1 Address by Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier Federal Minister for

Address
by Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
at the official memorial ceremony for Dr. Richard von Weizsäcker,
former President of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Berlin, 11 February 2015
Federal President, Excellencies, distinguished guests!
Dear Mrs von Weizsäcker, dear von Weizsäcker family!
Sometimes, there are bright moments, when neither armies, nor war, nor coercion
make history – but words do.
“Words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds”, Elie Wiesel
once said. Richard von Weizsäcker knew that.
His speech on German history made German history. When he spoke of a “day of
liberation”, his words were liberating for our country. The 8th of May 1985 was such a
‘bright moment’ of history.
Richard von Weizsäcker’s words became deeds in three ways:
Richard von Weizsäcker inspired new trust in our country around the world. This trust
was vital on the road to reunification. It is vital until this day.
Richard von Weizsäcker demanded truthfulness of Germany: Liberation, not defeat.
No 1945 without 1933. These words completed in spoken language what, through a
gesture, Willy Brandt had begun in the Warsaw ghetto.
Thirdly, Richard von Weizsäcker built a bridge between generations. In my mind’s
eye, I can still see the Bundestag lectern: his stature – Federal President, a liberal
aristocrat from a generations-old elite: How his words sounded in the ears of my
generation, in my own ears: those of a student, of a young Social Democrat, a
carpenter’s son!
These words could only have the impact they had because they were his words:
Richard von Weizsäcker’s. His words rang true to young and to old, to Germany and
to the world, because they rang true to who he was!
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Not armies, not war, not coercion – but words can shape the course of events. How
vitally important is this hope, especially in these perilous times! Above all: What
would foreign policy be without this hope?
For Richard von Weizsäcker, in words lay the hope of peace. For words are two
things: they are an invitation to dialogue by means of reason; and they are an
expression of one’s own –if you will forgive that old-fashioned phrase – moral
bearings.
The statesman Richard von Weizsäcker lived by this hope. He never simply uttered
words. Rather he sought to bring words into reality.
He not only spoke of reconciliation. He actively fostered trust among our
neighbours – in Poland, in France. He did so consistently over decades and began
even before his Presidency when he helped to pass the Ostverträge, the series of
treaties with Eastern bloc countries, in the Bundestag in Bonn.
He not only spoke of conflicts and human suffering. Rather he searched for causes
and solutions, and to that end – even long after his Presidency – he did not shy away
from the tough, the difficult conversations. “A friend of dialogue is a friend of peace”,
he once said.
Above all, however, the individual Richard von Weizsäcker personified this hope.
As a Christian, he was aware of the power of words and lived by St. Paul’s
pronouncement: “I appeal to you that all of you have one speech, and that there be
no divisions among you.” Even after this day of parting, we remain bound to his ideal,
just as he appealed to young people at the very end of his speech on 8 May 1985:
“Learn to live with each other, not against each other.”
I met Richard von Weizsäcker for the last time twelve weeks ago. It was a moving
encounter – not through words, but through music.
For Richard von Weizsäcker, there was a realm beyond words with a deep and
powerful impact: the arts, especially music, which -from his childhood days- he
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cherished throughout his life. He once said that “music is like the miracle of
Pentecost, for ears hear music in every language.”
I was fortunate to witness such a ‘miracle of Pentecost’ during our last encounter. A
group of young musicians were playing Felix Mendelssohn’s String Octet, and –
seated next to von Weizsäcker – I saw how his features, already pale and drawn, by
the very first notes were transformed and infused with a deep, glowing joy and
remained so until the last chord.
I will remember this image for a long time to come.
And when, in just a moment, the clarinet starts playing the wonderful melody from
Mozart’s Stadler Quintet, I will think of the words of Richard von Weizsäcker: “In
culture”, he said, “man finds to himself”. And so I hope that we will find to him one
last time.
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