Political extremism has increased.

This is due to many factors, especially because people express their opinion, their political opinion, on the internet and have no inhibition to use a word choice insulting, hurting.

[music] Very nice.

Every room has its own fireplace.

And did the church survive the war?

Not at all.

There were some bombs in it, but it was standing still there.

Right.

800 years.

It wasn't decapitated.

This is the same structure as it was.

Yes.

It's beautiful.

They say if you have not seen the Cologne Cathedral, you have not seen Germany.

When was this constructed originally?

800 years ago.

But there are churches in the city, 12 big churches, which are 1,100 years, 300 years older than the Cologne Cathedral.

And around the churches, the city developed.

- And this is one of the most popular, if not the most popular tourist destination in the country.

- I think with the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, it is.

The windows are not all, but some of them are brand new.

Gerhard Richter, you know, the popular artist.

He's living in Cologne.

He's still living here, 90 year old.

And he has one window and only colors.

And you can see the sun come into the cathedral.

It's very nice.

- And is there a practicing congregation?

- Yes, yes, every day, every day and every night.

- Well, I'm enjoying my first walk along the Rhine.

- The Rhine.

- This is my first time seeing the Rhine.

- Yeah.

This is the Hyatt Hotel.

Michael Jackson was there when he was in Cologne.

He always was there overnight.

And the Rhine has a lot of history.

Yes, the Rhine is the big Donau-Rhein.

They have in Europe a very old function, because the people came over the, we said, water street with ships.

They came with ships.

They have no idea.

There was no automobile or something.

And long distance we have with ships.

Yeah.

And this beautiful, very beautiful scene right here.

These buildings are quite colorful.

- We came to the old buildings now.

Cologne was 95% after the Second World War was no building, 95%.

- 95% was destroyed.

- Yeah, like Syria now.

- Wow, that's extraordinary.

When you say 95% in Cologne, compared to other German cities, Cologne was much more demolished.

So we have only some really old buildings.

Madam Mayor, it's an honor to meet you.

That's true, but at least in America you retain that emeritus or emerita title.

So I will continue to call you Madam Mayor.

Let me ask you first, because I'm coming here from America, I've read your biography.

I want to ask you, how is your recovery?

How do you feel?

Are you fully recovered from the attack?

Yes, I recovered very quickly after the attack.

I was sick for a few weeks and was in rehabilitation.

I learned to swallow and to speak again.

I coped well with that.

It's not that I look at myself as a victim or the perpetrator, but rather look at this incident, because it was the first political attack in Germany after the time of the Red Army Faction.

That's good to hear that you're feeling well.

It was a long recovery, painful recovery.

Did it change the way you think about public service or the future of democracy?

Yes, my view has already changed.

The danger of extremists is still great.

And above all, the inclination to use violence is growing.

Violence can never be a means of democratic debate.

And yet we experience that violence is gaining more and more space.

That's what's really stressful about it.

Since the attack, do you feel like calmer waters have surfaced?

That is to say, radicalism has in some form reduced.

Is the problem as severe as it was, worse?

Political extremism has increased.

That's due to many factors.

It's due to the fact that people express their political opinion on the Internet and have no inhibition to use a word choice that is offensive, harmful and also in the criminal field.

Many believe that they won't be recognized if they speak on the internet.

This anonymity leads to worse statements.

A saying that was once said by a literary Nobel Prize winner, "First go for a walk in the paroles, and then the knife."

That's what Hertha Müller, the Nobel Prize winner of literature from the 2000s, said.

Unfortunately, during my ten years in office, I had to experience that I was regularly threatened with murder and also with insults.

On my last day in office, I signed ten criminal complaints against insults, which then go on to the justice authorities, where usually little comes out.

So you did one of your first press conferences here.

What does the museum mean to you, where we are today?

It clearly is a place that a lot of children, the next generation, come to look at the exhibit.

Cologne is a cultural city and has ten own museums.

The Ludwig Museum is the museum for modern art.

We are currently exhibiting a wonderful exhibition called "Five Friends".

Many American artists from the beginning of the 20th century created modern art.

This museum is known worldwide for this.

For Cologne, it is said that it lies in the shadow of the cathedral, that it lies on the Rhine, the trade route for thousands of years, and that it is a place of meeting.

That not only people come here to look at the pictures, but people meet here.

When you enter, you see the children who also come into contact with the art and are enthusiastic about it.

It is a place of free thought.

That is the most important thing about a museum now, that it no longer just offers an exhibition, but a meeting place.

As you reflect on your mayoralty, what are you proudest of, policy-wise?

Any programs that you implemented that you feel achieved what you wanted to achieve?

It was very important to me, because education is the first priority for me.

that we build many schools, that many children and young people receive good education.

It was important to me that Cologne opens up to become a greener city.

We have built many cycle paths and established connections.

It was important to me that the economy works well, that the city and the government move closer to the economy, to the companies, because that's where the money is spent.

My time in office was accompanied by crises.

We have been doing relatively well during the corona pandemic.

We have now taken up a party for the support of Ukraine.

We have realized that the war is very close in Europe, very close to our city, and we have received a lot of refugees from Ukraine, who were able to work here immediately, who have immediately integrated.

These are some of the important highlights.

Cologne, under your leadership, has been considered the, in a sense, the refugee capital of the world.

I can't say whether it's the same worldwide, but we have received an award from the European Union for Integration and Diversity.

That means that Cologne has been accepting people who have come to the city for thousands of years.

Cologne is open to the world, Cologne is curious about strangers and no matter where they come from, we meet them openly and with interest.

And that helped us, of course, when many refugees came to Germany and Cologne.

And that makes Cologne such a diverse international city.

180 nations live peacefully together here.

We have 130 religious communities.

In Cologne, everyone can live as they like, and everyone can love who they love and look as they like.

Cologne is a very diverse city, and it is probably known in Europe and probably worldwide.

When I applied for my position, it started with the fact that in Cologne, on a New Year's Eve, and it became internationally known, that many hundreds of attacks by people, as we later learned, who came from North Africa, on women who were standing at the train station below the cathedral.

This has put Germany and many other nations in fear and terror because it coincided with the refugee crisis.

The people of Cologne have taken it relatively easy.

They have said that it happened, that people did not make an appointment to commit these crimes, that happened in the shadow of our cathedral, in front of our backdrop, and we remained as open-minded as before towards the refugees.

I think we managed to control the reception of the refugees well.

Then I came up with the idea of a city with far too few schools.

The school building had to be urgently repaired.

Education is the first priority for me.

We have invested many billions in the school building and have planned over 50 schools, more than 25 of which have been built in the last 10 years.

And that will continue to be the case.

Covid was a difficult time to manage.

We got through the Covid pandemic relatively well.

It is also known that around 1,000 people died in or near Covid in the European metropolis.

This is very sad for everyone, but it shows that the pandemic was well controlled.

And then came the Ukrainian war.

From today to tomorrow, around 10,000 refugees had to be taken from Ukraine, mostly women with small children.

And we did that relatively well.

That's because many Colognes have worked together, the honorary office is very big in Cologne, and people are simply welcomed, no matter where they come from, no matter what they look like.

And Cologne loves diversity, and that's why everyone is welcome to live and work here in Cologne.

But this is maybe the most salient question.

Why?

Why are you compassionate?

I am convinced that as a child I was influenced by a mother who came from Eastern Europe to Cologne at the age of 25 and who told me as a child how it is when you have to leave your home country.

and how good it is when you experience human warmth and interest.

I think that's what shaped me.

Of course, I didn't do it alone, it was all teamwork.

People from all over the world come here to trade and stay here.

This is a co-operation that has worked well and will continue to work well in the future.

And that is of course a co-operation that has worked well and that will work well in the future.

I am convinced of that.

If Cologne didn't have these characteristics, it would certainly not have become the metropolis on the Rhine.

Cologne has always used this potential.

People came with their talents, their ideas, and were accepted and integrated into society.

We've also experienced terrible times, but in Cologne, and we know this, there has been a Jewish community since 321 AD.

So it is natural for us that we have diversity.

You mentioned your mom and her memory and what inspired you.

For the people who live here in Cologne and the German population generally, the events of the 20th century and righting the wrong of human rights abuses and atrocities of the 1930s and 40s.

Is that part of what inspires you to the mantle of repair and a renewal towards human rights?

Is it still a response to the Holocaust in some form?

Yes, it may be that the historical responsibility of Germany, which I believe will never end, also leads to a special value that a human attitude is lived by everyone and everyone's surroundings.

That is certainly our Christian obligation.

I would also say that our German constitution says that the dignity of the human being is inviolable.

And that is something that every human being has.

And every human being who has to leave their home and is looking for help and support, we meet them openly and also in a friendly way.

For those opponents of pluralism, the anti-immigration movement, sometimes it's xenophobic, sometimes it's populist, sometimes it's maniacal in the case of the attack on you.

But I think one of the strongest arguments of the anti-migrant or immigration community is that they don't believe that these communities want to integrate, and they don't believe that the policy makers that are supporting refugees are going to carry through with programs to assimilate, to help people assimilate.

I know that many people in Germany and Cologne say that there are too many people with international history of origin, that integration is not successful, or that it is difficult, or that it is not successful.

I would like to say that integration is not a one-way street.

There have been migrations of peoples over the centuries, and there have been changes in society over time.

There have been adjustments in society over time.

Germany has failed in the years when cheap labor came from Spain, Italy, Turkey, to really give these people opportunities to participate.

You worked here, you were called "guest workers".

But we didn't treat you like we treat guests.

We accommodated you, more badly than rightfully.

We have hardly involved you in the growth of prosperity.

And because of that, it has not been possible for the people who came to Germany dozens of years ago, that society has really connected.

It was easier when you had a religion.

Then you could deal better with the Italian people or the Polish people.

And then as soon as the Turks came and brought their Islam, it became more difficult.

Because there was already a common way of looking at things that was missing.

But I have experienced that whenever you give people enough opportunities to participate, and if you train them and if you recognize their talents, then they are also ready to participate.

And I believe that if you don't do that, then you go back to your cultural circle and society splits.

So we will have to find a way, because there will continue to be migration movements and our society will change.

And then it's better to be active with this change and to shape it as if you let it happen.

It was always important to me to give those who come to us opportunities to participate.

Simply through education, through sports clubs.

Sport is a great means of integration.

Music is a means of integration.

Art is a means of integration.

This applies to all people.

It applies to people with a handicap or to people with an international background who have decided to stay here.

And I think it's important that these people accept that we all live by the basic law.

That's our attitude.

They have to please represent them and not be punished.

And then they are very, very welcome and an enrichment for society.

We mentioned your mom, but your husband too is an immigrant, right?

A little dark secret.

My husband is Australian and he has an Australian passport.

He doesn't want to become a German.

He doesn't want to separate himself from his pets.

From the kangaroo and from the emu.

Yes, he is of course a surfer.

He comes from Queensland, near Brisbane.

And surfing is part of it, just like playing football in Germany.

Hello, good day.

Enjoy your meal.

Yes, I'm going for a walk.

Yes, do that.

Thank you.

You can put my bag underneath.

Yes, how great.

Have a nice day.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And all over the city we have the, it's named Stolperstein.

Here are Jewish people was living here and this was Heinrich Malmedy born 1887.

He was a gay and therefore he was in the prison.

What memorial?

Yes, and every year we go and polish it all over the city.

A lot of in the city, a lot of stones which remember the persons that they are not forget.

Yeah.

That they are not, we only say the Jewish people, but we say Heinrich Malmedy was living here.

Wow.

And we remember him.

Yes.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Oh, wow.

Looks delicious.

I will.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, you're hungry.

A little.

The best in Cologne.

I think so.

Delicious.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for this beautiful introduction to Cologne.

It's very typical.

Delicious.

It's very special.

This is my friend from Ukraine.

Yeah.

Pleasure to meet you.

Hi.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So unexpected.

So the last officiality.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You have done so much.

He's just an incredible woman, right?

Incredible.

Resilient.

Yeah, as the Cologne.

Thank you so much.

I would not take much of your time.

No, no, thank you for... It's always nice.

So we will see you more often on the streets of Cologne, right?

Yeah.

Cool.

Bye bye.

It was nice to meet you.

Thank you.

Nice to meet you too.

We just met a Ukrainian woman who came to Cologne three years ago and organized a help for her fellow citizens in Ukraine.

I have known her for a long time.

Cologne has always supported her a lot, even in the country.

Cologne has a Ukrainian partner city, Dnipro.

She has always made sure that all the aid was transported over with her club Blue-Yellow Cross.

For example, we sent 20 old fire trucks over and backpacks with children's equipment, medical supplies, Ukraine.

Our freedom is defended in Europe.

That's why Ukraine is so close to us.

It's not that far away, 1,000 kilometers.

I've had beer.

I've had potato latkes, but not this good.

I've never had them together, and it's really a winning combination.

Okay.

I'm happy that you like it.

I'm happy that you suggested it.

Thank you.

Continuing production of The Open Mind has been made possible by grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Angelson Family Foundation, Robert and Kate Niehaus, Robert S. Kaplan Foundation, Grateful American Foundation, Draper Foundation, and Lawrence B. Benenson.

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