Konrad Adenauer became the first chancellor of West Germany at seventy-three — an age when most politicians are writing memoirs. The former mayor of Cologne, twice imprisoned by the Nazis, took a country in physical and moral ruins and transformed it into the economic powerhouse and democratic anchor of Western Europe within a single generation. His age, which should have been a liability, gave him the authority of a man who had seen everything and feared nothing.

This episode traces Adenauer from his Weimar-era political career through the Nazi imprisonment, the founding of West Germany, the economic miracle, and the reconciliation with France that built the foundation of the European Union.

• Adenauer's Weimar-era career as mayor of Cologne and his imprisonment under the Nazis
• His emergence at seventy-three as chancellor  ...