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" 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. "

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" 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'. "

Helmut Kohl

Life

Democracy

Myself

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

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

" Where there is no will, no rules or laws can help. "

" Germany is our fatherland; Europe is our future. "

" Where is Germany now and where does it want to go? It's a question being asked by our partners and allies abroad. We have to return - urgently - to our old dependability. We have to make clear for others what we stand for, where we're headed, and that we know where we belong. "

" 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. "

" When I was elected to head the German government, I was fortunate enough to find a partner in Francois Mitterrand. "

" 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. "

" Solitary decisions, no matter how well-founded they may appear to individuals, must belong to the past - along with national, unilateralist action. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" I ask myself where Germany stands today and where it wants to go. "

Helmut Kohl

Myself

Today

" As a German, in view of the history of World War II and the terrible deeds of the Nazi period, I feel a special obligation to help as much as I can to develop European-Israeli relations and thus contribute to ensuring Israel's future and existence. "

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

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

Helmut Kohl

Most

Road

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" Nations with a common currency never went to war against each other. A common currency is more than the money you pay with. "

Helmut Kohl

Never

Money

" 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. "

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

Helmut Kohl

Clear

Germany

" In German history, we don't have many reasons to be proud. "

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

" My parents were Christians - Catholics, but not in the close-minded sense. I remember my mother to be a very pious woman, but she was never against other religions. "

" The army is under orders to defend every place. "

" Our shared historical experiences led myself and Mitterrand to the decision that we must do everything to prevent further wars. "

" I like everything that makes you fat. "

" When people come to write about my period of office, I would be very happy if they say that I made a contribution to finding the happy medium again for the Germans. "