Quotes by Konrad Adenauer

“In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that He did not also limit his stupidity.”

“History is the sum total of things that could have been avoided.”

“A thick skin is a gift from God.”

“The art of politics consists in knowing precisely when it is necessary to hit an opponent slightly below the belt.”

“I haven't asked you to make me young again. All I want is to go on getting older.”

“We all live under the same sky but we don't all have the same horizon.”

“The good Lord set definite limits on man's wisdom but set no limits on his stupidity - and that's just not fair.”

“We all live under the same sky but we don't all have the same horizon.”

“The good Lord set definite limits on man's wisdom but set no limits on his stupidity - and that's just not fair.”

“We will never forget. If it takes us five or ten or twenty years, we will never rest until we get our revenge.”

“I wish that an English statesman might once have spoken of us as Western Europeans.”

“Unless we act, events that we Europeans will be unable to influence will overtake us. I believe we Europeans feel far too safe. Europe’s political and economic leadership in the world, which was st...”

“European integration should not be rigid but as flexible as we can possibly make it. It should not be a straitjacket for the peoples of Europe but should be their common mainstay, a common support ...”

“The Soviet Government and the Soviet people should not lend themselves to co-operating in the conversion into a concentration camp of part of a large neighbouring country against the will of its in...”

“A reformation of relations between the Soviet people and the German people is not possible along the lines pursued by the authorities of the Soviet zone of Germany. The Germans in that zone have co...”

“The Federal Government and with it all Germans in the Federal Republic of Germany feel in these days particularly close to the Germans in the Soviet-occupied zone. We are all aware of the obligatio...”

“Make Europe your revenge.”

“I see the significance of the Marshall Plan in the fact that probably for the first time in history a victorious country held out its hand so that the vanquished might rise again.”

“I am a German, but I am also, and always have been, a European and have always felt like a European. I have therefore long advocated an understanding with France; I did so, moreover, in the 1920s, ...”

“The French fear of German resurgence which caused France to press for a policy of dismemberment of Germany seemed to be altogether exaggerated. After 1945 Germany lay prostrate - militarily, econom...”