[2] Within the framework of its political education work, it is also tasked with conveying to young people in particular those topics that exercised Schmidt as a politician and journalist.

The Board of Trustees currently comprises Peer Steinbrück (chair), Dirk Fischer, Johannes Kahrs, Giovanni di Lorenzo, Sandra Maischberger and Constanze Stelzenmüller.

According to the law establishing it, the foundation shall In addition to the historical work, there are three sub-programmes: "European and International Politics", "Global Markets and Social Justice" and "Democracy and Society".

A particular focus is on the future of transatlantic relations: In this regard, the foundation has already staged several symposiums[7] and, in cooperation with the German Marshall Fund, established a high-ranking commission of experts charged with making recommendations by the autumn of 2020.

[8] This "Transatlantic Task Force"[9] includes European and US experts such as Catherine Ashton, Cecilia Malmström, Will Hurd, Elissa Slotkin, Henrik Enderlein, or Michael Froman.

At its headquarters in central Hamburg, the foundation maintains the Helmut Schmidt Forum, where exhibitions and guided tours are offered as well as regular readings, lectures and discussions.

The show provides insights into a century of German and international contemporary history and sheds light on conflict issues (still relevant today), especially from the 1970s and 1980s.

His guests included Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Henry Kissinger, Juan Carlos I of Spain, Leonid Brezhnev, Oskar Kokoschka and the members of the "Friday Society" that Schmidt founded.