Abstract: The author examines the perception of the idea of German hegemony in Europe in German political thought from the end of the Cold War to the end of the European debt crisis of 2009-2013. During this period, there was a discussion in the German analytical community about the future role of Germany in the region. In the study are distinguished a number of stages in the perception of the idea of the hegemony of the FRG. As part of the first stage, after the end of the Cold War, the so-called "normalization debate" takes place, during which the issue of increasing the political weight of a united Germany was discussed. The next stages were marked by the understanding of German hegemony as a leader in the processes of European integration, the rehabilitation of the use of military force, a temporary period of renationalization, and then, during the leadership of A. Merkel as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the adoption of the role of the financial leader of Europe. The conclusion is made about the legitimization of the idea of German regional hegemony in German political thought following the results of the European debt crisis.