Christoph von Marschall is Diplomatic Correspondent for the chief editor of the Berlin newspaper ‘Tagesspiegel’.
He is a welcome guest in moderated talks, panels, TV discussion rounds such as the ARD Press Club and the Phoenix Round Table, comments on WDR and is deputy chairman of the Berliner Presse Club e.V. as well as the author of several books.
His main topics include international politics, the USA, transatlantic relations, the European Union and especially its eastern members, power shifts between the world’s major powers and relations with China and Russia.
Christoph von Marschall Lecture topics
- What if Trump returns?
Four strategies on how Germany can arm itself: Germany and Europe are suppressing the dangers of a second term for Donald Trump. - Kamala Harris or Donald Trump?
Things are getting uncomfortable for Germany. ‘America First’ is the motto in the USA, and the era of cheap security guarantees for Europe is over – regardless of who wins the election. - New hope: Kamala Harris
After the late change of candidate, the US Democrats once again believe they can win the election. How can the previously pale Vice President beat Donald Trump? - We no longer understand the world.
Germany’s alienation from its friends in an increasingly conflict-ridden world. - Revision, status quo or something new?
Putin, Ukraine and security in Europe. - Crises, wars, competition
What challenges does Germany face in the new world disorder? - Where are Germany and Europe heading?
Lessons from the Ukraine war, pandemic and energy transition - New world order.
Germany’s interests, Europe’s crises, America’s division, Putin’s war and China’s rise - How Europe is flying apart.
Lessons from the EU’s conflicts over the rule of law, democracy and finances - Europe as a world power?
Why the EU is finding it difficult to assert itself against China, Russia and the USA - Welcome to the VUCA World:
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity - What’s wrong with the Americans?
What makes Germans marvel at everyday life in the US
Christoph von Marschall first made a name for himself as an expert on Eastern Europe. After studying Eastern European history, ancient history, political science and geography in Freiburg, Mainz and Krakow and completing his doctorate, he reported from Hungary for the ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ in 1989/90 on the mass exodus of GDR citizens to the West and the fall of communism in Romania and Bulgaria. In 1991 he moved to the ‘Tagesspiegel’, where he headed the opinion page from 1995 to 2005. He followed the integration of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the EU and NATO and interviewed almost all of their presidents.
From 2005 to 2013, he was the US correspondent and, since Barack Obama took office in 2009, the only German newspaper correspondent in the White House Press Corps. During this time, he wrote books about Barack and Michelle Obama and the cultural differences between Germany and America.
In 2017/18, Christoph von Marschall lived in Washington as the first Helmut Schmidt Fellow of the Zeit-Stiftung and the German Marshall Fund, had access to Donald Trump’s White House and wrote a book on what the USA and its EU partners expect from Germany: ‘Wir verstehen die Welt nicht mehr. Germany’s alienation from its friends’, Herder Verlag 2018.
In 2024/25, he is again observing the US election and its consequences for Germany and Europe in Washington, now as a Global Europe Fellow at the Wilson Center, one of the largest think tanks in the USA, and is writing a book on how Germany can preserve its security and prosperity in an increasingly conflict-ridden world.
Honours & prizes:
- 2002 German-American Commentary Prize
- 2005 Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
- 2010 Media Prize of the Steuben-Schurz Society
- 2019 Lucius D. Clay Medal of the German-American Clubs
- 2020 Hedwig von Schlesien Prize of the City and University of Wrocław