Nietzsche opens the second essay of Zur Genealogie der Moral (1887) with a question: Ein Thier heranzüchten, das versprechen darf – ist das nicht gerade jene paradoxe Aufgabe selbst … (To breed an animal that is permitted to promise, is that not the paradoxical task itself?) He calls the ability to keep a promise ein eigentliches Gedächtniss des Willens, a true memory of the will.
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“That Is Unfair”
On 29 August 2006, Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering held a joint press conference in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Without being asked, he said that his party and the Union were being measured against what they had promised during the election campaigns. Then he added: Das ist unfair. (That is unfair.) He named the coalition agreement as the right measure: Das ist die Messlatte, was wir leisten können. (That is the bar for what we can achieve.) In 2009 he was still being quoted as having said Es ist unfair, an den Wahlkampfversprechen gemessen zu werden (It is unfair to be measured against campaign promises). That is not his exact wording.
Let the Work Praise the Master
Friedrich Schiller published Das Lied von der Glocke, The Song of the Bell, in 1799. Generations of German pupils learned it by heart. Until about 1950 it was a fixed part of the Gymnasium curriculum. The first stanza describes the preparations for casting a bell: Von der Stirne heiß / Rinnen muß der Schweiß, / Soll das Werk den Meister loben, / Doch der Segen kommt von oben. The sweat must run hot from the brow if the work is to praise the master. But the blessing comes from above.
A Goalkeeper’s Mistake
Oliver Kahn was named the best player of the 2002 World Cup. He was the first goalkeeper ever to receive the Golden Ball. In the final against Brazil, he pushed a shot from Rivaldo straight to the feet of Ronaldo, who scored the first goal. Kahn later told the magazine kicker: Ich muss mit meinem Fehler leben. I have to live with my mistake.
Eleven Friends
Elf Freunde müsst ihr sein, wenn ihr Siege wollt erringen. You must be eleven friends if you want to win. The line was engraved on the base of the Victoria, the trophy of the German football championship. The trophy was awarded from 1903 to 1944.
A Bishop Resigns
On the night of 20 February 2010, Margot Käßmann drove through a red light in Hanover with a blood alcohol level of 1.54 per mille. She was bishop of Hanover and chair of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany. The council unanimously expressed its confidence in her. Four days later she resigned from both offices. Am vergangenen Samstag habe ich einen schweren Fehler gemacht, den ich zutiefst bereue. Last Saturday I made a serious mistake, which I deeply regret. She said that she could not stay in office with the authority it needs.
Guilt Is Personal
On 8 May 1985, forty years after the end of the war in Europe, Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker spoke at a commemoration in the plenary hall of the Bundestag in Bonn. Schuld oder Unschuld eines ganzen Volkes gibt es nicht. Schuld ist, wie Unschuld, nicht kollektiv, sondern persönlich. There is no guilt or innocence of a whole people. Guilt, like innocence, is not collective but personal. He added that the younger generations cannot confess a guilt of their own for acts they did not commit.
Man Errs as Long as He Strives
In the “Prologue in Heaven” of Goethe’s Faust, the Lord speaks to Mephisto about man: Es irrt der Mensch so lang er strebt. Man errs as long as he strives. A little later in the same scene, the Lord says that a good man, in his dark urge, still knows the right way: Ein guter Mensch, in seinem dunklen Drange, / Ist sich des rechten Weges wohl bewußt.
“This Mistake Is Mine Alone”
On 24 March 2021 Chancellor Angela Merkel withdrew the Osterruhe, an Easter lockdown with extra days of rest. The federal and state governments had agreed on it during the night to Tuesday, a day earlier. Merkel said the idea had been a mistake. Then she said: Dieser Fehler ist einzig und allein mein Fehler. This mistake is mine alone. She asked all citizens for forgiveness, and she added: Denn am Ende trage ich für alles die letzte Verantwortung. In the end, I bear the final responsibility for everything.
“We Will Have to Forgive Each Other a Great Deal”
On 22 April 2020, early in the Covid pandemic, Health Minister Jens Spahn spoke in the Bundestag during government question time. He asked for understanding for hard decisions made under uncertainty. He said: dass wir miteinander wahrscheinlich viel werden verzeihen müssen in ein paar Monaten, that in a few months we will probably have to forgive each other a great deal. Years later, the sentence was still quoted in the dispute over his purchases of face masks.