Responsibility and respect of others and their religious beliefs are also part of freedom.
I will be guided by the Christian ethic and an awareness that human action is by nature transient.
If we know where we want to go, then even a stony road is bearable.
This is the biggest cemetery for Jews, Poles, Roma and Sinti. It must tell us that we have to come back here again and again. We must keep the memory of the worst crime in human history alive for those who were born later.
A few weeks ago we were reminded that other peoples - in particular the United States of America - fought so that we Germans could live in liberty. That we should never forget.
It is just not enough to strengthen the secret services for the fight against terrorism but it's also necessary to advance dialogue between cultures.
In my view, the humanity of our world can be measured against the fate of Africa.
Germany must be a country which generates political ideas and leadership, which is capable of compromise, which is sovereign and yet knows that it needs its partners on both sides of the Atlantic.
Germany's fate is decided first and foremost in Europe. Reconciliation and cooperation in Europe have brought us freedom, peace and prosperity. Who would have dared to believe so much 50 years ago?
