To mark the beginning of the First World War a hundred years ago, one of the topics Matthias Rogg discusses on Talking Germany is the sometimes strained relationship between the military and civilian society.

Matthias Rogg was born in Wittmund in East Frisia in 1963. The Military History Museum is a matter close to his heart. It casts a self-critical light on the art of warfare and looks at the consequences of military force. The concept is as undogmatic as the museum's director, who is deeply rooted in his Christian faith. Matthias Rogg likes to talk about how that fits with his profession as a soldier and he often does so. In addition to his directorship he is also a professor of recent and modern history at Helmut Schmidt University, the Bundeswehr's university in Hamburg. Matthias Rogg is married, has two daughters and commutes between Dresden and Potsdam, where he lives with his family.