The relationship between the United States and Germany has been a cornerstone of the liberal international order for decades. From the Marshall Plan to early entry into NATO to German reunification and the post-Cold War era, the two countries have been engaged together in major historical events while facing many of the same challenges to both security and prosperity.

Despite this shared history, the future of U.S.-German relations is unclear. People in the two countries differ in their views of the bilateral relationship, according to parallel surveys fielded in the U.S. by Pew Research Center and in Germany by Körber-Stiftung. For example, while many Americans say European allies like Germany should spend more on defense, most Germans are opposed to growing their country’s defense budget. (The results of the surveys will be among the topics of discussion at Tuesday’s Berlin Foreign Policy Forum.)

Here are six key findings from the surveys:

1Americans and Germans have quite different opinions about whether the current relationship between the two countries is good or bad. Almost seven-in-ten Americans (68%) say relations between the U.S. and Germany are good, while only 22% say they are bad.

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