from Witnesses of the 20th Century
from Witnesses of the 20th Century
Sample memories from prominent witnesses of the 20th Century(Please click on the name to
see the complete text)
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"...The world has become much smaller
through
this progress, but not more peaceful...."
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Dr. Ernst Albrecht former Prime Minister of Lower Saxony |
(Book
excerpt - only available in German) |
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"...The
Jewish people spent 2000 years in
exile. The 20th Century brought them back to their homeland and their
first political independence in many centuries...." |
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"...the 20th century has been the most brutal in human history..." |
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Dr.
Klaus von
Dohnanyi Former Mayor of Hamburg |
"The most important thing may be that the 20th century has created confusing certainties out of mankinds presentiments: Our scientific-technical potential has revealed itself as nearly unlimited..." |
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"...Since the beginning of modern times each
turn of a century has been an extraordinary creative period in which -
through human spirit and will - new and sign posting perspectives were
discovered with fantasy...."
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Rainer
Eppelmann former Minister |
"Our past catches us again and again. It is
strong and vivid, and we are witnesses for it to catch us up again
every day..."
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Miep Gies Helper of Anne Frank |
"Looking
back at the twentieth century is in
many ways like awakening from a nightmare..." |
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Dr.
Otto von
Habsburg President of the Paneuropa-Union and son of the last Austrian Emperor |
"One who knows history may learn from it that Bismarck´s word, that one can do everything with bayonets but sit on them, means the expression of a fundamental truth in politics." |
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Anderl Heckmair Mountain climber First Ascender of the Eiger North Face |
(Book excerpt - only available in German) |
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Hans-Olaf Henkel former BDI president |
(Book excerpt - only available in German) |
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Prof. Dr.
Guido Knopp ZDF - Contemporary History |
"The 20th century was as fascinating as
terrible — a century which burdened more good than evil to the
people and
gave more than any other century before..."
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"...Who could guess in 1899 during the
heigth of
believe in progress ... what one might expect in the 20th century? For
only
one thing we all hope in 1999: The 21st century nay become better than
the
20th with its gigantic progress and its gigantic wars and crimes,
archipelago Gulag and holocaust..."
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"...With in deed zwo world wars the last
century has set up a horrifying record...."
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Graf
Montgelas Descendant of former Bavarian Minister Maximilian Graf v. Montgelas |
"A completely new mission was handed over to me by my family, when I had to take over our families property in 1969, more or less surprisingly. There it was my duty to transfer a completely conservative company into the 20th century, nearly in piecework" |
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"...From a global view the 20th century has
been a century of two huge wars, which reached their destructive climax
with the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For Europe it was a
century of
two dictatorships..."
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Singer and Grand-Prix Winner |
"After 27
years Germany has finally managed to
take the victory home..." |
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Pettersson
Brigitte Secretary and close friend of Zarah Leander |
"When I saw her for the first time “live” in Düsseldorf on stage I was overwhelmed. ZARAH became my idol. In Berlin a “Zarah-Leander-Club“ was founded and I became a member." |
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Will
Quadflieg
Artist/Producer |
"...On the brink of German history, and
under
the burden of the million murdered..."
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Prof.
Dr.
Marcel Reich-Ranicki Author, Journalist |
"A moment later I turned
my gun to the blue and sunny, the merciless and cruel sky, and I shot.
I was my
first and last shot during the Second World War, the first and last in
my life." |
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Dr. h.c.
Rudolf Seiters former German Interior Minister Parlaments former Vice President |
"For me the most impressing aspect of the past is that the people at the end of the 20th century have learned from the mistakes of the first half of the century. |
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Prof. Dr. Heinz Sielmann Animal film maker |
"When I think about the past century I certainly remember the world shattering events: the wars, the technological progress. But I also think about a period of massive destruction of nature!" |
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Hugo
Strasser Artist "King of Swing" |
"...an
incredible technical development in all areas. From
the gas lights to the laser beam. From
gramophone to the super stereo system. From
the
two-stroke-engine over the jet aircraft to the landing on the moon."
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"...Behind us lays a century with ups and
downs. With two world wars and the resulting separation, Germany has
been especially affected..."
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Prof.
Dr. Ernst
Ulrich von Weizsäcker Member of the German Parliament |
"...first, the 20th century has become the one of the breakthrough, the dominance of economic thinking, and second, this dominance of economic thinking won´t last longer than about a hundred years." |
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| Jens Andresen |
"The 20th century´s most incisive change for humanity was television. Events which took place somewhere in the world became real and appreciable through moving pictures." | |
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"...For me the most important development of
the 20th century was the quantum physics and the philosophical
consequences
related to it. ("Kopenhagen Interpretation" from Bohr and Heisenberg).
In
this I see the core of a new view of the world, which, as I hope, bring
a
new era to mankind ..."
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Send us your thoughts!
We thank Steffi Graf for her support though personal autographs!
