Helmut Schmidt Quotes

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , who served as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982.

Before becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and as Minister of Finance . In the latter role he gained credit for his financial policies. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. As Chancellor, he focused on international affairs, seeking "political unification of Europe in partnership with the United States" and issuing proposals that led to the NATO Double-Track Decision in 1979 to deploy US Pershing II missiles to Europe. He was an energetic diplomat who sought European co-operation and international economic co-ordination and was the leading force in creating the European Monetary System in 1978. He was re-elected chancellor in 1976 and 1980, but his coalition fell apart in 1982 with the switch by his coalition allies, the Free Democratic Party.

He retired from Parliament in 1986, after clashing with the SPD's left wing, who opposed him on defence and economic issues. In 1986 he was a leading proponent of European monetary union and a European Central Bank. Wikipedia  

✵ 23. December 1918 – 10. November 2015
Helmut Schmidt photo
Helmut Schmidt: 22   quotes 1   like

Famous Helmut Schmidt Quotes

“What troubles me is that we will see in Germany no approximation of the East German income to the West German income anymore, because productivity stays so far behind.”

speech "The catch-up process of the East has gone to end in 1996 - What to do?" at the 10. May 2004 for the "Erfurt Dialogues", thueringen.de http://www.thueringen.de/de/tsk/veranstaltungen/dialog/archiv/schmidt/

“It seems to me that the German people can - pointedly - tolerate 5 percent price increase better than 5 percent unemployment.”

Interview with Helmut Schmidt on the 27. July 1972 in Bonn, partly printed in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 28. July 1972 (nr. 171), p. 8

“It is an irony of history that the public sector union, my union, in which I am a member for over 50 years, that imagines that the public service should be the pacemaker in the wage increase. One must be crazy.”

speech "The catch-up process of the East has gone to end in 1996 - What to do?" at the 10. May 2004 for the "Erfurt Dialogues", thueringen.de http://www.thueringen.de/de/tsk/veranstaltungen/dialog/archiv/schmidt/

“Of course, nuclear power has its risks. But there is no power and nothing in the world without risks, not even love.”

Zeit Online http://www.zeit.de/online/2008/30/schmidt-atomausstieg-spd, 23. July 2008

Helmut Schmidt Quotes about people

“Today, the most important is to learn to understand other people. And not only their music, but also their philosophy, their attitude, their behavior. Only then will nations can get along with each other.”

Weggefährten - Erinnerungen und Reflexionen, Siedler-Verlag Berlin 1996, p. 58, ISBN 9783442755158, ISBN 978-3442755158

“Nothing is more important than pastoral care for people in need. […] For me, nothing is less important than theology.”

im Gespräch mit Hans Küng über den Weltethos, 2007, YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S4KhE6nzzQ#t=5m8s

“The more direct decisions by all the people, all the more ungovernable is the country!”

Handeln für Deutschland: Wege aus der Krise, Rowohlt, 1993, p. 136, ISBN 3871340731, ISBN 978-3871340734

Helmut Schmidt Quotes

“Science and future, that is a contradiction.”

"Politics commemorates former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt" from the Kleine Zeitung http://www.kleinezeitung.at/s/politik/aussenpolitik/4863756/Politik-gedenkt-deutschen-Altkanzlers-Helmut-Schmidt

“The rule of law does not have to win, it does not have to lose, but it has to exist!”

DIE ZEIT http://www.zeit.de/2007/36/Interview-Helmut-Schmidt?page=all, nr. 36/2007, 30. August 2007

“Helmut Schmidt continues to speak of a sense of duty, predictability, feasibility, firmness […] These are secondary virtues. Simply put precise:.. So you can also run a concentration camp with them.”

Oskar Lafontaine on 15. July 1982 in STERN to the discussion about the NATO Double-Track Decision (here: shortend citation of BILD)

“The snail's pace is the normal pace of any democracy.”

DIE ZEIT, 19. Oktober 2003, zeit.de http://www.zeit.de/politik/Interview_031030

“Whoever has visions should go to the doctor.”

from Schmidt confirmed in a letter from the 26. February 2009 to the Student Council Social Sciences St.-Ursula-Gymnasium Attendorn http://sowi.st-ursula-attendorn.de/tp/tpsmid01.htm.

“If we continue on for decades as before, then I have to be pessimistic about our country.”

in conversation with the authors of the series of documentaries "Der Fall Deutschland", statcion Phoenix, 12. February 2006, phoenix.de http://www.phoenix.de/24378.htm

“I think that the idea that a modern society would be able to establish itself as a multicultural society, with as many cultural groups as possible is absurd. One cannot make out of Germany with at least a thousand years of history since Otto I subsequently make a crucible.”

Frankfurter Rundschau, 12. September 1992, S. 8, zitiert in konservativ.de http://www.konservativ.de/epoche/139/epo_139b.htm und linksnet.de http://www.linksnet.de/linkslog/index.php?itemid=431

“Do we want also to be world champion in moaning?”

in "Because Germany has to change" DIE ZEIT 22/2003 22. Mai 2003 http://www.zeit.de/2003/22/01n____leit_schmidt_text

“The multicultural society is an illusion of intellectuals.”

Die Zeit http://www.zeit.de/2004/18/Deutschland_2fSchmidt_18?page=all, nr. 18/2004, 22. April 2004

“If you look closely, you'll see that the political journalists actually more belong to the political class and less to journalism.”

Source: in the interview with Giovanni di Lorenzo, ZEITmagazin http://www.zeit.de/2010/13/Schmidt-Kohl-di-Lorenzo/seite-2 25. March 2010, nr. 13

“One is left, the other is right. But comparable populists are Lafontaine and Le Pen already.”

In the interview with Kai Diekmann, Walter Mayer and Hans-Jörg Vehlewald Bild am Sonntag, 15. September 2008 http://www.bild.de/news/politik/schmidt/haben-sie-mitleid-mit-kurt-beck-teil-2-5809086.bild.html

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