David Gill, Germany’s Consul General in United States, is heading to Harrisburg on a very important mission – to strengthen ties between his country and Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania has always had strong historic and cultural ties to Germany, and in times like these, they are more important there ever.
David Gill is Consul General of the Republic of Germany, based in New York.
Germans now desperately needs what Pennsylvanians have in abundance -- natural gas. Before the war in Ukraine, Germany was happy to have Russia supply that need, to the tune of 59.2 billion cubic meters that flowed through the Nord Stream pipeline into Europe in 2021.
There even were plans to increase energy ties between the countries with a Nord Stream 2 pipeline network to run from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to Lubin, Germany. But no more. Putin’s aggression against Ukraine ended that last year. But it’s left Germany facing its own crisis after putting too much trust in Vladmir Putin.
FILE - In this July 16, 2018, file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump give a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. For the past three years, the administration has careered between President Donald Trump's attempts to curry favor and friendship with Vladimir Putin and longstanding deep-seated concerns about Putin's intentions. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)AP
The United States had opposed the pipelines, fearing they would make Europe too dependent on Russia. That has turned out to be dangerously true. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who like our own former president, thought he could cozy up to Putin. But unlike our former president, Steinmeier now admits he was wrong.
Of course, who could have predicted the atrocities Putin has unleashed on the people of Ukraine these past weeks?
Sergei, 11, waits his turn to receive donated food during an aid humanitarian distribution in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Citizens of Bucha are still without electricity, water and gas after more than 44 days since the Russian invasion began. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)AP
Countries throughout the world are calling home diplomats and seizing million-dollar yachts to try to force Putin to end the brutality he’s inflicting on Ukrainians every day. All of Europe is staring down World War III. And German diplomats are now scouring the world for new sources of energy to end their country’s dependence on Russian gas.
A view of Eclipse, a luxury yacht reported to belong to Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, docked at a port in the resort of Marmaris, Turkey, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (IHA via AP)AP
But it’s just a cold reality that Germany can’t just sever all ties to Russian gas until it has other sources. And Gill is hoping at least one of those sources could be Pennsylvania.
He’s focused on trying to secure liquid natural gas to weather the crisis Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought to his country -- in full recognition of the need to wean the world’s major economies away from fossil fuels. But that’s not going to happen tomorrow. And Germans needs to keep their houses warm today.
People walk down the bulevard 'Strasse des 17. Juni' ahead of a rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)AP
Luckily, the consul general is no stranger to Pennsylvania. As a young man, he spent a year in a master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania. And he takes special pride in the historic connection between Bethlehem, Pa., and East Saxony, where he was born. Turns out the “Moravians” who settled in Bethlehem were really Germans from his hometown who immigrated to Pennsylvania to preach the gospel in the new world.
Like his ancestors, Gill is not only interested in strengthening the political, economic and energy ties between Germany and Pennsylvania, but he’s intent on forging connections to the people.
Kazka Folk Ensamble dancers Julia Zucofski, left, of Lehighton, and Vladimir Holoviak, right, of Hazelton, perform Ukrainian folk dances during a ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, on Payrow Plaza outside Bethlehem City Hall to mark 30 years of independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com
Gill has meetings scheduled with elected officials including Gov. Tom Wolf and Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams. But he’s also reaching out to business and community groups such as the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and the MLK Leadership Development Institute. And he’ll meet a diverse group of community leaders at a reception at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Temple University Harrisburg, hosted by the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg.
Like any good diplomat, Gill is doing what he needs to do to help his country survive the chaos Putin has unleashed in Europe. And he’s wise to understand that above all, it’s support among the people of Pennsylvania that will ensure ties between our countries remain strong.
Joyce M. Davis is PennLive’s Outreach & Opinion Editor. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @byjoycedavis.
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