Germany Talks 2021

May - October 2021

Germany Talks 2021: Corona, Superwahljahr....

In 2021, thousands of participants once again participated in a political debate, this time with the central question: How will Germany vote in the federal election? Deutschland Spricht 2021 tried to take the pulse of what Germans are thinking amidst an election campaign and the continued fight against the coronavirus.

...and a twist

Our matching software has always brought people together based on controversial questions. The more differences of opinion, the better the match. Deutschland spricht 2021 was the launch of our new "rolling system", which allowed participants to get matched more than just once. In the past, all conversations for Germany Talks took place on the same day at the same time. Participants in 2021 got the chance to have many conversations and answer changing questions over the course of the election campaign.

Germany Talks 2021 was organised by Zeit Online in cooperation with 5 other German media partners: Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, Freie Presse, Handelsblatt, Norddeutschen Rundfunk and Stern.

The big debate before the election

Over 24,000 participants registered for Germany Talks 2021, and hundreds debated key political issues just days before going to the polls to vote. ZEIT Online assessed the trends and learnings from this year's event.

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"Ich finde das schon gerechtfertigt"

Six people, three pairs, very little in common. What happens when Germany Talks participants meet their political opposite for a conversation? Our participants tell their stories. (In German)

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Launching Deutschland spricht 2021

Announcing: Germany Talks 2021. Read the launch article and learn about the coalition of German media bringing their readers together for debate in the lead-up to Germany's super election.

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