Helmut Kohl

“Germany is our fatherland; Europe is our future.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“I experienced Nazism as a child. Like many of my generation, I was motivated by the desire to prevent another war at any price.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

“Russia is Germany's most important neighbor in the East, and it will remain so.”

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

“Peace must be more than the absence of war.”

“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.”