I must begin by saying something about the old Germany. That Germany, too, suffered from superficial judgment, because appearances and reality were not always kept apart in people's minds.

Just as the child is father to the man, so the impressions of one's youth remain the most vivid in manhood.

During the past few years I have led a sometimes hard battle for German foreign policy.

The great men of a nation reach out to all mankind. They are unifying, not divisive; internationally conciliating and still great nationally.

The economic position is only flourishing on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term credits are called in, a large section of our economy would collapse.

But just as haste and restlessness are typical of our present-day life, so change also takes place more rapidly than before. This applies to change in the relationships between nations as it does to change within an individual nation.

The history of nations shows that words are not always immediately followed by action.