Gustav Heinemann

Not less, but more democracy - that is the demand, that is the great goal that we have to prescribe for ourselves, and especially for our youth. ”

Liberal democracy must finally become the vital element of our society. ”

We have to recognize that the freedom of the individual has to be protected not only from the power of the state, but even more so from economic and societal power. ”

Beyond peace, there is no longer any existence possible. ”

Ladies and gentlemen, I take office at a time in which the world is living in extreme contradictions. ”

Everywhere, authority and tradition have to justify themselves in the face of questions. ”

The secret of big and revolutionary actions also consists in discovering the tiny step that is simultaneously a strategic step, insofar as it entails additional steps in the direction of a better reality. ”

The first thing I see is the obligation to serve peace. ”

War is not the quintessential emergency in which man has to prove himself, as my generation learned at its school desks in the days of the Kaiser; rather, peace is the emergency in which we all have to prove ourselves. ”

The time has come - and must come - for multilateral conversations about a secure peace in all of Europe. ”