President von Weizsäcker,
Bob Kerrey, President of the New School,
Julien Studley,
Gary Smith,
Professor Stern,
Honoured guests,
If I continue to greet those present by name, I will never end, such are the numbers of distinguished men and women who are here today.
Professor Stern, I would like to start by thanking you for your kind words. I especially liked your description of the "forced passivity" that accumulated during the GDR years. I think there's a lot of truth in what you said. And I say that not least in light of my past as a theoretical physicist. For of course the democracy in the other half of , which I had not personally experienced but which I could imagine, gave rise to many moments of reflection in my life. During the period of German unification, it was my firm conviction that the key difference between the now defunct GDR and the was that the was a system in line with human nature and thus a rational, self-explanatory system.
It is indeed a system in line with human nature. With this year's celebrations of 60 years of the Federal Republic of Germany, we are in effect celebrating 60 years of German happiness. We are celebrating a constitution, the Basic Law, which is built on the freedom of all people and on the inalienability of human dignity. I have not been spared some disappointments as regards the subject of rational explanations for everything that happens in this . But the political rules that are most widely accepted – of this I am still convinced today – are those that can be explained by reference to common sense.
The Federal Republic of Germany will turn 60 this year, but that is not all. 2009 also marks 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and is the 75th anniversary of the University in Exile within the . The gathering here today is thus indeed something very special. The anniversary celebrations here in draw attention to the historical roots of the . Over the years, an unusual German-American relationship has indeed sprung from these roots. This is something we may look back on with gratitude. And draw confidence from as we seek to build the future.
Since its beginnings in 1919, the has been characterized by democratic values and a commitment to intellectual freedom. These intellectual roots continue to attract students from around the world, for the spirit of freedom is something that endures over time. The was founded by a group of American intellectuals who cherished a dream of a seat of academic learning as a forum for the free exchange of ideas and critical discourse. This dream ultimately resulted in the establishment of the . Interestingly enough, the founders modelled it on the German "Volkshochschulen", which were established for adults after 1918 and played a major role in providing access to education for broad swathes of the population.
In the 1920s, the research activities of Alvin Johnson, the 's first president, brought him into close contact with colleagues across and . Alvin Johnson was thus extremely conscious of the terrible threat to freedom, democracy and peace posed when the Nazis seized power. He became aware of how little scope would soon be left in for intellectual freedom and human rights. He therefore decided to act fast, and in 1933 founded the University in Exile as part of the.
In line with the liberal tradition of the , he wanted to offer a new intellectual home to scholars who were increasingly excluded from academic life in and whose lives were threatened by the National Socialists. The result was a unique institution. It became a haven for many scholars, their salvation from reprisals and persecution. The university took in more than 180 academics, most of them Jewish, in the years up to 1945. The careers of noted scholars such as Emil Lederer, Max Wertheimer and Erich von Hornbostel would not have progressed as they did had the University in Exile not existed. They were followed by many other European and German scholars, all of whom have contributed to the outstanding reputation of the institution.
The University came to be characterized by the unparalleled synthesis that resulted when progressive American thought was brought into contact with specifically German social and intellectual traditions. The Graduate Faculty was thus able to establish itself as a prominent think-tank for Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Back then, the work of eminent scholars turned a crisis into a new opportunity, precisely because they themselves perceived an opportunity in that crisis. The School also gained in status – as Professor Stern mentioned – from the revolutionary work of Max Wertheimer in the field of cognitive psychology. The trailblazing work of Hannah Arendt in political theory has likewise not been forgotten.
The for Social Research, born from the threat to intellectual freedom posed by National Socialism, ultimately became a symbol for the power of intellectual freedom. This is best expressed by the motto adopted by the School: "To the living spirit". This phrase was suggested by Thomas Mann in 1937 after the Nazis had removed this very inscription from one of the buildings of . In his speech, Thomas Mann appealed to the to make this the guiding motto of the Graduate Faculty. The idea was to thereby send a message to indicate that the spirit of inquiry would endure in the , despite the best efforts of the Nazi dictatorship to suppress it. The School has remained true to this principle.
The genesis of the University in Exile illustrates the strength and determination that the yearning for freedom can generate. It also illustrates the "fragility of freedom". This is a term coined by Professor Stern. In your memoirs, Professor, you describe the "fragility of freedom" as the "simplest and deepest lesson" of your life and work.
It is also the reason why I view the degree I have been awarded today not only as an honour, but also as a personal obligation to do all I can to safeguard this priceless commodity, freedom. Never again may xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism be given a chance in and . That is easily said, but the number of right-wing radical crimes committed in recent times have reminded us once again that not everyone has heeded this call. Never again may we tolerate restrictions imposed on freedom of thought, speech or action. Never again may people be stigmatized as social outsiders on the basis of their origins. Many people in our country will have to work on this, as well, before it can become reality.
If people are to live together in peace within a single society or around the world, in spite of all the differences in their views and interests, we have to be ready to stand up for freedom at every turn – for freedom of expression, for freedom of religion, for the freedom for each individual to fulfil his or her potential.
Freedom certainly does not mean freedom from obligation, freedom to do as one would like. Freedom must be exercised responsibly. Today, it is however all too often understood as freedom from responsibility. But one person's freedom has to exist in conjunction with other people's freedom. And that is where policy-makers are called upon to act. In other words, upholding the basic human right of freedom entails a mutual give and take. This can ultimately only really happen on the basis of dialogue and tolerance, be it in society in general or politics in particular, be it at national or international level. Hannah Arendt put this very nicely. She said that freedom was the raison d'être of politics.
The history of the University in Exile is an impressive example of what belief in the power of freedom can achieve. More than any other country in the world, the stands for precisely that. Following the Shoah, that negation of everything civilized, and the Communist dictatorship in the GDR, we in were particularly made to realize the value of freedom, of human dignity and democracy. It was also the power of freedom that allowed to rise up from the ruins of the Second World War and become a prosperous economy and democracy. And it was the power of freedom that made German Unity a reality after so many years.
We in are fully aware of the value of freedom – thanks in particular to the , as I would like to underscore once again from this podium. It is the values of freedom, of respecting the dignity of each and every individual, of democracy and the rule of law that form the bond between our two countries and peoples. As partners who trust in each other, we are today looking ahead together to the future. And for this reason, I would also like to take this opportunity to say that we are looking forward to a new chapter in German-American cooperation with the new President, Barack Obama, and with his Administration.
Richard Holbrooke, who is not physically here with us today, is a guiding light in this house. And the fact that he has now been given one of the most difficult jobs in the world, that of finding a way of fostering a more peaceful, stable balance in the Afghan-Pakistan region, also underscores an enduring link between the United States of America, the American Academy where we are today, and the German Government. Incidentally, we agreed to work closely with him at the Munich Security Conference a few days ago.
We want and must of course address the challenges of the 21st century shoulder to shoulder, with great determination. We know today that no single country in the world can solve the world's problems alone. We can only solve them if we work together. Our first talks with US representatives, as well as my first telephone conversation with Barack Obama after the elections, have made this determination and this common understanding abundantly clear. The task now is thus to combine our strengths, not least in view of the complex security situation, the numerous international problems and a global economic and financial crisis that surpasses anything we have seen for decades.
When one is in the midst of such a crisis, it is always difficult to assess its place in history. We have also seen that experts can indeed err in their assessments. I will therefore not waste any time trying to compare the seriousness of this crisis with others. However, it is a fact that the crisis we are now experiencing is a global and profound crisis from which next to nobody has been spared. We should seize this crisis as an opportunity to do something that we have so far failed to do sufficiently, i.e. give globalization a political dimension.
We know that globalization is an economic fact. Thanks to advances in information and communications technology, the world has rapidly become interconnected to a degree unparalleled in history. But we do not yet have the instruments we need to realize the political dimension of this new world. We all agree that it is no longer possible for any country in the world to solve the problems on its own. For this reason international rules will follow. I have the distinct impression that the new US Administration, too, resolutely favours such a step.
However, I would also like to say that it is absolutely vital for us to learn from this crisis in order to minimize the chances of a repetition. For the crisis of course also challenges people's confidence in politics and in policy-makers' proactive role. If people get the impression that politics is simply clearing up after the event, our claims to be creating the space in which people can exercise freedom responsibly will start to look hollow.
This crisis has been wrought by market excesses combined with insufficient regulation. We therefore have to draw the right lessons from this – hopefully at the G20 Summit on 2 April when we will discuss greater transparency on the financial markets. In other words, freedom always requires action by the state to provide a framework within which all may live in freedom. We will together strive to perform this task.
We in Germany have 60 years' experience of a social market economy, and have thus always assumed that the sine qua non of successful economic activity is freedom of the individual, his or her participation on an equal basis in the market, but that the state, as the system's caretaker, must ensure that the brakes and balances are kept in good repair. It is precisely this relationship between the brakes and individual freedom that will be at the heart of the international debate.
It is my firm conviction that the 21st century must be the century in which the free, democratic western countries learn that they can only spend the wealth they themselves have created. Otherwise we will always end up with excessive inequalities in the world, which greatly heighten the risks of such crises, and which also increase the danger that political influence may be exercised by world regions which do not offer freedom or uphold human dignity – and this is something I myself do not wish to see happen.
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, we have many tasks to tackle. I believe that 2009 will be an extremely important year, for us and for the new US Administration, because of the need to address the international economic and financial crisis and not least because of the work to be done in the field of climate protection and sustainable energy consumption, to mention but a few of the challenges – we must in particular sign an agreement for the post-Kyoto period. But everything comes back down to our common understanding that humans can only coexist on this planet if they have clear, binding rules on which they can rely. I have therefore proposed that we develop a charter for sustainable economic activity which plainly sets out the principles that guide us all.
After World War II, the international community found the strength and determination to establish the United Nations and adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. People often say how badly the UN works. But if we stop to consider what a tremendous effort it would take to found it now, should it not already exist, we soon realize how far-sightedly the international community acted back then, in the aftermath of the Nazi reign of terror and the Second World War. It is my wish that we should make a similar tremendous effort on the economic and sustainability front. In my opinion the chances of success are better now than ever before.
The and the European Union would have to cooperate closely on such a project. We have agreed on a Transatlantic Economic Council, although we do sometimes seem to have difficulty seeing the wood for the trees. I do not want to talk about chlorinated chickens or other barriers to trade that we Europeans are erecting. Of course, one could talk about American barriers. But since my aim today is to be nice and polite, I will limit myself to that one comment on our misdeeds.
But I do think that the basic idea that successful economic areas such as the European Union and the should cooperate more closely and intensively is absolutely right and should be taken further. The same applies to the idea that we should not increase costs by imposing more regulation and more standards when the money could be better spent on research and development as well as development assistance.
Ladies and gentlemen, the honorary doctorate I have received today makes me feel that little bit more American. It will strengthen my resolve to continue to serve my country in a spirit of German-American cooperation, openness to the world, and freedom. I would like to thank you most sincerely for honouring me in this way at this special juncture, in the 75th anniversary year of the , which is an integral element in German-American relations. I wish you all the best, and would like to thank you for the gift of these new American roots.
