It is my pleasure to bid you all a very warm welcome to a very special birthday celebration, here in this very special place! Here in the heart of Berlin, close to the Reichstag. A place which stands like almost no other for the turbulent history of our country, but which has also helped shape the history of democracy.
Here in this place, on 9 November 1918, Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the first German republic. Here in this place, in September 1948, Ernst Reuter issued his memorable appeal to the world and to the people of Berlin. Here in this place, in 1990, the all-German parliament sat for the first time. And right here, in the heart of Berlin, we are holding this ceremony to celebrate our democracy’s new beginning 75 years ago. I am pleased to have you here. Welcome!
We thank those who gave us the foundation of a new liberal and democratic order. And we thank those who, 35 years ago, fought and won against dictatorship and made democracy possible in the whole of Germany. The Basic Law and the Peaceful Revolution, what a great fortune that is to have in our hands! I hope that we will remain conscious of this.
The Basic Law was adopted 75 years ago today. It was never created for all eternity, and yet it has survived, has seen us through the years. Even three quarters of a century later it is not old, let alone outdated, although it is now one of the longest-standing constitutions anywhere and has become a model for many others.
It was to be a temporary solution. But what a solution it turned out to be! It was a masterpiece, this work that was passionately debated, struggled over, brought into being in such a short time, just two weeks for the initial experts’ draft at Herrenchiemsee and then a few months in the Parliamentary Council. 12,500 words. Strikingly clear, often plainly put and yet so elegant. 12,500 words in 146 articles, that was all they needed, those four women and sixty-one men, to set out the foundation of the second German democracy – kept open for those in the East who were prevented by the Soviet occupying power from embarking on the path to democracy. I firmly believe that this constitution is one of the best things Germany has produced.
A miracle, in fact, when we consider the conditions in which this great work took shape. In the wake of the barbarity of National Socialism, our country was destroyed and morally shattered. Its cities were devastated, countless people had nowhere to call home, millions had fled or been expelled from the east, millions were still prisoners of war.
What kind of state could one expect to create in such circumstances? And what were the preoccupations of the people who were entrusted with this task? The women and men of the Parliamentary Council were marked by dictatorship, war and genocide. They learned from the history of the Weimar democracy. They were united by a shared experience, of terrible crimes being committed in the name of the state. The torture victims of Dachau and Buchenwald, the murdered of Auschwitz, the fallen of Stalingrad, the millions of dead across Europe, they should not be forgotten in this new Germany. Never again should a state be misused for such crimes. The state should serve the people, not the other way around. Never again! That is the legacy that we must also be guided by today.
And in those days in particular, the Basic Law was the first step towards a brighter future. At its core is the promise of freedom, laid down in nineteen fundamental rights, binding and legally enforceable. Above it all shines a fixed star, that great and brilliant sentence in Article 1 that uniquely distils the experiences of Nazi tyranny and the expectations pinned to the future republic. The sentence that we have just heard from Margot Friedländer: “Human dignity shall be inviolable.” This sentence has lost nothing of its significance, nothing of its impact. It is the categorical imperative of our constitutional order, and it is at once a moral commitment voluntarily taken on.
The Basic Law guarantees freedom, and it expects responsibility. This is the understanding that underpins the text of the constitution. It creates a stable structure within which people were able to feel increasingly comfortable and secure, within which society was able to develop and regenerate. It is a model for peaceful coexistence in a diverse society – remembering history, yes, but also embracing the future.
We look upon the work of the mothers and fathers of the Basic Law with awe and with gratitude. What they brought into being 75 years ago is a wonderful gift. A gift that must not only be remembered but that we must nurture, preserve and defend in the everyday life of our Republic, in the everyday life of democracy. I firmly believe that this constitution is worth protecting – and celebrating, as we are doing today!
The Basic Law is turning 75, but it is a double anniversary that we are celebrating this year: 1949 and 1989. Seventy-five years since the birth of the Basic Law. Thirty-five years since the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It may be an historical coincidence that these two anniversaries coincide. But it is a happy twist of fate nonetheless.
The very Preamble of the Basic Law addresses “the entire German people”. The mothers and fathers of the constitution already suspected that a united Germany was still far off. The hope that emanated from this first preamble is all the more poignant as a result. It was to be forty years before the promise of freedom set out in the Basic Law could be fulfilled for all Germans, forty years in which many women and men in the GDR dreamed of the rights and liberties that the Basic Law guaranteed. It is for precisely these freedoms that they rose up in 1953, and then in their hundreds of thousands in 1989. It is to them and their courage that we owe the reunification of our long-divided, torn-apart country.
It was the gift of a second chance, as the great historian Fritz Stern said. Freedom and unity, fought for and won by the courage of the people in what was then the GDR. We bow our heads before their courage!
Not everything has worked out since then, but we have managed to do so much together. This is why it pains me when some people in the east ask me: What does the anniversary of the Basic Law have to do with me? But equally, it disturbs me to see that some people in the west still do not want to accept that our entire country has changed since 1989. And so the question of whether Germans east and west can consider our Basic Law to be a shared foundation is anything but trivial.
After all, this foundation draws from and was built from so much that we share. Our visions of democracy today have their roots in a German democratic history that goes back further than 1949, further still than the Weimar Republic. These roots go back to the struggles for freedom and democracy by the parliamentary movement of the 1830s and 1840s. That is the liberal tradition that nourishes our Basic Law. That is our shared foundation.
Our Basic Law has proven its worth in our reunified country for almost three and a half decades. We have grown together, into a country that is today much more than the sum of two parts, a country that has changed to become something new. The Basic Law has paved the way time and again. It is a constitution of freedom, for which so many countries around the world envy us.
1949. 1989. These are the two crucial milestones in the history of our Republic. The Basic Law and the Peaceful Revolution, they made the second German democracy and made us what we are today. We are celebrating together because we belong together!
But if we are honest, on a day of celebration such as today pride mingles with unease. Some people ask: What remains of the great promises made by the Basic Law? When human dignity is guaranteed – and yet many people are ever more implacably hostile to one another? When antisemitism continues to grow, and hatred of those who think differently becomes routine? How can we reconcile it with our Basic Law when journalists are threatened and attacked, when fake news floods social media and spaces for debate become ever narrower? And how can we reconcile it when, despite equal rights and the prohibition of discrimination, women are pilloried online in the vilest manner because they are women?
Yes, the tension between our constitution and our constitutional reality cannot be overlooked. However, the result must be not a critical view of our constitution, but of our reality! Because the Basic Law does not take stock, it imparts a task. It is not the end goal, but a compass. Our Basic Law does not say what we are. It shows us what we can be. And so it is a call to action for us, for our future. It demands courage, drive and a clear view of reality.
We must recognise that this reality has radically changed. After decades of more prosperity, more democracy, more Europe, more peace, the great fortune of German unity, we are living through a watershed era. With Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine, war has returned to Europe, a cynical war of aggression that has plunged us into an uncertainty we thought we had overcome.
That not only changes the priorities in politics. It also affects people’s everyday lives. Some of the certainties that shaped our lives have dwindled. We are living in a new age of bewildering complexity. The pandemic, inflation, economic crisis, the impact of climate change, the terror of Hamas, the war in the Middle East and the humanitarian disaster there – one crisis follows another. I expect that you all often hear friends or neighbours say: “I’ve stopped watching the news.” On a human level, that may be understandable. But withdrawing from reality is not a solution.
For me, it is clear that we are living in an age in which we must prove ourselves. Tough years, harder years are coming. The response to this cannot and must not be despondency or self-doubt. It would be quite wrong for us to bury our heads in the sand or to dream of a more comfortable past. I am also firmly convinced that it is wrong to invoke the downfall of our country on a daily basis. All that leads to paralysis, it doesn’t help us. We now need to stand our ground – with realism, with ambition. That is the task of our times. Self-assertion is the task of our times.
And self-assertion begins with a clear view of what has to be done. We need to defend the values that define us in essence. They have to be non-negotiable. But we must define our goals more clearly and adapt them to the new challenges. And above all, we must speak openly about the scale of the task and the responsibility that arises from it for us, for policymakers, but also for each one of us individually.
What is clear is that the threat coming from Russia is also a threat to us, and it is not simply going to disappear. No one knows better than Ukraine that anyone who loves freedom must not give way in the face of the aggressor. This is also true for us. And nobody knows when Putin’s thirst for power will be quenched.
In my view it is vital that we do more for our security. We must invest in our defence, we must strengthen our alliance. And we need the financial resources to do so. But let us not forget what else we need: a strong society. A strong society which knows the value of freedom, which is prepared to confront threats to this freedom and demonstrate cohesion. Cohesion doesn’t mean that everyone shares the same views. Cohesion means being aware that we need one another, despite our differences. This knowledge comes from experience, from interaction – and we need to bolster these qualities.
Military security and social resilience go hand in hand. And so we should not be afraid to debate forms of military service and of other service for our community, but should hold these debates and combine them.
More investment in security in economically challenging times: Is our country in a position to cope with the effort this needs in addition to the huge challenges posed by climate change, social security provision and the financial crisis? Can our society overcome the conflicts that will result from this?
Here, I believe, one of the next major responsibilities of the coming years is waiting for us. We need to prepare ourselves for it: in the coming years we will encounter not less conflict, but more. The fight for financial resources will become harder, and thus also the fight for what is important to us.
And now, at the very time when we urgently need our democracy because it alone is capable of resolving conflict peacefully, because it is open to compromise and change, at this of all times our democracy itself is coming under pressure. At this of all times, forces are gaining ground which want to weaken and erode it, which despise its institutions, insult and denigrate its representatives. Yes, our democracy is a success. But it is not eternally guaranteed. We can’t look to others to protect it. We must protect it ourselves. It’s up to each and every one of us!
Self-assertion is the task of our times. But we will only be able to stand our ground as a strong democracy. And that is precisely why we now need citizens who are not apathetic towards our communities. Who say what they think, express their concerns, but who can distinguish between justified criticism and all-out attacks on our political system. And that is precisely why we now have to reach out to the citizens of our country and convince those who are not extremists but who are struggling with our politics, our society, occasionally with democracy.
It’s strange: after all, we are all talking, messaging, posting, emailing more and more, day and night, on all channels. And yet more and more people have the impression that they are not being heard and not being understood.
Policymakers need to concede, and this is nothing new, that they often fail to adequately explain what they do and why they do it. And why sometimes areas of ambivalence remain and must remain. Why we stand by Israel’s right to self-defence and at the same time advocate for humanitarian protection and essential supplies for the people in Gaza. And why it is right to do both. Why we cannot let up in the fight against climate change. And why Europe, why the European Union is so endlessly important for us.
Policymakers must also answer the questions that many people in our country are asking. Why are some children leaving our primary schools unable to read and write? Why are bridges in disrepair, why do approval procedures take so long? Is it not possible to keep pursuing a humane refugee policy without us taking on more than we can handle? How can we co-exist peacefully in a country that is more diverse than 1949 and also more diverse than 1989?
None of these questions is new. And it isn’t extremists who are posing them. They often come from the heart of society. We need to do what we can to find convincing answers, including to tackle the causes of the growing rift between politics and society. For in an increasingly polarised society where “those at the bottom of the heap” just talk about “those at the top”, trust in democratic institutions dwindles. Yet for a stable and strong democracy we need both: functioning political institutions and citizens who make democracy their affair.
The coming years will place high demands on all of us – but particularly on those with political responsibility. We need politicians who work persistently to find solutions, with passion for their cause and in a way that does justice to the seriousness of the situation. We need the wrestling between political parties to find the best possible solutions. We will hopefully be able to hold on to something that has made us strong: the ability of all democratic parties to cooperate where the common good is affected or even under threat. The shared values of democrats are what is called for when democracy is under attack.
In a few days’ time I will speak at the memorial service for Walter Lübcke. Five years ago Lübcke, a politician for many years and latterly Regional Commissioner of Kassel, was assassinated in cold blood because he stood for an open and tolerant society. His death – like the crimes of Solingen, Hanau, Halle, the victims of the National Socialist Underground – is an admonishment and a warning to us of how hatred can lead to violence.
Recently we have heard reports of elected officials and people who are active in politics being physically attacked on an almost daily basis. I must admit that I am deeply concerned about the increasing brutality of the political tone in our country.
Democracy needs competition, it even needs dispute. It can stand polemicisation and the toughest degree of confrontation. But there is one thing we of all people should know: violence destroys democracy. It sows fear. It sows distrust. It discourages. It silences the people whom democracy needs. Whoever has to live in fear for themselves and their family will not step up to shoulder political responsibility.
I have met many who have given up, who could no longer stand the insults and defamation. Yet our democracy – particularly in cities and municipalities – needs people who are willing to assume responsibility, who work to keep their community attractive and appealing. Without them, our democracy will wither at the roots and then dry up from the base. That, too, is why we cannot afford to give violence any leeway in democracy.
It is the responsibility of the state and its institutions to use the full force of the law to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable. Yet we all bear responsibility for creating a political culture in which democracy can thrive. And that means that we must take a decisive stand against everything which carries the seeds of violence, which paves the way for violence: contempt for human life, hate speech targeting minorities, hatred. All that has no place in a democracy.
We must never grow accustomed to violence in the arena of political public opinion. We must outlaw it! Outlaw it in no uncertain terms.
Who knew better than the mothers and fathers of the Basic Law how violence can undermine a democracy and demolish its foundations? This knowledge was painful. They had seen Germany’s descent into barbarism. They had seen how the Germans wrecked their first democracy. How a democracy can crumble from within if it cannot rely on the support of the majority of its citizens, if this majority does not stand by it. How the enemies of democracy can destroy it – using the means of democracy.
These experiences are combined in the unforgotten warning from Carlo Schmid: “Have the courage to show intolerance towards those who want to use democracy to stifle it.” This sentence is not history. It is an appeal to us.
Today, in the seventy-fifth year of the Basic Law, we are called upon to defend the achievements of freedom and democracy. And that is a question of attitude.
When in recent months hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets throughout the country – young and old, from cities and from rural areas, people with very different political views – when they have all taken to the streets to demonstrate for a peaceful community, when entrepreneurs and works councils have set clear boundaries in the face of hatred and fanatical populism, I have been encouraged. I was also pleased to hear about an appeal by all of the Minister Presidents for a “summer of democracy” – a contribution to the anniversary of the Basic Law which since yesterday has met with considerable and widespread support.
They have all shown that our democracy is robust. Whoever attacks our liberal democracy today should know that this time they are dealing with a fighting democracy and fighting democrats.
I would like to thank all those who adopt this stance. And I would like to thank all those who are now willing in large numbers to embrace precisely this responsibility. What we now need are citizens who don’t say: Why should I care about that? But who say: I’ll take care of it. And there are many millions of people like this in our country. Volunteers who get involved, including a great many immigrants who have shaped our country for decades; young people on whom the pandemic had a severe impact but who nonetheless put themselves at the service of the community. They are all the stable backbone of our democracy. It is precisely this engagement which strengthens us and which fosters cohesion. Let us call precisely this strength to mind!
I am sure that with courage, strength and confidence in ourselves we will also be able to get through this time of testing. Today, in the seventy-fifth year of the Basic Law, let us renew its promise: let us take a joint stand against the enemies of democracy. Let us tolerate what divides us but strengthen what unites us.
In 1949, our country lay in ruins. The mothers and fathers of the Basic Law nonetheless had the courage to draw up plans for a bright future. In 1989, the Communist dictatorship seemed insurmountable. The people in the GDR nonetheless tore down the Wall.
The mothers and fathers of the Basic Law wanted to build a better Germany. They bequeathed to us a liberal, a democratic, a good Germany. Let us preserve the legacy with which they entrusted us. Let us pass it on.
Now it is our turn to stand our ground in difficult times. It is our turn to write the next chapter in the story of democracy. I ask this of you: Let us embrace this task together – with our heads held high and our faces turned towards one another!