I do have questions and concerns. We have not prescribed a speedy peace from above. Of course, we need to work through the conflicts-we don't want to dwell on them forever because they are heavy burdens. Germans are guilty because we have carried two dictatorships in this century. Only this way will we reach a reconciliation.
People tend to hide behind the past and make it look nicer than it actually was.
There is no way to draw a line or take stock of the situation after only five years of unity. We are in the middle of a controversial debate. Eastern Germans cannot allow being told we were all traitors and thus cannot look our western brethren in the eye. Just by looking into the past, we see there was a great deal of courage and that many of us did say no. We need to give ourselves some credit and more time to become one people again-at least as much time as we were apart.