A Voice from Germany

Von Weizsacker is President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The six speeches collected here are linked by a general aim: to contribute to the political self-awareness of the German people through ""a sense of responsibility for the dangers and opportunities of our time, and a continuing spiritual effort in dealing with the gifts of our culture.'' The two most interesting speeches deal with the past, with Weizsacker taking a hard look at the events of WW II. In another, delivered on the 40th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, he makes eloquent remarks about the treatment of the Jews in the Hitler era and urges the young people of Germany not to allow themselves to be driven into enmity against ``other people.'' One speech recalls the attempt on Hitler's life on June 20, 1944, ``the objective of which became and remained a fundamental formative principle in the maturation of my generation.'' Weizsacker also discusses the meaning of the Berlin Wall and what it means to be a German. (January 5)