Helmut Kohl Quotes - BrainyQuote

German - Politician April 3, 1930 - June 16, 2017

German and European unification are two sides of the same coin.

Two Coin Sides Same

I have every reason, despite the resentment and exasperation, to be proud. I have nothing better to be proud of than being proud of German unity.

Proud Unity Better Nothing

The army is under orders to defend every place.

Army Place Defend Every

For me it is completely clear that our air bases in Germany would be available to the Americans.

Me Air Clear Germany

Peace must be more than the absence of war.

War Peace More Absence

We were united not only by political respect for each other, but also by deep mutual sympathy as people.

Respect People Deep Sympathy

The most important rule of the new Europe is: There must never again be violence in Europe.

Violence New Never Important

I knew that I could never win a referendum in Germany. We would have lost a referendum on the introduction of the euro. That's quite clear. I would have lost, and by seven to three.

Win Never Lost Three

In a democracy, if you don't get the votes, nothing else is possible, no matter how wonderful your dreams.

Dreams Democracy You Your Dreams

As a child, I personally didn't really get to know any Jews. I was eight years old when the Night of Broken Glass happened. And Ludwigshafen was purely a workers' city, so we didn't have a very big Jewish community. What I did know about the Jews, I heard from my mother. My mother was very much pro-Jewish.

Mother Broken Community Night

Top 10
Helmut Kohl
Quotes

Isolated decisions, however well-founded they might seem to the individual, and national go-it-alone moves must belong to the past. They should not be the 21st-century method of choice, particularly because the consequences of the European community's actions must often be carried collectively.

Community Past Choice Consequences

I like everything that makes you fat.

You Fat Everything Like

We humans have an abyss inside us. The more power people have, the greater the danger.

Power People Inside More

I have been underestimated for decades. I have done very well that way.

Way Done Well Been

George Bush was for me the most important ally on the road to German unity.

Me Road Unity Important

Russia is Germany's most important neighbor in the East, and it will remain so.

Important Will Neighbor Russia

The Christian Democrats always made you feel like the poor relation.

You Feel Poor Christian

You didn't just pay lip service to the goal of overcoming the division of Europe and Germany... Rather, you put yourself at the forefront of those who encouraged us on the way to unity.

You Service Yourself Unity

If a Chancellor is trying to push something through, he must be a man of power. And if he's smart, he knows when the time is ripe. In one case - the euro - I was like a dictator... The euro is a synonym for Europe.

Man Time Power Smart

Political life is like this - elections go back and forth. Representative democracy can only be successful if one sits down and says, 'That's it. I will connect myself,' - as I did - 'connect my existence to a political project.' Then you automatically have in your party a lot of people who say, 'If that fails, so do I'.

Life Myself Democracy You

My childhood ended in 1942. I was 12, and for the next three years, I lived under incessant bombings. It was a life of constant fear.

Life Childhood Fear Three

I don't want to give myself grades. I will leave evaluation of my achievements to history.

Myself History Will Grades

I experienced Nazism as a child. Like many of my generation, I was motivated by the desire to prevent another war at any price.

War Child Generation Desire

People in Tel Aviv can not imagine, but in 1990, here in Leipzig or Dresden, whoever wanted to buy a car had to wait 14 years. The East Germans worked like people in the West, but the fruits of their labor were harvested by a criminal regime.

Car People Wait Like

Gorbachev's legacy is that he called time on communism, partially against his will, but in fact, he finished it off. Without violence. Without bloodshed. Beyond that, I am struggling to think of much else in terms of real legacy.

Time I Am Violence Legacy

Europe has, to put it mildly, been in a poor state since the transition to the 21st century. This is down to national issues, European missteps, and an economic and financial crisis that crashed down on us with enough force to dislodge the essential European idea.

Down Poor Enough Force

Loading...

Load more quotes

Related Authors

Gustav Stresemann
Quotes

Ernst Thalmann
Quotes

Clara Zetkin
Quotes

Karl Liebknecht
Quotes

Ferdinand Lassalle
Quotes

Gustav Heinemann
Quotes

Walter Ulbricht
Quotes

Petra Kelly
Quotes

BrainyQuote

BrainyQuote Desktop

BrainyQuote Mobile

Site

Quote Of The Day

Social

BQ on Pinterest

BQ on Instagram

Apps

iPhone/iPad app

Quote Of The Day Feeds

Javascript and RSS feeds

WordPress plugin

Quote of the Day Email

About

Copyright © 2001 - 2019 BrainyQuote