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" 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. "

Helmut Kohl

Time

Push

Power

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

Helmut Kohl

Most

Road

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

" If one has no compass, when one doesn't know where one stands and where one wants to go, one can deduce that one has no leadership or interest in shaping events. "

Helmut Kohl

Know

Leadership

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

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

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

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

" 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. "

Helmut Kohl

Need

Strength

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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'. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

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

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

Helmut Kohl

Clear

Germany

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

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

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

" 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. "

Helmut Kohl

Car

Labor

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

" We Germans have learned from history. We are a peace-loving, freedom-loving people. There is only one place for us in the world: at the side of the free nations. "

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

" It was a stroke of luck that there were about four to six leaders in power in the mid-'80s who really trusted one another and could really make things happen. "

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

Helmut Kohl

Myself

Today

" I like everything that makes you fat. "