Historians still often see the end of the war as meaning nothing more for Germany than lost territories, lost participation in colonization, and lost assets for the state and individuals. They frequently overlook the most serious loss that Germany suffered.

To contrast national solidarity and international cooperation as two opposites seems foolish to me.

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

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.

In every man the memory of the struggles and the heroes of the past is alive. But these memories are not incompatible with the desire for peace in the future.

A people that has experienced all that the Germans have been through, naturally offers fertile soil for the extremists.

To walk behind others on a road you are traveling together, to give precedence to others without envy - this is painful for an individual and painful for a nation.