Willy Brandt Quotes

Walls in people's heads are sometimes more durable than walls made of concrete blocks.

Doch das sei abermals betont: angestoßen, politisch zu werden, hat mich nicht Willy Brandt, sondern der allerchristlichste Kanzler. Er, der sich aus Nächstenliebe den Kommentator der Rassengesetze, Hans Globke, als Staatssekretär hielt, er, dem das christliche Abendland nur bis zur Elbe reichte, er verdächtigte den Emigranten Brandt „alias Frahm“ unterschwellig des Landesverrats. Sein Christentum katholischer Machart gab ihm ein, uneheliche Herkunft als Makel anzuprangern. Konrad Adenauer war jedes Mittel recht, weshalb er immer noch als Staatsmann gilt.

Jetzt sind wir in einer Situation, in der wieder zusammenwächst, was zusammengehört.“ ("Now we are in a situation where what belongs together, will grow back together.") Berlin radio interview, November 10, 1989 [the day after the de facto abolition of intra-German border controls by the East German government]

Nichts kommt von selbst. Und nur wenig ist von Dauer. Darum — besinnt Euch auf Eure Kraft und darauf, dass jede Zeit eigene Antworten will und man auf ihrer Höhe zu sein hat, wenn Gutes bewirkt werden soll.“ ("Nothing happens automatically. And only few things last. Therefore — be mindful of your strength, and of the fact that every era wants its own answers, and you have to be up to its speed in order to be able to do good.") Message to the Socialist International Congress in Berlin, September 15, 1992

Wo Hunger herrscht, ist auf die Dauer kein Friede.“ ("Where there is hunger, there cannot be lasting peace.) Speech before the United Nations General Assembly, September 26, 1973

Auch wenn zwei Staaten in Deutschland existieren, sind sie doch füreinander nicht Ausland; ihre Beziehungen zueinander können nur von besonderer Art sein." ("Even though two states in Germany exist, they are not foreign countries to each other—their relations with each other can only be of a special kind.") First Inaugural Address as West German Chancellor, October 28, 1969

[I]ch habe es noch in diesem Sommer erneut zu Papier gebracht: Berlin wird leben, und die Mauer wird fallen." ("I put it down on paper again in the summer of this year: Berlin will live, and the Wall will come down.") Speech at Rathaus Schöneberg (Berlin City Hall) on November 10, 1989 [the day after the de facto abolition of intra-German border controls by the East German government]

Wenn ich sagen soll, was mir neben dem Frieden wichtiger sei als alles andere, dann lautet meine Antwort ohne Wenn und Aber: Freiheit. Die Freiheit für viele, nicht nur für die wenigen. Freiheit des Gewissens und der Meinung. Auch Freiheit von Not und von Furcht.“ ("If I am to say what, besides peace, is more important to me than anything else, my unconditional answer is: Freedom. Freedom for the many, not merely for a few. Freedom of conscience and of opinion. And also freedom from poverty and fear.") Speech before an extraordinary convention of the Social Democratic Party in Bonn, Germany, June 14, 1987

Wir wollen ein Volk der guten Nachbarn sein und werden, im Innern und nach außen.“ ("We as a people want to be and become good neighbors, both domestically and abroad.") First Inaugural Address as West German Chancellor, October 28, 1969

Und Berlin? Und die Mauer? Die Stadt wird leben, und die Mauer wird fallen. Aber eine isolierte Berlin-Lösung, eine, die nicht mit weiterreichenden Veränderungen in Europa und zwischen den Teilen Deutschlands einhergeht, ist immer illusionär gewesen und im Laufe der Jahre nicht wahrscheinlich geworden." ("And Berlin? And the Wall? The city will remain alive, and the Wall is going to come down. But an isolated solution for Berlin, one that does not go hand in hand with the broader changes in Europe and between the two parts of Germany, has always been illusionary and has not become any more probable over the course of the years.")

Seit Jahr und Tag ist notorisch, daß unsere Erde das vorausberechenbare Wachstum der Bevölkerung, die Erschöpfung der natürlichen Ressourcen und die Auszehrung der Umwelt nicht lange erträgt. Wir leben seit geraumer Zeit auf Kosten kommender Generationen. [...] Die Gefahr, daß die Menschheit sich selbst zerstört, ist auch dann nicht gebannt, wenn der Atomkrieg ausbleibt." ("It has been an obvious fact for the longest time that our earth will not be able to sustain for long the foreseeable growth of its population, the exhaustion of its natural resources, and the emaciation of its natural environment. We have been living for quite a while at the expense of our future generations. [...] The absence of a nuclear war does not, by itself, diminish the danger of humanity's self-destruction.")

In the domestic political arena, West Germany saw ongoing change at the highest level during this period, with government coalitions swinging from the center-right to the center-left and back. The 1970s were the “social democratic” decade of West German history. A coalition of Willy Brandt’s Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, or SPD) and the Liberal Democrats of the Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei, or FDP) had taken over the government in 1969 after two decades of rule by the Christian Democratic Union (Christlich-Demokratische Union, or CDU), the last three years of which had been in a grand coalition. They stayed in power until the CDU’s successful vote of no confidence against Brandt’s successor, Helmut Schmidt, in 1982. What followed was a 16-year period of conservative-liberal government under Helmut Kohl, who promised nothing less than a “spiritual and moral turnaround” (geistig-moralische Wende), thus signaling a clean break with the reign of the most left-wing government of West German history to that date.

President Kennedy had bowed to the “Berlin Mafia” in the White House who despaired that the Berliners’ morale was plummeting due to inaction and felt that the United States must make a significant public gesture of support to shore up those fearing capitulation, none more so than the city’s mayor, Willy Brandt.

Education is the cheapest ticket you can ever buy for the greatest adventure that is life,’ Willy Stuyvesant.” “’Self-education

[On kneeling down at the Warsaw Ghetto Monument during his 1970 state visit to Poland:] "Es war eine ungewöhnliche Last, die ich auf meinem Weg nach Warschau mitnahm. Nirgends hatte das Volk, hatten die Menschen so gelitten wie in Polen. Die maschinelle Vernichtung der polnischen Judenheit stellte eine Steigerung der Mordlust dar, die niemand für möglich gehalten hatte. [...] Ich hatte nichts geplant, aber Schloß Wilanow, wo ich untergebracht war, in dem Gefühl verlassen, die Besonderheit des Gedenkens am Ghetto-Monument zum Ausdruck bringen zu müssen. Am Abgrund der deutschen Geschichte und unter der Last der Millionen Ermordeten tat ich, was Menschen tun, wenn die Sprache versagt. Ich weiß es auch nach zwanzig Jahren nicht besser als jener Berichterstatter, der festhielt: 'Dann kniet er, der das nicht nötig hat, für alle, die es nötig haben, aber nicht knien – weil sie es nicht wagen oder nicht können oder nicht wagen können.'" ("I took an extraordinary burden to Warsaw. Nowhere else had a people suffered as much as in Poland. The robotic mass annihilation of the Polish Jews had brought human blood lust to a climax which nobody had considered possible. [...] Although I had made no plans, I left my accommodations at Wilanow Castle feeling that I was called upon to mark in some way the special moment of commemoration at the Ghetto Monument. At the abyss of German history and burdened by millions of murdered humans, I acted in the way of those whom language fails. Even twenty years later, I wouldn't know better than the journalist who recorded the moment by saying, 'Then he, who would not need to do this, kneels down in lieu of all those who should, but who do not kneel down – because they do not dare, cannot kneel, or cannot dare to kneel.'") [Note: The quotation used by Brandt is from the article Ein Stück Heimkehr [A Partial Homecoming] (Hermann Schreiber/ Der Spiegel No. 51/1970, Dec. 14, 1970]

Warum, mit welchem Recht und aufgrund welcher Erfahrung ausschließen, daß eines Tages in Leipzig und Dresden, in Magdeburg und Schwerin – und in Ostberlin – nicht Hunderte, sondern Hunderttausende auf den Beinen sind und ihre staatsbürgerlichen Rechte einfordern? Einschließlich des Rechts, von einem Teil Deutschlands in den anderen überzusiedeln?" ("Why, from what right and based on what experience exclude the possibility that one day in Leipzig and Dresden, in Magdeburg and Schwerin – and in East Berlin – not merely hundreds but hundreds of thousands will take to the streets and demand their rights as citizens? Including the right to move from one part of Germany to the other?")

When Willy Brandt was chancellor of Germany, he sank to his knees at the Warsaw Ghetto in 1970 to apologize to Polish Jews for the Holocaust.

Trudeau’s Willy Brandt moment needs to find its British echo.

Willy Brandt

in June 1973, a treaty had come into force. Its full title was: “Treaty concerning the basic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic,” or the Basic Treaty for short. It was a document via which the West German government led by Willy Brandt, the first Social Democrat to become chancellor since the state was founded, acknowledged the principle of two sovereign German states. The treaty came out of a belief that the reality of two German states first had to be recognized if it was one day to be overcome. The Basic Treaty was part of the new “Ostpolitik” (West Germany’s policy on the Soviet-bloc countries) from the social-liberal coalition that had governed since 1969, and both were highly controversial in West Germany. The Christian Social Union (CSU), which was in opposition at the time, launched an appeal against the treaty at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, but its objections were not upheld. In its verdict, the court nevertheless mentioned the provision for reunifying the two German states contained in the West German constitution. As a result of the treaty, both East and West Germany became members of the United Nations. They exchanged “permanent representatives” rather than ambassadors, and each country’s journalists could now be officially accredited in the other.

Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary Prince of Darkness, represents one of the most compelling chapters in the history of rock music and heavy metal.

When he met Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, no one could have imagined that those guys would give life to one of the most influential bands in the history of music: Black Sabbath.

Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, Ozzy grew up in Birmingham's working-class neighborhoods of Aston.

Randy Rhoads, an aviation enthusiast, accepted the invitation to board a small plane piloted by the bus technician, Andrew Aycock. During a flight of a few minutes, Aycock attempted to make a reckless maneuver, getting too close to the tour bus. The plane lost control and crashed, instantly killing Randy, Aycock, and another passenger, Rachel Youngblood.

In many subsequent interviews, Ozzy described that period as one of the darkest of his life, a time when he thought he could never again find the strength to continue.

However, the tragic accident that led to Randy's death left an indelible mark on Ozzy's life, reminding him of the often high price of artistic greatness.

Songs like Over the Mountain and Flying High Again demonstrated Ozzy's ability to mix catchy melodies with powerful riffs and introspective lyrics.

Ozzy Osbourne, the "Prince of Darkness", was born on December 3, 1948 in Aston, a working-class neighborhood of Birmingham, England.

Ozzy was the fourth of six children in a modest family.

Ozzy has influenced generations of musicians, from heavy metal giants like Metallica and Slayer, to emerging artists who see him as a beacon of inspiration.

Ozzy's story is a story of contrasts: between darkness and light, between chaos and beauty, between rebellion and love.

The origin of Black Sabbath dates back to the late 60s, at a time when the British music scene was dominated by psychedelic rock and blues.

Initially, the band was called Polka Tulk Blues Band, then simply Earth.

During a rehearsal session, while the group watched the crowd crowd out of a cinema showing an Italian horror film, The Three Faces of Fear (Black Sabbath in the English version), Geezer Butler suggested adopting that title, convinced that a darker and more sinister approach could differentiate them from other bands of the time.

The nickname "Ozzy" originated during his school years, as a simple abbreviation of his surname, Osbourne.

Thanks to the incredible talent of Randy Rhoads, the record became an instant classic, containing iconic songs such as Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley. Ozzy's solo career not only cemented his status as a legend, but elevated him to an almost mythological figure in the rock world.

Episodes such as the bite of the bat during a concert or the throwing of the dove at a company meeting have contributed to creating the myth of the "Prince of Darkness".

In 2020, Ozzy released Ordinary Man, an album that marked his return to the music scene after almost a decade.

In 2022, Ozzy released another successful album, Patient Number 9, which further cemented his status as a living legend.

Reflecting on his life, Ozzy Osbourne is a living example of resilience and transformation.

The release of No More Tears in 1991 marked a pivotal moment: the album, while true to the roots of heavy metal, featured more refined production and lyrics that addressed more personal and mature themes.

One of the most significant was the diagnosis of Parkinson's, a chronic neurodegenerative disease that affects the nervous system, impairing movement and causing symptoms such as tremors, muscle stiffness and slowness in movement.