German - Politician | April 3, 1930 - June 16, 2017
We were united not only by political respect for each other, but also by deep mutual sympathy as people.
Helmut Kohl
RespectPeopleSympathyDeepUnited
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.
PowerTimeManSmartPushTrying
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'.
LifeMyselfPeopleDemocracyYouGo
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.
LifeFearChildhoodThreeLived
I experienced Nazism as a child. Like many of my generation, I was motivated by the desire to prevent another war at any price.
WarChildGenerationPriceDesire
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.
CarPeopleWaitLaborYearsBuy
The most important rule of the new Europe is: There must never again be violence in Europe.
ViolenceNewImportantNeverEurope
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.
TimeI AmCommunismLegacyThink
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.
FinancialEnoughDownTransition
Two decisions have damaged the stability both of the euro and of Europe: the premature admission of Greece to the euro area and the breach and subsequent weakening of the stability and growth pact.
GrowthDecisionsEuropeStability
Where there is no will, no rules or laws can help.
HelpRulesWillWhereLawsNo Rules
We all need Europe, not just those of us in Europe. And we Germans need Europe more than the others. Germany is the country with the longest border, the most neighbours, and is, by population and economic strength, the number one in Europe.
StrengthBorderCountryOthersNeed
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Helmut Kohl quotes