Dresden Symbolizes Openness

Today President Obama, Germany’s good friend, close ally and important partner, will visit Saxony and Thuringia. His visit underscores the special relationship between Germany and the United States. This relationship is not just one of economic, political and cultural connections. It is also forged by the personal relations of many people. We are united by the common values and convictions that are embodied in the transatlantic community.

President Obama’s visits to Dresden and Buchenwald also remind us of our history. Dresden: No other place stands out more as a reminder of the suffering and destruction of war. But out of this terrible experience Dresden has emerged as a powerful symbol: a symbol of reconciliation and reconstruction, of openness and orientation to the future, which can only succeed when we take responsibility for our history.

For we shall never forget: In concentration camps like Buchenwald, human dignity was trampled. The immeasurable suffering of the many victims of the Shoa is a constant reminder to all Germans that we must reject extremism and terror, violence and injustice – in our country, as well as in the world at large.

Human rights are indivisible, there are no boundaries. Therefore, we stand with the United States and our partners in embracing justice, peace and freedom.

We can never forget the sacrifices made so that Germany and most of Europe could be liberated from national socialism. And Germany never would have been peacefully reunited in freedom, if Americans hadn’t stood on the side of freedom during the long period of the wall and barbed wire.

Today Germans and Americans, together, face new challenges, which I will be discussing intensively with President Obama. We will require close cooperation in order to overcome the worldwide economic and financial crisis. We struggle to find creative solutions for meeting our energy requirements without worsening the global climate or diminishing the resources that we will pass on to our children and their children. We must be committed to finding solutions for dangerous conflicts from Afghanistan to the Middle East, and prevent terrorists and aggressive regimes from acquiring dangerous weapons. And we want to make the world a better place through nuclear disarmament.

There are no easy answers or quick fixes for any of these questions. But I am convinced that we will best meet these challenges if we stand together, as Germans and Americans, with our friends in Europe and our partners throughout the world.