Angela Merkel's televised address on the occasion of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Angela Merkel in January 2020

The televised speech by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the occasion of COVID-19 pandemic was on 18th March 2020 by ARD , ZDF broadcast and other TV stations as a record. Between 25 and 30 million people saw the speech, which the media sometimes called "historic", that day.

In the almost 13-minute speech, Merkel described the COVID-19 pandemic as the greatest challenge since the Second World War . In the absence of a vaccine or therapy, the guideline of the federal government is to " slow down the spread of the virus , stretch it out over the months and thus gain time." The risk of mutual infection must be minimized. Merkel did not announce any concrete measures, but appealed to citizens to avoid unnecessary encounters and to stick to the rules. At the moment, distance is an expression of care.

In the media, Merkel's speech was referred to as a “last warning” or “last reminder” to the population and an “ ultimatum ”. For Merkelian standards, the address was unusually emotional.

The key message of the speech is:

"It's serious. Take it seriously too. "

- Angela Merkel

The address was Merkel's first speech in which she addressed the citizens directly due to current events. Merkel wrote the text together with her office manager Beate Baumann and government spokesman Steffen Seibert . The original text contained longer passages on the economic consequences of the pandemic, which Merkel deleted.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Niklas Spitz: Quotennews - 25 million Germans follow Merkel's historic speech on TV. quotenmeter.de, March 19, 2020, accessed on March 30, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Nico Fried: Seriously . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . No. 67 , March 20, 2020, p. 3 .
  3. ↑ Coronavirus: The historical speech by Chancellor Merkel in full - derwesten.de. In: derwesten.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Corona: Outrage after Merkel's historic TV speech - ZDF viewers have to wait minutes. In: merkur.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Merkel's Corona speech: "The epidemic shows how vulnerable we all are" - domestic policy - Bild.de. In: bild.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Historical address: Merkel appeals to the discipline of citizens in the corona crisis - politics - idowa. In: idowa.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Merkel's Corona moment: The unmistakably drastic Chancellor. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  8. ↑ According to Merkel's historical speech: Meet friends despite Corona. In: rtl.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  9. ^ Coronavirus: Merkel's address to the nation - BZ Berlin. In: bz-berlin.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Angela Merkel with a memorable appearance - clear message from the Chancellor - Berliner Morgenpost. In: morgenpost.de. Retrieved April 23, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Jens Schneider: Address by Angela Merkel - “It's serious. Take it seriously too ”. sueddeutsche.de, March 18, 2020, accessed on March 30, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Merkel's televised address - final warning. taz.de, March 20, 2020, accessed on March 30, 2020 .
  13. ↑ a b c Ferdinand Otto: Address on the coronavirus - The last warning from the Chancellery. zeit.de, March 18, 2020, accessed on March 30, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Jens Schneider: Address by Angela Merkel - “It's serious. Take it seriously too ”. sueddeutsche.de, March 18, 2020, accessed on March 30, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Holger Schmale, Eric Beltermann: Speeches of the Chancellor - The exclusive data analysis for Angela Merkel's New Years speeches. Berliner Zeitung, December 22, 2019, accessed on March 30, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Nico Fried: Seriously . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . No. 67 , March 20, 2020, p. 3 .