Gustav Heinemann Quotations

The secret of big and revolutionary actions also consists in discovering the tiny step that is simultaneously a strategic step, insofar as it entails additional steps in the direction of a better reality.

Insecurity and resignation mingle with the hope for a better order.

I appeal to the responsibility of the blocs and the major powers, not to seek security in the arms race, but rather in a meeting for joint disarmament and arms limitations.

Beyond peace, there is no longer any existence possible.

Everywhere, authority and tradition have to justify themselves in the face of questions.

One of our most noble political tasks is to open up trust.

The first thing I see is the obligation to serve peace.

Some fatherlands are difficult. Germany is one of them. But it is our fatherland. Here is where we live and work.

I have left the federal government and the German Bundestag; I have resigned from all my positions in the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Trust cannot be commanded; and yet it is also correct that the only one who earns trust is the one who is prepared to grant trust.