He became the first chancellor of West Germany at 73. Konrad Adenauer had been mayor of Cologne, been imprisoned by the Nazis twice, and retired to growing roses when the occupation authorities came looking for someone trustworthy to run the Federal Republic in 1949. He governed for fourteen years, rebuilt Germany into a democracy and an economic powerhouse, reconciled with France through the Treaty of the Elysee, and took Germany into NATO. He left office at 87. He died at 91. Germany had never had a leader who embodied its second chance so completely.
January 5, 1876
150 years ago
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