
Remembering Madeleine Albright (1937−2022)
The American Academy in Berlin mourns the passing of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. We extend our condolences to her family and friends.
Madeleine Albright was America at its best: A refugee who passionately loved the country that took her in but never gave it a pass for its shortcomings; a strategist who understood that values had to be at the core of policy; a public educator who urged us to never take for granted democracy and human rights because she’d seen what happened to those who lost them.
As is true for so many in the American foreign policy community, Madeleine Albright was a major figure in my life. In one of our last exchanges, she said how much she admired the work of the Academy and how glad she was that I was working there. She last joined the Academy in fall 2013, for the German translation of her memoir Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948, published by Bertelsmann as Winter in Prag: Erinnerungen an meine Kindheit im Krieg (2013). She spoke at the Bertelsmann Stiftung with former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer and then-Academy executive director, Gary Smith.
Even with all the responsibilities she shouldered in public life, Secretary Albright had a boundless capacity for friendship and an ability to encourage and inspire that was like few others. I’m incredibly grateful to have known her.
— Daniel Benjamin
Photo: Madeleine Albright on stage at an Albright Institute event at Wellesley College, January 30, 2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Share This

James Kirchick on the End of Europe

Ben Rhodes on the Two American Stories

Remembering Senator John McCain (1936-2018)

Beyond “Wilkommenskultur”

Welcoming the Spring 2018 Class of Fellows

The 2018-19 Berlin Prize
BERLIN—April 25, 2018—The American Academy in Berlin has awarded Berlin Prizes—semester-long fellowships in Berlin—to 24…

The Spring 2018 Program
This spring offers a range of timely lecture topics at the American Academy in Berlin,…

John McCain Receives the 2018 Henry A. Kissinger Prize
BERLIN—May 3, 2018—The American Academy in Berlin has awarded the 2018 Henry A. Kissinger Prize…

Al Gore at the American Academy

Berlin Journal 32

The 2020-21 Berlin Journal

Kerry James Marshall at the American Academy
From April 21 to May 1, the American Academy in Berlin hosted Chicago-based artist Kerry…

Remembering Anna-Maria Kellen (1918-2017)
The American Academy in Berlin mourns the passing of Anna-Maria Kellen, who died in New…

The Fall 2019 Program

The Spring 2023 Program

Inaugurating the Max Beckmann Distinguished Visitorship
In April 2017, the American Academy in Berlin inaugurates the Max Beckmann Distinguished Visitorship honoring…

Remembering Richard K. Goeltz (1942-2020)

Celebrating Twenty Years of Fellowships
This fall, the American Academy in Berlin is proud to celebrate twenty years of Berlin…

The Winter 2019 Program

Max Beckmann Talk with Arthur Jafa

The Fall 2022 Program

New Stuttgart Head-to-Head Series Partnerships
The American Academy’s Head-to-Head Series was established in 2012 to strengthen German-American ties in the…

Nina von Maltzahn (1941-2022)

Angela Merkel Receives the Henry A. Kissinger Prize

The 2022-23 Berlin Journal

The Spring 2020 Program

The 2021 Henry A. Kissinger Prize

Remembering George P. Shultz (1920-2021)

Museums, Architecture, and Social Engagement

Remembering Helmut Kohl (1930-2017)
The American Academy in Berlin mourns the passing of Helmut Kohl, a longstanding friend and…

Announcing the 2019-20 Class of Berlin Prize Fellows

Apply for a 2023-24 Berlin Prize

The Fall 2019 Berlin Journal

The 2020-21 Berlin Prize Fellows

The Holbrooke Forum in Estonia

Reception for “Our Man”

President Steinmeier Delivers the 2019 Fritz Stern Lecture

The Fall 2021 Program

“Beyond the Lecture” Podcast with Claudia Rankine
