Richard von Weizsaecker
Richard von Weizsaecker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician, who served as President of the Federal Republic of Germanyfrom 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, he took his first public offices in the Evangelical Church in Germany...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth15 April 1920
CountryGermany
tasks generations looks
Every generation is confronted anew with the task not to look the other way when injustice occurs. ... Everyone is responsible for what he does and co-responsible for what he lets happen.
past guilty accepting
All of us, whether guilty or not, whether old or young, must accept the past. It is not a case of coming to terms with the past. That is not possible. It cannot be subsequently modified or undone.
risk remember infection
Whoever refuses to remember the inhumanity is prone to new risks of infection.
freedom way-forward democracy
Democracy feeds on argument, on the discussion as to the right way forward. This is the reason why respecting the opinion of others belongs to democracy.
beer air pure
We could be happy if the air was as pure as beer.
war responsibility holocaust
There were many ways of not burdening one's conscience, of shunning responsibility, looking away, keeping mum. When the unspeakable truth of the Holocaust then became known at the end of the war, all too many of us claimed that they had not known anything about it or even suspected anything.
lying remembrance secret
Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance.