GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TODAY
REMARKS BY GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
THE HOUSE CHAMBER, THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
10:48 A.M. EST, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009
CHANCELLOR MERKEL: Thank you. Thank you very much. It’s — it’s very moving, I must say.
Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, distinguished members of Congress — (through interpreter) — thank you for the great honor and privilege to address you today, shortly before the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall,
I am the second German chancellor on whom this great honor is bestowed. Konrad Adenauer was the first when in 1957 he addressed both houses of Congress, albeit one after the other.
Our lives could not have been more different. In 1957 I was a small child of 3 years. I lived in Brandenburg, together with my parents, a region that at the time belonged to the German Democratic Republic, the part of Germany that was not free. My father worked as a Protestant pastor. My mother, who had studied English and Latin to become a teacher, was not allowed to work in her chosen profession in the GDR.
In 1957 Konrad Adenauer was already 81 years old. He had witnessed the German Empire, the First World War, the Weimar Republic and the Second World War. The National Socialists ousted him from his office as lord mayor of the city of Cologne. After the war he was one of the men and women who built the free and democratic Federal Republic of Germany.
There is nothing more symbolic of this Federal Republic of Germany than its constitution, the Basic Law, the “Grundgesetz.” It was adopted exactly 60 years ago. Article I of the Basic Law reads as follows, and I quote, “The dignity of man is inviolable.”
This short and simple sentence, “The dignity of man is inviolable,” was the response to the catastrophe of the Second World War, to the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, to the hatred, destruction and annihilation that Germany brought over Europe and the rest of the world.
In only a few days, we’ll mark the 9th of November. On the 9th of November, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. (Applause.) The 9th of November, 1938, however, also left an indelible mark on German and European history. On this day, the National Socialists pillaged and destroyed synagogues, set fire to them, and killed innumerable people. It was the beginning of what later turned into the break with civilization that was the Shoah. I cannot stand before you today without remembering the victims of that very day and of the Shoah.
There is one guest in the audience today who personally experienced the horrors of Germany under National Socialism and whom I got to know personally some time ago, Professor Fritz Stern. He was born in Breslau in 1926, then a German city, today a Polish city. And in 1938, he was able to flee with his family from the Nazis in 1938, and this at the very last minute. In his autobiography, published in 2006 under the title “Five Germanys I Have Known,” Fritz Stern describes the moment he arrived in New York Harbor in 1938, reaching a haven of freedom and security.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is wonderful that history wills us, Fritz Stern, then a 12-year-old boy driven out of his native Germany, and myself, originally born in the GDR, now chancellor of today’s reunited Germany, meet here today before this august assembly under the same roof. This fills me with great pride and great gratitude.
(Applause.)
In my wildest dreams, I would not have thought this possible 20 years ago, before the fall of the wall. For at the time, it was beyond my imagination to ever even travel to the United States, let alone stand here before you one day.
The land of unlimited opportunity was for me, for a long time, impossible to reach. The wall, barbed wire and the order to shoot, at those who tried to leave, limited my access to the free world.
Therefore I had to rely on films and books, some of which were smuggled by relatives from the West, to gain an impression of the United States. What did I see and what did I read? What was it I was passionate about?
I was passionate about the American dream, the possibility for each and every one to be successful, to actually make it in life through one’s own personal effort.
And like many other teenagers, I was passionate about jeans, probably a particular brand that you could not get in the GDR and which my aunt kindly, regularly sent to me from the West.
I was passionate about the vast American landscapes that seemed to breed the very spirit of freedom and independence. And immediately in 1990, my husband and I flew to America, for the first time, to California.
We shall never forget our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. It was simply gorgeous. And this — even though for me America seemed completely out of reach, until 1989, then on the 9th of November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.
And this border which had divided a nation, for decades, keeping people in two different worlds, was now open. And this is why for me, today is first and foremost a time to say thank you.
I thank all those American and Allied pilots who heard and heeded the desperate appeal of then-Mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, in 1948, who said, you, the nations of this world, cast your eyes towards the city.
For months, these pilots flew food to Berlin for the airlift, saving the citizens from starvation. Many of these soldiers risked their lives. Dozens lost their lives. We shall remember and honor them forever. (Extended applause.)
And I thank the 16 million Americans stationed in Germany throughout the last decades, without whose support as soldiers, diplomats, and generally, as facilitators, overcoming the division of Europe would simply not have been possible. And we will also be more than pleased not only today but also in the future to have American soldiers in Germany. You are ambassadors of your country to Germany, just as many Americans with German roots continue to be ambassadors of my country over here in the United States of America.
I think of John F. Kennedy, who won the hearts of the Berliners, when, during his visit in 1961, after the wall had been built, he reached out to the desperate citizens of Berlin by saying, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” I think of Ronald Reagan, who, far earlier than most, clearly saw the sign of the times and, standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate, already in 1987, called out, “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” (Extended applause.) This appeal shall remain forever in my heart.
I thank George Herbert Walker Bush for the trust he placed in Germany and then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl, offering something of immeasurable value to us Germans already in May 1989: partnership in leadership. What a generous offer 40 years after the end of the Second World War.
It was actually only last Saturday that we met again in Berlin, incidentally together with Mikhail Gorbachev. And to him, too, we owe a debt of gratitude.
Ladies and gentlemen, to put it in just one sentence, I know — we Germans know how much we owe to you, our American friends, and we shall never — I personally shall never, ever forget this. (Applause.)
The common quest for freedom released incredible forces all over Europe: the trade union Solidarnosc in Poland, the reformers around Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia, the first opening of the Iron Curtain in Hungary and the demonstrations in the GDR every Monday. Where there used to be a dark wall, a door suddenly opened, and we all walked through it, out into the streets, into the churches, across borders. Each and everyone was suddenly given the chance to build something new, to help shape things, to dare a new beginning.
I, too, sought a new beginning. I left my work as a physicist in the Academy of Science in East Berlin behind me and went into politics, because I was finally able to do something to make a difference, because I had gained the impression now things can be changed; now you can do something.
Ladies and gentlemen, 20 years have gone by since we were given this incredible gift of freedom, but still, nothing keeps me more enthralled, nothing spurs me on as much, nothing fills me with stronger positive feelings than the force of freedom.
Whoever has been so positively surprised in his or her lifetime holds many things to be possible.
Or, to borrow the words of Bill Clinton when he was in Berlin in 1994, and I quote, “Nothing will stop us. All things are possible.”
Yes, everything is possible. It is possible for a woman like myself to be here today. It is possible for a man like Arnold Vaatz, a dissident in Dresden during GDR times who spent time in prison because of this, to be present here today; a member of the German Bundestag, the German parliament, and a member of my delegation. Yes — (applause) — yes, everything is possible, also in our century, the 21st century, the age of globalization.
Back home in Germany, just as here in America, many people are afraid of globalization. We don’t simply pass over this fact and these fears; we do see the difficulties. And yet, it is up to us to convince people that globalization is the great global opportunity for each and every continent; for it forces all of us to work together with others.
The alternative to globalization would mean shutting ourselves off against others. But instead of being a viable alternative, this would only lead into isolation and misery. Thinking in terms of alliances, thinking in terms of partnerships, however, this will take us into a good future.
Ladies and gentlemen, America and Europe have certainly had their share of disagreements. Some may sometimes consider the others to be too hesitant or too fearful; or from the opposite perspective, too headstrong and too pushy. And yet, I am deeply convinced that Europe will not find a better partner than America; nor will America find a better partner than Europe. (Applause.)
For what brings the Europeans and Americans together and keeps them together is not only a common history. What brings Europeans and Americans together and keeps them there are not only shared interests and common global challenges, which exist among all regions of the world. This alone would not be sufficient to forge this very special partnership between Europe and America, and to make it last. There is more to it. What brings Europeans and Americans together and keeps them close is a common basis of shared values. It is a common idea of the individual and its inalienable dignity. It is a common understanding of freedom and responsibility. This is what we stand up for in this unique transatlantic partnership and in this community of shared values that is NATO.
Thus partnership and leadership is filled with life, ladies and gentlemen. (Applause.)
It was this basis of values that ended the Cold War, and it is this basis of values that enables us now to stand the test of our time. And we need to stand the test of our time. Germany is united. Europe is united. That is something that we’ve been able to do. Now today’s generation needs to prove that it is able to meet the challenges of the 21st century and that, in a sense, we are able to tear down walls of today.
What does this mean? Well, it means create freedom and security. It means create prosperity and justice. And it means protecting our planet.
And here again America and Europe are called upon in a very special way to do their bit. Even after the end of the Cold War, therefore, what is important is to see to it that we tear down walls in the minds of people and walls that separate different concepts of life, that make it difficult time and again for us to understand each other all over the world.
And this is why the ability to show tolerance towards others is so important. For us, our way of life is the best possible way, but others do not necessarily feel that way or think that way. There are different solutions to create peaceful coexistence. Tolerance and showing tolerance means showing respect for the history, the tradition, the religion and the cultural identity of others.
But let there be no misunderstanding. Tolerance does not mean “anything goes.” There must be zero tolerance towards all those who show no respect for the inalienable rights of the individual and who violate human rights. And zero tolerance needs to be shown when there is a risk of weapons of mass destruction falling, for example, into the hands of Iran and threatening our security. (Applause.)
Iran needs to be aware of this. Iran knows our offer, but Iran also knows where we draw a line. A nuclear bomb in the hands of an Iranian president who denies the Holocaust, threatens Israel and denies Israel the right to exist is not acceptable. (Applause.)
Security of the state of Israel is for me non-negotiable, now and forever. (Applause.) Incidentally, not only Israel is threatened, but the whole of the free world. Whoever threatens Israel also threatens us. (Applause.)
This is why the free world meets this threat head-on, if necessary through tough economic sanctions. And this is why we in Germany will do everything we can, in order to lend our support to the Middle East peace process, with the aim of establishing a two-state solution: a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state living peacefully side by side. (Applause.)
We also stand up against the threat of international terrorism. We are aware of the fact that no country, no matter how strong, can do this alone. We all need partners. We are only strong if we are joined by others, in a community of partners.
Since we shared then-President George W. Bush’s view after the attacks of 9/11 that we had to prevent Afghanistan from ever harboring such a threat to the world again, Germany is present there on the ground, since 2002, with the third-largest troop contingent.
We want to make the concept of an integrated or networked security successful. This means civil and military commitment are inextricably linked. The international community’s mission in Afghanistan is without any doubt a tough one. It demands a lot from all of us. And it now needs to be transferred to the next phase, as soon as the new Afghan government is in office.
Our objective must be a strategy: the transfer of responsibility, which we intend to develop together during a joint U.N. conference, at the beginning of next year.
We will be successful if, as we have done up to now, we continue to travel this road together. Every step of the way, Germany stands ready to shoulder its responsibility. (Applause.)
There is no doubt that NATO is and remains the crucial cornerstone of our common security. Its security concept is continuously further developed and adapted, to meet the challenges of the day.
But its foundation and its clear compass for peace and freedom remain unchanged.
We Europeans, I am convinced, may contribute even more in the future, for we Europeans are currently working on giving a new contractual basis to our European Union. The last signature has just been put on this document. This will make the European Union stronger and more capable of action, and thereby turn it into a strong and reliable partner for the United States. We can build stable partnerships on this sound basis, first and foremost with Russia, China and India.
For, ladies and gentlemen, the world we live in today is both freer and more integrated than ever before. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the technological revolution in information and communication technology, the rise of China, India and other countries to become dynamic economies — all of this has changed the world of the 21st century into something completely different from what we knew in the 20th century. And this is a good thing, for freedom is the very essence of our economy and our society. Man can only be creative when he is free.
But what is also clear is that freedom does not stand alone. It is freedom in responsibility and freedom to show and shoulder responsibility. For this, the world needs an underlying order. The mere collapse of the international financial markets has shown what happens when there is none, when there is no underpinning order.
There is one — if there is one lesson the world has learned from the financial crisis of last year, it is that the globalized economy needs a global order underpinning it, a global framework of rules. Without global rules on transparency and supervision, we will not gain more freedom but rather risk the abuse of freedom, and thus risk instability. (Applause.)
In a way, this is a second wall that needs to fall, a wall standing in the way of a truly global economic order, a wall made up of regional and exclusively national thinking.
The G-20 is key to this cooperation among the most important industrialized countries and emerging economies. Here too, cooperation between the Americans and the Europeans is a crucial cornerstone. It is not an exclusive, but an inclusive cooperation. The G-20 have shown that they are capable of action. And we need to resist the pressure of those who almost led the nations of this planet to the abyss.
The long and short of it is that international economic policy needs to be more sustainable, because this crisis was also the result of a way of thinking that was too short-term. As a consequence, millions of people all over the world may lose their jobs and are threatened by poverty and hunger. To achieve prosperity and justice, we have to do everything to prevent such a crisis in the future. (Applause.)
This also means not giving in to the temptation of protectionism. And this is why the Doha negotiations and the framework of WTO are so important. A success at the Doha round would send a very important message of openness for global trade, particularly in the current crisis.
And just as much, the Transatlantic Economic Council can fulfill an important task in preventing the race for subsidies and giving incentives to reduce barriers to trade between Europe and America. Please do let us jointly work for a global economic order that is in the interest of both America and Europe. (Applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, that global challenges can only be met by comprehensive international cooperation is also true for the third great test we need to stand in the 21st century — the wall that seemingly separates the present from the future.
This wall bars from view the needs of future generations; it prevents us from doing what is urgently necessary to preserve the basis of our very life and our climate.
We can already see now where this wasteful attitude towards our future leads: Icebergs are melting in the Arctic; in Africa, people become refugees because their environment has been destroyed; the global sea level is rising. I am delighted to note that President Obama and you, in your daily work, consider the protection of our climate to be a very important task. We all know we have no time to lose.
We need an agreement — (applause) — we need an agreement at the climate conference in Copenhagen in December; we need an agreement on one objective: Global warming must not exceed 2 degrees Celsius. To achieve this, we need the readiness of all countries to accept internationally binding obligations.
We cannot afford missing the objectives in climate protection that signs tells us have to be met. This would not only be irresponsible from an environmental point of view; it would also be technologically shortsighted, for the developments of new technologies in the field of energy offers great opportunities for growth and innovative jobs. (Applause.)
No doubt about it, in December, the world will look to us, to the Europeans and to the Americans. And it is true, there can be no agreement without China and India. (Applause.)
But I’m convinced, once we in Europe and America show ourselves ready to adopt binding agreements, we will also be able to persuade China and India to join in.
And then in Copenhagen, we shall be able to overcome this wall separating the present from the future, in the interest of our children and grandchildren and in the interest of sustainable development all over the world. (Applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m convinced, just as we found the strength in the 20th century, to bring about the fall of a wall made of concrete and barbed wire, we shall now show that necessary strength to overcome the walls of the 21st century: walls in our minds, walls of short-sighted self interest, walls between the present and the future.
Ladies and gentlemen, my confidence is nurtured and comes from a very important source, a very special sound, the sound of the liberty bell in Schoneberg town hall in Berlin.
Since 1950, a bell cast after the original American Liberty Bill hangs there in the belfry. A gift from American citizens, it is a symbol of the promise of freedom, a promise that has been fulfilled.
On the 3rd of October 1990, the liberty bell rang again signaling unification of Germany, the greatest moment of joy for the German people. On the 13th of September 2001, it tolled out again two days after 9/11, the greatest day of mourning for the American people.
(In English.) The Freedom Bell in Berlin is like the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia: a symbol which reminds us that freedom does not come about of itself. It must be struggled for, and then defended anew every day of our lives. In this endeavor, Germany and Europe will also in future remain strong and dependable partners for America. That I promise you. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. (Cheers, applause.)
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