Quotes from Willy Brandt

Peace is not everything, but without peace, everything is nothing.

Peace, like freedom, is no original state which existed from the start; we shall have to make it, in the truest sense of the word.

As long as hunger exists, peace cannot prevail.

It often takes more courage to change one's opinion than to keep it.

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

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

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]

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]

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

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

It often takes more courage to change one's opinion than to keep it.

Morally it makes no difference whether a person is killed in war or condemned to starve by the indifference of others.