Angela Merkel grew up in then East Germany (born in the West, however her father was given a pastorship at a church 80km north of Berlin), thus she has seen firsthand the oppression of a totalitarian government.
A lot of similarities between the Iron Lady and die Eisenfrau.
Mr. Obama, and the rest of the liberal leadership would do well to listen to those who grew up under totalitarianism, but I am not holding my breath.