Chancellor Merkel: ‘We, the Germans, Owe a Lot to the United States of America’

EXCERPT:

MERKEL (through interpreter): "Let me look back into the past. We the Germans owe a lot to the United States of America, particularly as regards the economic rise of Germany. This was primarily due to the help through the Marshall plan. We were also able to regain German unity after decades of the United States standing up for this together with other allies and standing by our side during the period of the Cold War."