office of the association was initially in Hamburg, moved in 1983 to Bonn to seek close contact to the policy, and therefore sits since November 1994 in Berlin, next door to the private residence of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Membership

Membership is only possible through nomination and co-option by the Board. On 1 June 2010, the club had 493 members, including 252 from the business community, 82 out of politics, 40 from the media, 27 from academia, 14 from associations, unions and foundations and 78 from the free professions. The membership fee is € 300 per year for members of the Bundestag and 1,000 € for other members.

Current members are, inter alia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, chairman of Deutsche Bank AG, Jürgen Fitschen, the CEO of Goldman Sachs Germany Alexander Dibelius, chairman of the Axel Springer AG Mathias Döpfner, the Daimler Benz impersonated, former Secretary of Angela Merkel Eckart von Klaeden, director of Government Relations of the Axel Springer AG and brother of Merkel's Secretary Eckart von Klaeden Dietrich von Klaeden, SPD leader and Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Chairman of EADS ( Airbus) Thomas Enders, as well as VW and Porsche Executive Martin Winterkorn. In addition, the President of the Deutsche Bundesbank Jens Weidmann and the CEO of the Deutsche Bundesbank and former Rothschild banker Andrew Raymond Dombret sitting together on the Board of Directors of the force as a " bank for central banks " Bank for International Settlements in Basel. Trustees of the connected Foundation Atlantic Bridge include the former German Defence Minister Volker Ruhe, as well as the moderator and director of the ZDF news editors Claus Kleber.

• Board of Directors (as of 1 March 2011)
• Chairman: Friedrich Merz, Mayer Brown LLP
• Deputy. Chairman: Edelgard Bulmahn, Member of Parliament
• Deputy. Chair: Burkhard Schwenker, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
• Treasurer: Andreas R. Dombret, board member of the Deutsche Bundesbank
• Managing Director: Eveline Metzen Y.
• Honorary Chairman: Walther Leisler Kiep
• Honorary Member: Richard von Weizsäcker

The number of members is increasing steadily. At the foundation of the Atlantic Bridge had seven members, the end of 1957 25, the end of 1962 47, the end of 1967 57 75 the end of 1972, end of 1977, 79, in the spring of 1982, 159 in 1992 already 280 and in 2010 it was finally 493 members.

Young Leaders

The Young Leaders Program (English " Young Leader" ) Atlantik-Brücke aimed at young, aspiring leaders who are invited to the annual German - American and European conferences. During the conferences, the participants discuss in plenary sessions and working groups on current security, foreign and economic policy, and social issues. Practical suggestions and recommendations for transatlantic makers are found in this way. Since 1973, the German -American Young Leaders Conference is held annually. Members of the Young Leaders program have included Cem Özdemir, Silvana Koch- Mehrin and Kai Diekmann. After the parliamentary elections on September 27, 2009 were a whole series of " Young Leaders " Alumni in the Federal Government, including the Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière, the Federal Minister of Defence, retired Karl- Theodor zu Guttenberg, Minister of State Federal Chancellery Eckart von Klaeden and the secretaries of State Katherina Reiche, Julia Klöckner and Ursula Heinen- Esser. The former German President Christian Wulff is a Young Leaders alumnus.

Conferences, seminars, workshops and Regional Groups

With conferences and expert meetings of the club German and American experts and decision makers offers from business, politics, academia, the media and the armed forces of a dialogue platform. These include for example:

American Council on Germany and the Council on Foreign Relations

The Atlantic Bridge can not be separated from its sister institution American Council on Germany, also founded in 1952 by John J. McCloy and Eric M. Warburg. The American Council on Germany is a non-governmental organization (NGO), which is affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations. Today, the American Council on Germany comprises 800 members from business, politics and media, and legal and academic fields from both sides of the Atlantic. In the most important positions, the Board of Directors of this network, the following members of the Council on Foreign Relations, see again again: President William Drozdiak, Chairman Robert M. Kimmitt, the honorary chairman Paul Volcker Adolph Jr. and Henry Kissinger, Lee Cullum, Richard Fisher, Guido Goldman, Andrew Gundlach, Francis Kelly, Brent and Garrick Utley Scowcraft.

Between the Atlantic Bridge and the ACG, there has always been a lively exchange of information and personnel exchanges. An example of this type of meeting were the German -American conferences, which were launched in 1959 and were carried out in close cooperation with the American Council on Germany, alternately in Germany and the USA. "The American Council on Germany Has always been a strong actor in our relations with the United States ," as the Minister of State of the Foreign Office and the Atlantic Bridge Member Werner Hoyer in December 2011 found.

Merit Awards prices or

The Atlantic Bridge has created her character corresponding merit awards. The Vernon A. Walters Award, named after the U.S. intelligence General Vernon A. Walters, and the Eric M. Warburg Prize, in memory of the world bankers Eric M. Warburg. Will be honored individuals who have made ​​proven for special merits of the transatlantic relationship and in the case of Bertelsmann AG heiress Liz Mohn, the German -Israeli relations. Among the winners, Henry Kissinger, George Bush Senior. , Condoleezza Rice, Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel find. 2012 was a founding member, a close friend Eric M. Warburg and former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt honored with the prize. The presentation speech at the German Historical Museum held Chancellor and Atlantic Bridge Member Angela Merkel.

Criticism

Because of the secrecy and the more than scanty reports of meetings, seminars and conferences is on the Atlantic Bridge, among other think tanks, speculated and criticized. Essentially, the immediate vicinity of the policy to the economy and lack of transparency, cause of conjecture. Hans -Jürgen Krysmanski, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Münster, also doubted the private nature of conferences such as the Bilderberg or Davos and associations such as the Atlantic Bridge, the Council on Foreign Relations, the European Council on Foreign Relations or the Trilateral Commission. He holds a doctorate at the Johann -Wolfgang- Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main sociologist and economist Rudolf Stumberger notes that between business and politics all barriers have disappeared, and this is moor also to people. Stumberger recognizes tendencies of re- feudalism, ie that in addition to official structures, precisely the democratic structures, win the unofficial structures of self-appointed elites increasingly weight again.

Members of the Atlantic Bridge were significantly involved in the black money scandal in the late 1990s and were convicted to long prison sentences sometimes.

The artist Xavier Naidoo mentioned the Atlantic Bridge and the Eric M. Warburg Prize in the song Gold balances / Gold cars. In this document, Naidoo is critical to the uniform coverage of the media and the masses some unknown facts apart. Also critically examined the political hip- hop duo The bandwidth transatlantic private alliance in the song The Mafia.

Quotes

• "The fact that little is known of the activities of the Atlantik-Brücke in public, is intentional. It is not a club who wants to act out. Rather, acts in silence, giving the club sometimes the image of a secret society gives - and the reputation of an elite club. To become a member of the Atlantic Bridge does not advertise you look, you will be prompted. Their influence is considered significant. The Atlantic Bridge is supported by all major German companies. The name list of the Board (...) reads like a who's who of politics and economics. And on the other side of the Atlantic, no less influential interlocutor. " Berliner Zeitung commitment of 17 April 2002
• "For nearly 60 years, creating the Atlantic Bridge connectedness, understanding and exchange and is a cornerstone in the modern economy, politics and between the media. It is an honor to be a part of it. " Kai Diekmann, BILD editor in chief on the homepage of the Atlantik-Brücke eV 1 April 2012
• " The transatlantic partners can look back on a long and close friendship. This connection is kept alive through an open and trusting dialogue, for the Atlantic Bridge provides the perfect setting. " Andreas Dombret, Member of the Board, German Federal Bank on the homepage of the Atlantik-Brücke eV 1 April 2012
• " The United States is governed by 200 families and about which we want to have good contacts." Arend Oetker, former CEO of Atlantic Bridge in the Berliner Zeitung of 17 April 2002
• " In the 20th century, Europe was a dilemma for the United States. The core of our European policy was since 1910, Germany embed in its European environment. This problem was solved for the United States in 1990. And now that we are no longer afraid of what makes Germany, we also have no fear of what is happening in Europe. On the problems that there are still in Central and Eastern Europe, there is no great interest. " John C. Kornblum, U.S. former ambassador in an interview of the Annual Report 2010/2011 of the Atlantik-Brücke eV