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Comrade out an hour is dead like an old oak tree up rooted in a storm. He has gone from our midst. Not only did he had the government of the Federal Republic of Germany for 14 years but after the war he took over the leadership of a defeated crushed and humiliated nation and guided it like a prophet on to a new path regardless of setbacks and undeterred by dangers and opposition. He inspired the German people to adopt new ideals and regain the world's respect for a despised and humiliated nation. When he relinquished the reins after nearly a decade and a half. Not all his objectives had been attained but the German people had recaptured its self confidence it had regained its role in international affairs and was accepted as a reliable and responsible member of the family of nations. In one thousand fifty two only three years after he had become chancellor Dr. Arden now it was described by so Winston Churchill as the greatest German statesman since
Bismarck. Like a mountain he towered over the scene presented by post-war Germany and stamped it with his own personality. The epic quite rightly became known as the art in our era. His greatness is not disputed. Not even by his political opponents as Bismarck was known as The Iron Chancellor. So he was often called the wooden Chancellor. Not only because of his impassive and unruffled air in political debate and his strength of will but also because of his single mindedness of his policy and the clarity of his intellect. He will not go down in German history as just one in a long line of heads of government. But as the greatest figure of his lifetime and perhaps as the strongest personality of all in Germany in this century the German people together with many others throughout the world is now mourning his death. Doctor cannot out and how I was a staunch advocate of democracy he became the first
chancellor of the new Federal Republic of Germany after his party the Christian Democratic Union had won the elections in one thousand forty nine. He was re-elected for three more terms in one thousand fifty three thousand nine hundred fifty seven and one thousand sixty one. As a Democrat however he possessed unusual qualities. He was to quote President to go. A man of character a man born to authority a man difficult to fathom and at times even puzzling with his authority he dominated the German political scene for more than a decade. The first president of the Federal Republic Professor théodore hoists once jokingly said that Comrade out an hour was carved from the same wood as the rulers of the Renaissance. But unlike them he was imbued with a strong sense of duty towards his fellow man. At the height of his career Dr. Adenauer once said that a politician's most important virtue was courage
equality in which he himself was never found lacking a quality he demonstrated from the very first day he became chancellor by adopting and implementing a policy which stood out in marked contrast to traditional German political thought. Instead of pursuing national aims at all costs instead of attempting to exploit Germany's Central geographical position in the tug of war between east and west and seeking pretext to avenge the country's defeat he took a totally different path. As soon as he became chancellor he did his utmost to gain the world's confidence he sought allies and not enemies. And above all he began the task of replacing the age old enmity between Germany and France by bonds of friendship. Even in the absence of other ideals this aim alone which is so fundamentally changed the face of Europe would have assured his place in history when in June 1962
he and President to go took the salute at a parade of German and French troops at Mom alone twice the scene of battles between the two countries in the century and afterwards when he knelt down together with the French president at high mass in Rheims Cathedral. A long chapter of European history was closed and a new one begun. Since then the two nations whose traditional enmity had burdened Europe since the time of card in our show Lou and which had contributed a great deal towards her decline have been united in friendship. For this we are indebted to a few men who possess the foresight and courage at the beginning of the 1950s to plan and build a New York comrade out an hour was one of them. When he took over the government of the Federal Republic Germany's political economic and social life was in chaos and what was worse the German people lacked direction and even hope in the future. But though the late
Chancellor clearly visualize the paths to be trodden by Germany and Europe too. In the years that lay ahead he was not the man to herald a new policy promising success overnight. For him the task of reconciliation the task of uniting the peoples of Europe wherever possible in one community and of removing the stigma attached to the name of the German nation was one to be carried out calmly and with deliberation. The way I had it was by no means easy. At first he met with mis understanding and came up against strong opposition in parliament. Not everyone possessed his foresight but finally events proved him right under his leadership the German people regained its self-respect and derives fresh inspiration from his vision of the Europe of the future. He achieved one of his greatest political triumphs on his first visit to the United States in one thousand fifty three. When an American general walked in front of him carrying the German
flag at a solemn ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. In that hour the war between Germany and America was forgotten. Soon after the two countries united as allies in the Atlantic alliance this too was not a development by the dark forces of destiny. The links between the two peoples and states were forged by the personal friendship between Dr. Conrad out an hour and the American secretary of state at the time John Foster Dulles in Dulles Adenauer found a kindred spirit a man who shared his own integrity and refusal to compromise between good and evil. Both were devout Christians and both were relentlessly engaged in combating the evil they saw embodied in atheistic communism. The doctor are now or did of course visit Moscow 1955 and he accepted the embrace of Mr Ball gunning the Soviet prime minister at the time
after a gala performance of Romeo and Juliet at the brochure theatre. But the chasm between the Federal Republic and the Soviet Union remained unbridgeable and he hopes the doctor Adenauer might have had at the outset of restoring the unity of Germany were gradually stifled as Russia tightened her stranglehold on the Soviet Zone. Reunification the supreme aim of German policy remained beyond his grasp. This is the point seized on by most of his critics in Germany. Dr Adenauer himself I have never doubted the correctness of his policy even though he was unable to achieve everything it entailed. He himself had experienced too many of the vicissitudes of history to expect to change in speed up its course overnight. It kept the flag of freedom flying in that part of Germany for which he was responsible and never lost hope that it would one day be hoisted throughout the entire country
like Bismarck. Dr Khan about I don't know I was a chancellor who gave precedence to foreign policy affairs at home took second place though here too. He rocked decisive changes during his term of office. The Federal Republic of Germany became the most stable democratic state in Europe and one of the most stable in the world. The contrast with Nazi Germany and the years prior to the Hitler regime could not have been greater. Hitler ruled the country with all the means available to a totalitarian dictator. The period between the end of the First World War and Hitler's advent to power was one of violent interparty strife and unstable government. But the situation which emerged after 1949 Under out an hour's leadership was totally different. The radical right and left wing parties declined and sank into oblivion and the three that remained the Christian free and Social Democrats did so on the strength of
their undoubted democratic principles. To what extent this development was fostered by those who drafted the new constitution is for history to decide what is already on record is the part doctor out in our Play by organizing a party capable of governing the country and holding it together by the forces of his personality. He has been censored for his harsh attitude towards the opposition but it never went beyond the bounds of democracy. He has also been criticized for having been too willing to comply with the special wishes of pressure groups in order to strengthen his position. If you would deny that the late chancellor who received his political schooling as Lord Mayor of his native Cologne was a man who reveled in the part he played in the political arena and that he was not always circumspect in his choice of means in defense of this.
One can quote president to go. Who said the man of action devoid of a strong dose of Eagle wisdom arrogance ruthlessness and cunning simply does not exist. Konrad Adenauer as opponents often claimed he was like a rock but painful though they may have been. His sharp and jagged edges became accepted as part of his nature and indeed like a rock. He was a man of firm and resolute character. He never sought to curry favor with smooth and polished phrases. When he spoke in public each word was hammered home with clarity and conviction. And when past the age of 90 he retained his ability to explain difficult political problems to all and sundry and normally his exposition of the facts left but one choice with his political talents Dr out an hour could have become a great demagogue had it not been for his common sense and his sense of responsibility. He often
used to say he had done no more than his duty and this epitomized his approach to his difficult task. His greatest concern was that his policies would continue after his death his sense of duty toward his fellow man sprang from his sense of duty towards God his religious beliefs were as staunch as they were simple. His mastery of politics was offset by his humility a prayer that he should rebel against God like Faust was inconceivable. He was spared the excesses associated with the Germanic character he derived his strength from his faith in God and His own balanced outlook on life and its meaning. Counted out an hour is dead. Although he had been out of office since 1963 is death is a great loss to the German people. We are in our era is closed. But like a great artist he has bequeath posterity a work which will survive
his death. The new democratic Germany freed from the stigma of the past and the respected and peaceful member of the community of nations. His legacy is recorded in his deeds. His memory will serve as an exhortation to the German people to absorb a pernicious ambition and to live in peace with other nations. This is not a revolutionary precept but a dictate of common sense that it is now accepted as such in Germany after years of terror and insanity. It's come out I don't know his greatest achievement. Parliament will be paying him its traditional tributes. Konrad Adenauer has earned his country's gratitude and what is more that of the whole world as well. This program was distributed by national educational radio. This is the national educational radio network.
Series
Konrad Adenauer specials
Episode
Adenauer: Thoughts on democracy
Producing Organization
National Association of Educational Broadcasters
Deutsche Welle
Contributing Organization
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/500-r785p12w
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Description
Episode Description
This program presents an obituary of German statesman, Karl Adenauer, using excerpts from his memoir "Thoughts on Democracy."
Series Description
Special programming commemorating the life of Konrad Adenauer, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963.
Date
1967-04-21
Asset type
Episode
Topics
Global Affairs
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:13:50
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: National Association of Educational Broadcasters
Producing Organization: Deutsche Welle
Writer: Adenauer, Konrad, 1876-1967.
AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Maryland
Identifier: 67-Sp.6-1 (National Association of Educational Broadcasters)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Duration: 00:03:25
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Citations
Chicago: “Konrad Adenauer specials; Adenauer: Thoughts on democracy,” 1967-04-21, University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-r785p12w.
MLA: “Konrad Adenauer specials; Adenauer: Thoughts on democracy.” 1967-04-21. University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-r785p12w>.
APA: Konrad Adenauer specials; Adenauer: Thoughts on democracy. Boston, MA: University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-r785p12w