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Economic strength is one of the main factors of German power since the end of the 19th century. At that time, Germany became the European leader of the second industrial revolution (combustion engine, electricity, chemical products). It remained the strongest European economy since then. This economic power enabled Germany to impose its views in the European Union as regards economic policy. During the first decades after WW2, Germany shared this influence with France, but it became more and more hegemonic after the fall of the Berlin wall. During the recent years, the German economy showed signs of fragility: the automotive industry (13 % of the German GDP) was deeply impacted by the “Dieselgate” scandal and the decline of the Chinese economic growth; besides, there are too few German companies in the digital industries. Germany needs now to re-think its economic model to face these structural changes.