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" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
Remember
Mother
Woman
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" 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. "
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Need
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" 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. "
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Both
Two
Decisions
" 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. "
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Us
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" I don't want to give myself grades. I will leave evaluation of my achievements to history. "
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History
Grades
Leave
" 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. "
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Three
" I have been underestimated for decades. I have done very well that way. "
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Been
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" The most important rule of the new Europe is: There must never again be violence in Europe. "
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Again
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" I ask myself where Germany stands today and where it wants to go. "
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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. "
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Time
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Power
" In a democracy, if you don't get the votes, nothing else is possible, no matter how wonderful your dreams. "
Helmut Kohl
Democracy
You
Your Dreams
" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
Down
Us
Enough
" We humans have an abyss inside us. The more power people have, the greater the danger. "
Helmut Kohl
Abyss
People
Inside
" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
Luck
Things Happen
Power
" 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. "
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Go
Know
Leadership
" We were united not only by political respect for each other, but also by deep mutual sympathy as people. "
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People
Respect
Deep
" In German history, we don't have many reasons to be proud. "
Helmut Kohl
German
History
Many
" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
Mother
Night
Broken
" Where there is no will, no rules or laws can help. "
Helmut Kohl
Rules
No Rules
Laws
" Russia is Germany's most important neighbor in the East, and it will remain so. "
Helmut Kohl
Important
Most
Russia
" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
Community
Decisions
Seem
" 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
More
Money
" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
They Say
Finding
Happy
" 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. "
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Others
Now
Know
" 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. "
Helmut Kohl
Think
Time
I Am
" Germany is our fatherland; Europe is our future. "
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Our
Europe
Germany
" I experienced Nazism as a child. Like many of my generation, I was motivated by the desire to prevent another war at any price. "
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War
Price
Generation
" For me it is completely clear that our air bases in Germany would be available to the Americans. "
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Clear
Germany
Me
" When I was elected to head the German government, I was fortunate enough to find a partner in Francois Mitterrand. "
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Head
Government
Find
" 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. "
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Unity
Proud
Nothing
" 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