Antonie Eickelberg: Germany is Opening Up - A View from Hamburg
In cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Boston 
12-1:30 pm Eastern Time (US)
Zoom Webinar
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About the Event
With the help of a far-reaching lockdown in mid-March, Germany has come through the first major Corona wave relatively well. The death toll is comparably low, and the feared overwhelming of hospitals did not occur. Businesses and companies received financial aid and support such as ‘Kurzarbeit’ - a short-time work benefit that allows companies to retain workers on slightly reduced pay with government help. Now, for several weeks, the strict measures and contact restrictions have been gradually eased. Shops are open again, albeit under severe restrictions. People from two different homes are allowed to visit each other again. Sport in clubs is possible under certain conditions. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls are still closed, however.
After a skiing vacation in Austria, Antonie Eickelberg had to spend 14 days in quarantine. The journalist then returned to a heavily modified newsroom where special work shift models, spatial changes and strict hygiene measures have so far successfully prevented Covid-19 infections. She now experiences the changes caused by the pandemic in her private and professional life. The return to normality in Germany is still a long way off in many areas. Corona has changed the country and many say: it will never be the same again.
About the Speaker
Antonie Eickelberg is a German journalist and television editor from Hamburg. From 2014-2018 she lived with her family in Boston, where she worked at the Goethe-Institut and the German International School, and regularly collaborated with CGES. Since her return to Hamburg, she has been working in the editorial office of "Tagesschau," the oldest and most successful news program on German television. The Corona crisis brought "Tagesschau" even higher ratings. Many millions of people watch it daily on television, online, and through numerous social media channels to stay informed about the course of the pandemic.