Presentation of the American Academy Spring Fellows
Remarks by Chargé d’Affaires John M. Koenig
Berlin, January 22, 2009
 
Gary, I would like to thank you and your staff, as well as the fellows and friends of the American Academy for your ongoing commitment to the German-American relationship. The Academy has strengthened the network of partnerships between the United States and this country that makes that relationship so special.  Over the past 60 years, security and economic relations have had an enormous spin-off effect on our bilateral social and cultural connections.  So when a few weeks ago, President Obama said that the essence of what makes America special is our art, our culture, and our science, I think it is fair to say that our connections in these areas are also what makes the German-American partnership so unique. 
 
Many of the men and women who created and have supported the Academy are leading figures in political and economic life in the United States and Germany.  Some of them are here tonight.  We have seen their names in the news lately, in some cases, and they are taking new roles in shaping our national policy and thinking.  But as they clearly know, and as everybody in this room knows, government and business are not the only voices in the US-German conversation.  Many of the most important links are in academia, in arts and letters, in think tanks.  We appreciate the Academy’s commitment to helping to extend the forum for artists, musicians, academics, journalists, business people, scientists, soldiers, and students.
 
Tonight is about introducing the Spring Fellows of 2009 to an eager circle of friends of the Academy and a curious public.  I have always enjoyed these presentations, because – or perhaps even though – they remind me of the rich intellectual and cultural life going on outside my day-to-day field of vision.  The Spring Fellows of 2009 are a very diverse group. You are affiliated with America’s major universities, media organizations, orchestras, museums and libraries.  Your topics this year range from film to classical music and jazz to literature, painting and architecture, from foreign policy issues to comparative constitutional law.
 
This is “cultural diplomacy” at its best and an excellent example of how private initiative contributes effectively to our common agenda. 

Earlier this week, two million people on the Washington Mall and more than a billion in front of TV screens across the planet watched President Barack Obama being sworn in on the Capitol steps and heard his address to the nation and the world.  The world has greeted President Obama with an outpouring of goodwill and hope.  Here in Germany, this enthusiasm and fascination opens new opportunities for strengthening our partnership on all levels. 
 
At the Embassy, we have received many indications about how motivating President Obama’s message of change is to German audiences.  A German company faced with some major transitional issues asked if we could supply “Yes, we can” buttons to all 200 people on their factory floor.  We have received the same kind of message from other organizations around the country. 
 
Now, two days into this new presidency, I think it is important to maintain and build on this can-do spirit and optimism.  We are embarking upon a new chapter of our shared history.  I expect an increase in official traffic between America and Germany, and an intensification of policy discussions.  I believe the new US Administration will be very well represented at the Munich Security Conference in two weeks time.  In April, I hope that President Obama will visit Germany for the NATO Summit in Strasbourg and Kehl.  And this is only the tip of the iceberg; many other significant but less visible contacts and exchanges will also be taking place at the same time.
 
Will this intensification of dialogue and contact on the official level diminish the importance of the Academy as a forum for discussion and interaction between Germany and the United States?  Absolutely not.  Indeed, I expect the spirit of renewal in America and the resonance it has found in Germany to provide a strong, positive impulse for the Academy in years ahead.
 
There is a unique spirit to this place, to the Academy and the Hans Arnhold Center.  What might be called a genius loci, an atmosphere that makes the Academy a real transatlantic treasure.  I have heard about it from several generations of Fellows.  In part, I am told, it is the spirit of intellectual engagement across boundaries – international, intercultural, interdisciplinary.  In part it is the simple joy of looking out at the Wannsee and watching the water and the sky.  The Spring Fellows have probably begun to fall under its spell.
 
There is another genius in the Academy that I want to mention tonight.  As Charge d’Affaires, just filling in between Ambassadors, I know I might not get a second chance to say these words in a circle like this.  So I want to take this opportunity, to say a public thank you to Gary Smith and acknowledge his extraordinary contribution to German-American relations.  Gary, you are a brilliant colleague, a role-model, and a good friend.  Through your creativity, energy and perseverance you have enriched in ways no one else ever could the intellectual, cultural, and public policy relations between the United States and Germany.  Thank you.

And thank all of you for your attention.  I wish the new fellows a successful, fruitful and interesting time in Berlin. May you catch the spirit, and remain devoted to the Academy and to our German-American partnership long after you leave these walls.

As prepared for delivery.