SCHEDULE 14A
                                 (Rule 14a-101)

                    INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT

                            SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

          Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
                              Exchange Act of 1934

      Filed by registrant  [X]
      Filed by a party other than the registrant[ ] 
      Check the appropriate box:
       [ ]  Preliminary proxy statement
       [X]  Definitive proxy statement
       [ ]  Definitive additional  materials
       [ ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-11(c) or Rule 14a-12

                           The New Germany Fund, Inc.
                (Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

                           The New Germany Fund, Inc.
                   (Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
[x]  No fee required.
[ ]  Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

       1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

       ------------------------------------------------------------------------

       2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

       ------------------------------------------------------------------------

       3) Per unit  price  or other  underlying  value of  transaction  computed
pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee
is calculated and state how it was determined):

       ------------------------------------------------------------------------

       4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

       ------------------------------------------------------------------------

       5) Total fee paid:

       ------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ ] Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

[ ] Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange  Act Rule
0-11(a)(2)  and  identify  the  filing  for  which the  offsetting  fee was paid
previously.  Identify the previous filing by registration  statement  number, or
the form or schedule and the date of its filing

       1) Amount previously paid:

       ---------------------------------------------------

       2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

       ---------------------------------------------------

       3) Filing Party:

       ---------------------------------------------------

       4) Date Filed:

       ---------------------------------------------------



                           THE NEW GERMANY FUND, INC.
                               31 West 52nd Street
                            New York, New York 10019

                              --------------------

                    NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

                                  June 20, 1997

                              --------------------

To our Stockholders:

     Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of  Stockholders  of The New
Germany  Fund,  Inc.  (the "Fund") will be held at 2:00 P.M.,  New York time, on
June 20, 1997 at the  offices of Deutsche  Morgan  Grenfell  Inc.,  31 West 52nd
Street, 5th Floor, New York, New York for the following purposes:

     1.   To elect six Directors.

     2.   To ratify the selection by the Board of Directors of Price  Waterhouse
          LLP as independent accountants for the fiscal year ending December 31,
          1997.

     3.   To  consider  and act upon any other  business  as may come before the
          meeting or any adjournment thereof.

     Only  holders of record of Common  Stock at the close of business on May 5,
1997 are  entitled to notice of and to vote at this  meeting or any  adjournment
thereof.

     If you have any  questions  or need  further  information,  please  contact
Morrow & Co., Inc., the Fund's proxy solicitors,  at 909 Third Avenue, New York,
New York 10022, or 1-800-662-5200.

                                                         Robert R. Gambee
                                                         Secretary

Dated: May 9, 1997


WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE MEETING,  PLEASE SIGN THE ENCLOSED PROXY
AND PROMPTLY RETURN IT TO THE FUND. IN ORDER TO AVOID THE ADDITIONAL  EXPENSE TO
THE FUND OF FURTHER  SOLICITATION,  WE ASK YOUR  COOPERATION  IN MAILING IN YOUR
PROXY PROMPTLY.




                           THE NEW GERMANY FUND, INC.
                               31 West 52nd Street
                            New York, New York 10019

                         Annual Meeting of Stockholders
                                  June 20, 1997

                              --------------------
                                 PROXY STATEMENT
                              --------------------


     This proxy  statement  is  furnished  by the Board of  Directors of The New
Germany Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") in connection  with the  solicitation of proxies
for use at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Meeting") to be held at 2:00
P.M., New York time, on June 20, 1997 at the offices of Deutsche Morgan Grenfell
Inc., 31 West 52nd Street,  5th Floor,  New York,  New York.  The purpose of the
Meeting  and the  matters  to be acted  upon are set  forth in the  accompanying
Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

     If the accompanying form of Proxy is executed properly and returned, shares
represented  by it  will  be  voted  at  the  Meeting  in  accordance  with  the
instructions on the Proxy.  However,  if no instructions  are specified,  shares
will be voted FOR the  election of  Directors  and FOR the  ratification  of the
selection of independent  accountants.  A Proxy may be revoked at any time prior
to the time it is voted by  written  notice  to the  Secretary  of the Fund or a
subsequently  executed  proxy,  or by  attendance  at the  Meeting and voting in
person.

     The close of  business on May 5, 1997 has been fixed as the record date for
the  determination  of  stockholders  entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the
Meeting.  On  that  date,  the  Fund  had  33,073,896  shares  of  Common  Stock
outstanding  and  entitled  to vote.  Each share will be entitled to one vote on
each matter that comes  before the  Meeting.  It is expected  that the Notice of
Annual  Meeting,  Proxy  Statement  and form of Proxy  will  first be  mailed to
stockholders on or about May 9, 1997.

     The Board of Directors of the Fund has nominated six Directors for election
at the Meeting  (Proposal 1) and approved the selection of Price  Waterhouse LLP
as independent  accountants to the Fund for the fiscal year ending  December 31,
1997, for  ratification  by the  stockholders  at the Meeting  (Proposal 2). The
election of Directors  (Proposal 1) requires the affirmative vote of a plurality
of the shares represented at the Meeting. Ratification of the selection of Price
Waterhouse LLP (Proposal 2) requires the  affirmative  vote of a simple majority
of the shares represented at the Meeting.

     The Fund  intends  to  treat  properly  executed  proxies  that are  marked
"abstain" and broker  non-votes  (defined  below) as present for the purposes of
determining  whether a quorum has been achieved at the Meeting.  Under  Maryland
law,  abstentions  do not constitute a vote "for" or "against" a matter and will
be  disregarded  in  determining  the  "votes  cast" on an issue.  If a proxy is
properly executed and returned accompanied by instructions to withhold authority
to vote,  it represents a broker  "non-vote"  (that is, a proxy from a broker or
nominee  indicating  that such  person has not  received  instructions  from the
beneficial owner or other person entitled to vote shares on a particular  matter
with respect to which the broker or nominee does not have discretionary  power).
The shares  represented by broker non-votes or proxies marked with an abstention
will be considered to be present at the Meeting for purposes of determining  the
existence of a quorum for the transaction of business.  Because of the nature of
the  business  to be  acted on at the  Meeting,  the  Fund  does not  anticipate
receiving any broker "non-votes".



                        PROPOSAL 1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

     The Fund's  By-Laws  provide  that the Board of  Directors  be divided into
three  classes of Directors  serving  staggered  three-year  terms.  The term of
office for Directors in Class III expires at the 1997 annual meeting, Class I at
the next  succeeding  annual  meeting and Class II at the  following  succeeding
annual  meeting.  Three Class III nominees are proposed in this Proxy  Statement
for  election.  In  addition,  two Class I  nominees  and one Class II  nominee,
elected by Directors to fill  vacancies on the Board,  are also proposed in this
Proxy Statement for election.

     Should any vacancy  occur on the Board of Directors  for reasons other than
an increase in the number of  Directors,  the remaining  Directors,  though less
than a quorum,  would be able to fill such  vacancy by the vote of a majority of
their number, as at present.  Should any vacancy occur on the Board of Directors
as a result of an increase in the number of Directors,  a majority of the entire
Board of Directors would be able to fill such vacancy.  Any Director  elected by
the Board to fill a vacancy  would hold office until the next annual  meeting of
shareholders.  If the size of the Board is increased,  the additional  Directors
will be apportioned  among the three classes to make all classes as nearly equal
as possible.

     Unless  authority is withheld,  it is the intention of the persons named in
the form of proxy to vote each proxy for the  election  of the  nominees  listed
below.  Each nominee has indicated he will serve if elected,  but if any nominee
should be unable to serve, proxies will be voted for any other person determined
by the persons  named in the form of proxy in  accordance  with their  judgment.
Each of the nominees is currently a member of the Board of Directors.

Information Regarding Directors and Officers

     The  following  table  shows  certain   information  about  the  Directors,
including beneficial ownership of Common Stock of the Fund. Each has served as a
Director of the Fund since the Fund's  inception in 1990,  except for Mr. Robert
H.  Wadsworth,  who was elected to the Board on June 19, 1992; Dr. Franz Wilhelm
Hopp, who was elected to the Board on June 18, 1993; Mr.  Ernst-Ulrich Matz, who
was  elected  to the Board on April 24,  1995;  Mr.  Peter  Zuhlsdorff,  who was
elected to the Board on October 21, 1996;  and Dr.  Ronaldo H. Schmitz,  who was
elected to the Board on April 18, 1997.


                                       2


The  following  Directors  have been  nominated  for election at the 1997 Annual
Meeting:


                                                                                                            Shares of Common
                                                                                                           Stock Beneficially
                                                                                                           Owned, Directly or
                                    Position with               Principal Occupations During                   Indirectly,
      Name                  Age        Fund                           Past Five Years                       at May 5, 1997(1)
     ------                -----    -------------            -------------------------------               -------------------
                                                                                                                    
Dr. Franz Wilhelm           54        Director          Member of the Board of Directors of                        --
Hopp                                                        Victoria Holding AG, Victoria
    Class III                                               Lebensversicherung AG and Victoria
                                                            Versicherung AG. Chairman of the
                                                            Supervisory Board of Victoria
                                                            Kapitalanlagegesellshaft mbH. Former
                                                            Chairman of the Board of
                                                            Wurttembergische Lebensversicherung
                                                            AG, Member of the Board of
                                                            Wurttembergische AG Versicherungs-
                                                            Beteiligungsgesellschaft and
                                                            Wurttembergische Versicherung AG
                                                            (1990-1995). Deputy Chairman of the
                                                            Supervisory Board of Leonberger
                                                            Bausparkasse AG. Member of the
                                                            Supervisory Board of Bankhaus
                                                            Ellwanger & Geiger.
                                      
Ernst-Ulrich                63        Director          Chief Financial Officer and member of the                  --
Matz(5)                                                     Board of Directors of IWKA
    Class III                                               Aktiengesellschaft. Member of the Board
                                                            of Directors of KUKA Welding Systems
                                                            + Robot Corp. Member of the
                                                            Supervisory Boards of Bopp & Reuther
                                                            AG, Ex Cell-O Holding AG, Rotring
                                                            International GmbH & Co. KG, ARO
                                                            S.A. (Chauteau-du-Loir). Member of the
                                                            District Advisory Boards of Deutsche
                                                            Bank AG (Mannheim) and Gerling-
                                                            Konzern. Chairman of the Rumanian
                                                            Group in the German East-West Trade
                                                            Committee.
                                      
Dr. Frank Tromel            61        Director          Chairman of the Board of Managing                          --
    Class III                                               Directors of Delton AG (since 1990).
                                                            Chairman of the Supervisory Board
                                                            of Ceag AG


                                        3
                                



                                                                                                            Shares of Common
                                                                                                           Stock Beneficially
                                                                                                           Owned, Directly or
                                    Position with               Principal Occupations During                   Indirectly,
      Name                  Age        Fund                           Past Five Years                       at May 5, 1997(1)
     ------                -----    -------------            -------------------------------               -------------------
                                                                                                                     
                                                            (since 1981). Chairman of the Board of
                                                            Managing Directors of Altana AG
                                                            (1987-1990). Member of the Board of
                                                            Managing Directors of Altana AG
                                                            (1977-1987).

Peter Zuhlsdorff                      Director         Chairman, DIH-German Industrie Holding.                    --
  Class II                                                  Chairman of the Supervisory Board of
                                                            GFK AG. Member of the Supervisory
                                                            Boards of Deutsche Hypothekenbank
                                                            AG, Deutz AG, Salamander AG, Merck
                                                            KGaA and Escada AG.  Member of the
                                                            District Advisory Boards of Melitta
                                                            Unternehmensgruppe Bentz KG, Diebels
                                                            GmbH & Co. KG and  Deutsche Bank
                                                            AG.  Advisor to McAndrew & Forbes.
                                                            Chairman of the Board of Wella AG
                                                            (1991-1995).

Dr. Ronaldo H.              58        Chairman,        Member of the Board of Managing Directors                  --
Schmitz                               President and         of Deutsche Bank AG,  Chairman of the
  Class I                             Director              Boards of Managing Directors of
                                                            Deutsche Bank North America Holding
                                                            Corp. and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Inc.
                                                            Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of
                                                            Metallgesellschaft AG and Tchibo
                                                            Holding AG.  Member of the Supervisory
                                                            Boards of Bertelsmann AG, Deutsche
                                                            Beteiligungs AG, Glaxo Wellcome plc
                                                            and Rohm & Haas Company, Deutsche
                                                            Pfandbrief- und Hypothekenbank AG
                                                            (through 1996), Goedecke AG (through
                                                            1995), Gruner & Jahr AG (through
                                                            1995), Kaufhof Holding AG (through
                                                            1996), Villeroy & Boch AG (through
                                                            1995).


                                       4




                                                                                                           Shares of Common
                                                                                                         Stock Beneficially
                                                                                                          Owned, Directly or
                                    Position with          Principal Occupations During                      Indirectly,
      Name                  Age        Fund                      Past Five Years                          at May 5, 1997(1)
     ------                -----    -------------       -------------------------------                  -------------------
                                                                                                                    
Christian H.                53        Director         Managing Director of DWS-Deutsche                            --          
  Strenger(2)(3)(4)                                       Gesellschaft fur Wertpapiersparen mbH    
   Class I                                                (since 1991). Managing  Director  of  
                                                          Deutsche  Bank  Securities Corporation, 
                                                          the predecessor to DMG (1986-1991).
The following are Directors whose terms continue:

Richard Karl                54        Director         Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer                  783
Goeltz                                                    of American Express Co., Group Chief
    Class I                                               Financial Officer and Member of the
                                                          Board of Directors of National
                                                          Westminster Bank Plc. (1991-1996)
                                                          Director and Executive Vice President-
                                                          Finance of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons,
                                                          Inc. (1976-1991). Executive Vice
                                                          President-Finance of The Seagram
                                                          Company Ltd. (1976-1991).

John A. Bult(2)(3)          60         Director        Chairman of PaineWebber International,                    1,278
    Class II                                              Director of PaineWebber Group, Inc.,
                                                          Director of The France Growth Fund, Inc.
                                                          and The Greater China Fund, Inc.

John H. Cannon              55         Director         Vice President and Treasurer of the                        104
   Class II                                               Woolworth Corporation. Director of the
                                                          German American Chamber of
                                                          Commerce, Inc.

Robert H.                   57         Director         President of Robert H. Wadsworth &                         592
Wadsworth(2)                                              Associates, Inc.
   Class II


- ------------------
(1)  As of May 5, 1997, all Directors and officers as a group owned less than 1%
     of the outstanding Common Stock of the Fund.

(2)  Indicates  that Messrs.  Bult,  Strenger and Wadsworth and Dr. Schmitz each
     also serves as a Director of The Central European Equity Fund, Inc. and The
     Germany  Fund,  Inc.,  the  two  other  closed-end   registered  investment
     companies for which DMG acts as manager.

(3)  Indicates  "interested"  Director, as defined in the Investment Company Act
     of 1940,  as  amended  (the "1940  Act").  Dr.  Schmitz is an  "interested"
     Director  because  of his  affiliation  with  Deutsche  Bank AG  ("Deutsche
     Bank"), of which DMG is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary; Mr. Bult is an
     "interested"   Director   because  of  his  affiliation   with  PaineWebber
     Incorporated,   a  registered   broker-dealer;   and  Mr.  Strenger  is  an
     "interested"   Director  because  of  his  affiliation  with   DWS-Deutsche
     Gesellschaft fur Wertpapiersparen  ("DWS"), a majority-owned  subsidiary of
     Deutsche Bank.

(4)  Indicates  that Dr.  Schmitz  and  Mr.Strenger  each own shares of Deutsche
     Bank,  of which DBAM and DMG are  wholly-owned  subsidiaries.  As of May 5,
     1997,  each such Director owned less than 1% of the  outstanding  shares of
     Deutsche Bank.


                                       5


     The Board of Directors presently has an Audit Committee composed of Messrs.
Cannon,  Wadsworth and Wasserman.  The Audit Committee makes  recommendations to
the full Board with respect to the  engagement of  independent  accountants  and
reviews  with the  independent  accountants  the plan and  results  of the audit
engagement  and  matters  having a material  effect  upon the  Fund's  financial
operations.  The Audit  Committee  met four times  during the fiscal  year ended
December 31, 1996. In addition,  the Board has an Advisory Committee composed of
Messrs.   Cannon,   Wadsworth  and  Wasserman.   The  Advisory  Committee  makes
recommendations  to the full Board  with  respect  to the  Management  Agreement
between the Fund and DMG and the Investment  Advisory Agreement between the Fund
and DBAM. The Advisory Committee met once during the past fiscal year. The Board
has a  Nominating  Committee  composed  of Dr.  Schmitz  and Mr.  Cannon and Dr.
Tromel.  The Nominating  Committee makes  recommendations to the full Board with
respect  to the  selection  of  candidates  to fill  vacancies  on the  Board of
Directors  intended to be filled by persons not affiliated with DMG or DBAM. The
Nominating  Committee will consider  suggestions from stockholders  submitted in
writing to the Secretary of the Fund. The Nominating  Committee met twice during
the past fiscal year.

     During  the past  fiscal  year,  the Board of  Directors  had four  regular
meetings  and one  special  meeting,  and  each  incumbent  Director,  with  the
exception of Dr. Hopp, attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of meetings
of the Board and meetings of Board  Committees  on which that  Director  served.
Each incumbent  Director,  with the exception of Dr. Hopp, attended at least 75%
of the number of regular meetings of the Board.

     The Fund pays each of its Directors who is not an interested  person of the
Fund,  the  Investment  Adviser or the Manager an annual fee of $7,500 plus $750
for each  meeting  attended.  Each such  Director  who is also a Director of The
Germany Fund,  Inc. or The Central  European Equity Fund, Inc. also receives the
same annual and  per-meeting  fees for services as a Director of each such fund.
Each of the Fund, The Germany Fund,  Inc. and The Central  European Equity Fund,
Inc. (which three funds represent the entire Fund Complex advised by the Manager
and the  Investment  Adviser  within  the  meaning of the  applicable  rules and
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission)  reimburses the Directors
(except for those  employed by the Deutsche  Bank Group) for travel  expenses in
connection  with Board  meetings.  The following  table sets forth the aggregate
compensation from the Fund for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996, and from
the Fund and such other two funds for the year ended December 31, 1996, for each
Director who is not an interested person of the Fund, and for all such Directors
as a group:

                                            Total Compensation From the Fund,
                                Aggregate     The Germany Fund, Inc. and The 
Name of Director              Compensation  Central European Equity Fund, Inc.
- ----------------              ------------  ----------------------------------
John H. Cannon                 $  17,250               $  17,250
Richard Karl Goeltz            $  12,000               $  12,000
Dr. Franz Wilhelm Hopp         $   9,000               $   9,000
Ernst-Ulrich Matz              $  10,500               $  10,500
Dr. Frank Tromel               $  12,000               $  12,000
Robert H. Wadsworth            $  15,750               $  48,000
Peter Zuhlsdorff               $   2,625               $   2,625
                               ---------               ---------
    Total                      $  79,125               $ 111,375
                               =========               =========
                                                              
                                                   
     No  compensation  is paid by the  Fund to  Directors  or  officers  who are
interested persons of the Fund.

                                       6


     The officers of the Fund other than as shown above are:




        Name                      Age         Position with Fund        Principal Occupations During Past Five Years
        ----                      ---         ------------------        --------------------------------------------
                                                                  
G. Richard Stamberger             50       Chief Executive Officer     Managing Director of DMG (since 1993).
                                              and Executive Vice          President, Deutsche Asset Management
                                              President                   North America Inc. (since 1995).
                                                                          Managing Director of C.J. Lawrence, Inc.
                                                                          (1990-1993). Managing Director of
                                                                          Prudential Equity Management Associates
                                                                          at the Prudential Insurance Co. of America
                                                                          (1984-1989).

Robert R. Gambee                  54       Vice President,             Director of DMG (since 1992). First Vice
                                              Secretary and               President of DMG (1987-1991).
                                              Treasurer

Joseph Cheung                     38       Assistant Secretary and     Vice President (since 1996), Assistant Vice
                                              Assistant Treasurer         President (1994-1996) and Associate
                                                                          (1991-1994) of DMG.


     The officers of the Fund are elected  annually by the Board of Directors at
their meeting following the Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

             The Board unanimously recommends a vote FOR Proposal 1.

     Required  Vote. The  affirmative  vote of the holders of a plurality of the
shares represented at the Meeting is required for the election of each Director.

                PROPOSAL 2: SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS

     A majority  of members of the Board of  Directors,  including a majority of
the members of the Board of Directors  who are not  "interested"  Directors  (as
defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund,  have  selected  Price  Waterhouse  LLP as
independent  accountants  for the Fund for the fiscal year ending  December  31,
1997.  The  ratification  of the selection of  independent  accountants is to be
voted upon at the  Meeting  and it is  intended  that the  persons  named in the
accompanying Proxy will vote for Price Waterhouse LLP. A representative of Price
Waterhouse  LLP will be present at the Meeting and will have the  opportunity to
make a statement and is expected to be available to answer appropriate questions
concerning the Fund's financial statements.

             The Board unanimously recommends a vote FOR Proposal 2.

     Required  Vote.  The  affirmative  vote of the  holders of  majority of the
shares  represented  at the  Meeting is  required  for the  ratification  of the
selection  by the Board of  Directors  of Price  Waterhouse  LLP as  independent
accountants for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1997.


                                       7


                    ADDRESS OF INVESTMENT ADVISER AND MANAGER

     The principal  office of the Investment  Adviser is located at Bockenheimer
Landstrasse  42,  60323  Frankfurt  am Main,  Federal  Republic of Germany.  The
corporate office of the Manager is located at 31 West 52nd Street, New York, New
York 10019.

                 SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS

     As of May 5, 1997,  no person,  to the  knowledge of  management,  owned of
record or beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding Common Stock of the Fund,
other than as set forth below:

                                             Amount and           Percent of
       Name and Address                      Nature of           Outstanding
      of Beneficial Owner                Beneficial Ownership    Common Stock
      -------------------                --------------------    ------------
President and Fellows of Harvard 
College(1) .............................     1,766,954                5.4
c/o Harvard Management Company, Inc.
600 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02210

Franklin Mutual Advisers, Inc.(1)(2) ...     1,627,400                5.0
51 John F. Kennedy Parkway
Short Hills, NJ 07078

- ----------
(1)  This  information  is based  exclusively  on  information  provided by such
     person on a Schedule  13G filed with  respect to the Fund on  February  12,
     1997. To the  knowledge of  management,  no other  Schedules 13D or 13G had
     been filed with respect to the Fund as of May 5, 1997.

(2)  Such person reported that its beneficial  ownership resulted from ownership
     of shares of the Common Stock of the Fund by one or more open or closed-end
     investment  companies or other managed accounts which are advised by direct
     and indirect investment advisory subsidiaries of such person.

                                  OTHER MATTERS

     No business  other than as set forth  herein is expected to come before the
Meeting,  but should any other matter  requiring a vote of  stockholders  arise,
including any question as to an adjournment of the Meeting, the persons named in
the  enclosed  Proxy will vote thereon  according to their best  judgment in the
interests of the Fund.

                              STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS

     Stockholder proposals intended to be presented at the Fund's Annual Meeting
of  Stockholders  in 1998 must be received  by the Fund on or before  January 9,
1998,  in order to be included in the Fund's proxy  statement  and form of proxy
relating to that meeting.

                         EXPENSES OF PROXY SOLICITATION

     The cost of preparing,  assembling and mailing  material in connection with
this  solicitation  will be borne by the Fund.  In addition to the use of mails,
proxies may be  solicited  personally  by regular  employees  of the Fund or the
Manager  or by  telephone  or  telegraph.  Brokerage  houses,  banks  and  other
fiduciaries  may be requested to forward proxy  solicitation  materials to their
principals to obtain  authorization for the execution of proxies,  and they will
be  reimbursed  by  the  Fund  for  out-of-pocket   expenses  incurred  in  this
connection.  The Fund has also made  arrangements  with  Morrow & Co.,  Inc.  to
assist  in the  solicitation  of  proxies,  if called  upon by the  Fund,  at an
estimated fee of $7,500 plus reimbursement of normal expenses.


                                       8


                             ANNUAL REPORT DELIVERY

     The Fund will furnish,  without charge, a copy of its annual report for the
fiscal  year ended  December  31, 1996 to any  stockholder  upon  request.  Such
requests should be directed by mail to The New Germany Fund,  Inc., 31 West 52nd
Street, New York, New York 10019 or by telephone to 1-800-437-6269.


                                                         Robert R. Gambee
                                                         Secretary


Dated:  May 9, 1997

STOCKHOLDERS WHO DO NOT EXPECT TO BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING AND WHO WISH TO HAVE
THEIR SHARES VOTED ARE REQUESTED TO DATE AND SIGN THE ENCLOSED  PROXY AND RETURN
IT TO THE FUND.


                                       9


PROXY                         
                           THE NEW GERMANY FUND, INC.
                               31 West 52nd Street
                            New York, New York 10019

           THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

     The  undersigned  hereby  appoints  Robert R.  Gambee and Joseph  Cheung as
Proxies, each with the power of substitution, and hereby authorizes each of them
to represent and to vote, as designated below, all the shares of common stock of
The New Germany Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") held of record by the undersigned on May
5, 1997 at an Annual Meeting of  Stockholders to be held on June 20, 1997 or any
adjournment thereof.

     1. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS.  [ ] FOR all nominees         [ ] WITHHOLDING 
                                    listed below                 AUTHORITY
                                    (except as marked            to vote for all
                                    to the contrary below)       nominees listed
                                                                 below     
                                                                  
(Instruction:  To withhold  authority for any  individual  nominee strike a line
through the nominee's name in the list below.)



                                                                            
CLASS I                                  CLASS II                                 CLASS III
(to serve until the                      (to serve until the                      (to serve until the
1998 Annual Meeting of Stockholders)     1999 Annual Meeting of Stockholders)     2000 Annual Meeting of Stockholders)
Dr. Ronaldo H. Schmitz                   Peter Zuhlsdorff                         Dr. Franz Wilhelm Hopp
Christian H. Strenger                                                             Ernst-Ulrich Matz
                                                                                  Dr. Frank Tromel


      2. TO RATIFY THE  SELECTION BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF PRICE  WATERHOUSE
         LLP AS INDEPENDENT  ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31,
         1997.

            [ ] APPROVE           [ ] DISAPPROVE           [ ] ABSTAIN




      3. TO  CONSIDER  AND ACT UPON ANY OTHER  BUSINESS  AS MAY COME  BEFORE THE
         MEETING OR ANY ADJOURNMENT THEREOF.

      This  proxy when properly  executed  will be voted in the manner  directed
herein by the undersigned stockholder.  If no direction is made, this proxy will
be voted FOR Proposals 1 and 2.

      When signing as attorney,  executor,  administrator,  trustee or guardian,
please give full title as such. If a  corporation,  please provide the full name
of the  corporation  and the signature of the authorized  officer signing on its
behalf.



                                         ______________________________________
                                                  Name (please print)
            
            
                                         ______________________________________
                                          Name of Corporation (if applicable)
            
            
                                         (By)________________(Date)______  1997
                                               (Signature)
                 
   PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS PROXY USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.