Rob Schmitz
Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
Prior to covering Europe, Schmitz provided award-winning coverage of China for a decade, reporting on the country's economic rise and increasing global influence. His reporting on China's impact beyond its borders took him to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. Inside China, he's interviewed elderly revolutionaries, young rappers, and live-streaming celebrity farmers who make up the diverse tapestry of one of the most fascinating countries on the planet. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road (Crown/Random House 2016), a profile of individuals who live, work, and dream along a single street that runs through the heart of China's largest city. The book won several awards and has been translated into half a dozen languages. In 2018, China's government banned the Chinese version of the book after its fifth printing. The following year it was selected as a finalist for the Ryszard Kapuściński Award, Poland's most prestigious literary prize.
Schmitz has won numerous awards for his reporting on China, including two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and an Education Writers Association Award. His work was also a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award. His reporting in Japan — from the hardest-hit areas near the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant following the earthquake and tsunami — was included in the publication 100 Great Stories, celebrating the centennial of Columbia University's Journalism School. In 2012, Schmitz exposed the fabrications in Mike Daisey's account of Apple's supply chain on This American Life. His report was featured in the show's "Retraction" episode. In 2011, New York's Rubin Museum of Art screened a documentary Schmitz shot in Tibetan regions of China about one of the last living Tibetans who had memorized "Gesar of Ling," an epic poem that tells of Tibet's ancient past.
From 2010 to 2016, Schmitz was the China correspondent for American Public Media's Marketplace. He's also worked as a reporter for NPR Member stations KQED, KPCC and MPR. Prior to his radio career, Schmitz lived and worked in China — first as a teacher for the Peace Corps in the 1990s, and later as a freelance print and video journalist. He also lived in Spain for two years. He speaks Mandarin and Spanish. He has a bachelor's degree in Spanish literature from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
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Angela Merkel has been one of Germany's most popular leaders. She's stepping down at the end of this year. Over the weekend, her party chose a new leader and possible successor to her.
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Countries are taking a variety of approaches to their mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. NPR's international correspondents discuss the results in Germany, Israel and Brazil.
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The storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump extremists has shocked America's allies, and prompted denunciations. They've called it an assault on democracy, and urged a peaceful transfer of power.
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There's growing concern in Germany about the slow start to the campaign. German politicians blame EU leaders for moving too slowly, and for wanting to control the rollout for its 27 member states.
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Critics say the ruling party overhauled public media to serve as a mouthpiece, and a state-backed oil refiner's purchase of a newspaper chain brings more outlets under party loyalist control. -
The European Union concluded the deal with China after seven years of negotiations. Last week, the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden had urged the EU to wait.
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Whether it's officers participating in neo-Nazi chat groups or hoarding ammunition to prepare for a doomsday scenario, extremism is a persistent problem among those who enforce the law in Germany.
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Strongmen leaders in Eastern Europe have lost a powerful ally in Donald Trump, and his election loss threatens to isolate them even more.
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The last four years under President Trump encouraged Europe to be more independent of the U.S. Now that pressure might relax, given the prospect of a friendlier relationship with Washington.
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In Poland, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest further abortion restrictions. Demonstrations provoked a rare climbdown, but the relief may be only temporary.
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Reactions to the election results have been pouring in from world leaders. NPR correspondents speak on what a Joe Biden presidency means for American foreign policy.
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A week into a lockdown, Germany is still hoping to cut a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus infections. Meanwhile, many German states have decided to keep schools open.
