In 2011, in the midst of the euro crisis, the Spanish satirical magazine "El Jueves" portrays the German chancellor as a tough dominatrix. "(Euro) branding iron or whip?" she asks Spain's head of government, Mariano Rajoy. "It depends," he whimpers back. With the cartoon, the magazine wanted to highlight the very strict conditions via which Merkel would grant Spain financial aid.

Alongside Spain, Greece also suffered a spiraling debt crisis and would not have survived without massive loans it could not initially pay back. Angela Merkel had promised substantial aid, but was demanding tough austerity measures in return. Greek newspapers, such as the daily "Democracy" on February 9, 2012, draw parallels to the German occupation in World War II.

A different link between Merkel and the Nazi regime landed on a Polish magazine cover in 2013, when she was depicted as a concentration camp inmate in the right-wing weekly magazine "Uwazam Rze." The image referred to the ZDF documentary series, "Our Mothers, Our Fathers," which accused Germany of distorting the history of the war, especially in its portrayal of the Polish Home Army.

Merkel has often been portrayed as a steely, uncompromising and resolute leader. "Poker Face" reads the title headline in this Chinese magazine from December 2011, which draws on the chancellor's renown as a political ice queen. It appeared shortly before Merkel's state visit to China, where she was discussing China's role in helping to stabilize the euro zone with Premier Wen Jiabao.

The image of the ruthless negotiator morphed into a political assassin in the June 2012 issue of the "New Statesman." Opposing Merkel's austerity policies that it claimed would push Europe into a new Depression, the magazine portrayed the chancellor as a "Terminator"-like killing machine. According to the cover story, Merkel was "the most dangerous" German leader since Adolf Hitler.

In 2015, Angela Merkel's image abruptly changed captured here by "Der Spiegel." After Hungary refused to take in Syrian civil war refugees and a humanitarian catastrophe threatened on Europe's borders, Merkel decided to allow asylum seekers to enter Germany. Her slogan "we can do it!" went down in history as a saint-like humanitarian gesture in the midst of an unprecedented migrant crisis.

"Time" magazine named Angela Merkel 2015 Person of the Year, praising her "as the chancellor of the free world." In the wake of opening German borders to refugees, the magazine praised Merkel for "using her mercy like a weapon." The cover painting by Northern Irish artist Colin Davidson aimed to capture "a bit of the Chancellor's dignity, compassion and humanity," the artist said.

Global praise for Merkel was not replicated by Polish media that opposed her open-door immigration policy. Running the headline, "They want to control Poland again," the weekly magazine "Wprost" again compared Merkel to Hitler. The image of the chancellor surrounded by EU representatives such as ex-Commission President Jean-Claude Junker, alluded to a historical photo of Hitler with his entourage.

After 16 years, Merkel has called time on her epochal reign as German chancellor. Despite the harsh portrayals of the leader in the media, much is already being written about her defining leadership. The eulogies include a biography of Merkel by Ursula Weidenfeld with the subhead, "portrait of an epoch." Who follows in her footsteps will be known after the federal elections on September 26.

Caroline Catharina Müller took the European charts by storm in 1986 with disco tunes like “Cause You Are Young". The young singer with the moniker “C.C. Catch” was discovered in a talent contest by Dieter Bohlen – and the Modern Talking star and producer wrote hits for her until they parted ways in 1988. But fear not, fans: the Dutch-born singer continues to make music to this day.

Herbert Grönemeyer’s singer-songwriter talents have made him a perpetual figure in the charts for over three decades. His brand of German rock continues to fill entire stadiums. Every album he's put out since the mid-1980s has hit no. 1 in Germany. "Mensch" (2002) dealt movingly with the loss of his brother and his wife – and became the best-selling album ever in Germany.

Nicole Safft’s relatively short-lived career got rolling in the late 1990s, racing up the European charts as “Rollergirl”. Her big breakthrough was "Dear Jessie“ in 1999, the opening song for a techno parade in the UK. It cruised to no. 22 on the charts there. Since the release of her last single in 2002, Rollergirl has been focusing on family life.

Sascha Schmitz aka Sasha is every mother-in-law’s dream. Those super-soft vocals and the clean-cut image were a big hit among female fans in the late 1990s. In the process, he scooped gold and platinum disks galore, as well as major accolades. In 2003, Sasha reinvented himself as “Dick Brave” and has since then been switching between alter egos.

Nina Hagen could herself be considered a work of art. After leaving East Germany in 1976 she wasted no time making her mark on the West Berlin punk scene. Her albums charted as far away as New Zealand. After falling off the radar a little in the 1990s, the punk diva scored a new hit on the international charts in 2003 – with a Rammstein cover recorded with Finnish cello-metal band Apocalyptica.

"Mambo No. 5" was a worldwide smash hit for “Lou Bega” in 1999, topping the charts in over a dozen countries. In fact Munich-born David Lubega is reported to have penned the song’s lyrics in just five minutes, with the melody based on an old song of the same name by Cuban singer Perez Prado. The resulting mambo mania saw Lou Bega’s debut album sell 7 million copies.

Take some happy hardcore beats and add pop melodies sung by a sweet-looking 16-year-old girl. The result: a string of international chart hits. Jasmin Wagner aka Blümchen was especially popular in Scandinavia, posting a total of 10 singles and two albums in the European charts. Today Jasmin Wagner works primarily as an actress.

Cynics suggest that Sarah Connor only got her big break because of her sexy image. Despite the sultry videos, nobody can deny her sumptuous soul vocals. The song "Bounce" charted high in Japan and the US. In 2015, Connor released her first ever album in her native German language. The aptly named "Muttersprache" (“mother tongue”) conquered the charts back home, though not outside Germany.

In 1983, with the Cold War still raging, Nena topped the charts with a song rooted in fears of a Third World War. "99 Red Balloons" made it to no. 2 in the US and no. 1 in the UK. After putting music on the back burner during the 1990s, Nena celebrated a big comeback in 2003 – with cover versions of her greatest hits.

Sandra was the undisputed princess of pop in Germany in the 1980s. She brought out a slew of hits in collaboration with her producer (and later husband) Michael Cretu. The singer performed to sell-out crowds at arenas everywhere from Moscow to Tokyo – and still wows the fans the world over with her much-loved hits.