OFFICE OF
HENRY A. KISSINGER

August 11, 1977

HAK:

This is a quick cut at a Berlin
essay for the Oberburgermeister.
It draws on your speech to the
Berlin House of Representatives
and toast at Schutz's luncheon
on May 21, 1975.

It may need to be expanded.

Peter

BERLIN

I have visited Berlin many times, in both public and private life, and never have I left without a renewed sense of hope and confidence in the essential strength of the Western world. Berliners have defied all odds and proven that men and women of courage have control of their own destiny.

I am proud to have been associated with an important effort in the past decade to improve the conditions of access and security of this great city; with Western vigilance, the Quadripartite Agreement of 1971 will be maintained. But equally, we who live far away from the front line of freedom owe a tremendous debt to you, the people of West Berlin. You are a living example of the qualities of fortitude and determination which the peoples of the free nations must summon if they are to survive. Material prosperity and physical strength, measured quantitatively, will avail us not if we lack the moral stamina to defend our own values. Berlin's very existence reminds us in a materialistic age that some principles are of fundamental importance and can and must be defended. It reminds us in an age of detente that there is indeed a glaring difference between tyranny and freedom.

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Thus our stake in Berlin's freedom is far more than a matter of legal commitment and political association, solid though these are. To us you are a symbol of man's unquenchable yearning for freedom. You have been an inspiration to the rest of us and you _must_ survive.

But Berlin is also a symbol of hope. The determination of the brave men and women of Berlin, and the solidarity of the North Atlantic allies, have made possible the present opportunity for a more secure future in Europe. By making restraint and negotiation the only realistic option, we can create the conditions for a more rational and reliable relationship with the East. The American people have made clear as a central and durable principle of policy through several changes of Administration that they want to pursue peace in Central Europe but only on the basis of preserving Western security, democratic freedom, and allied partnership. We will never sacrifice our safety, our principles, or our friends.

In the age of thermonuclear weapons the opposing camps of East and West locked as they are in bitter contention over fundamental moral values, are doomed to either coexistence or mutual destruction. It is the responsibility of statesmanship to maintain a secure balance, and then to build upon it to pursue peaceful solutions to outstanding problems where

possible. This is in the world's interest -- and in the
interest most of all of those whose lives and homes would be
the focal point of a crisis.

As I said on my visit to the Berlin House of Representatives
in May 1975, in the delicate balance of relations between
East and West, Berlin's position is pivotal. The Atlantic
allies have always maintained that the hopes for wider
security and cooperation in Europe had to be vindicated in
Berlin first of all. The Western allies have proven their
desire to make Berlin no longer an issue of crisis or
confrontation. Therefore, the allies consider the effectiveness,
durability and scrupulous observance of the Quadripartite
Agreement a crucial test of the process called detente. Only
if you are secure will Europe be secure; only if Berlin
flourishes will detente flourish.

For all these reasons the American people are conscious
of their vital interest in Berlin's future. A generation of
shared experiences and shared dedication to freedom, in times
of crisis and times of hope, binds us together more certainly
than could any formal document alone.

The Western world today faces a new and more complex
set of challenges. Because we have avoided cataclysm and
economic depression for our thirty years, a new younger
generation begins to take for granted some of the institutions
and ties that have been responsible for this relative

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security and prosperity. At the same time, new economic
and social difficulties, in part produced by the oil crisis,
challenge all democratic governments. The interdependence
of modern economies is such that the contemporary afflic-
tions of simultaneous inflation and recession flow across
national boundaries and are beyond the capacity of any one
government's ability fully to control. Therefore democratic
processes and leaders seem helpless; societies lose faith
in their mastery of their destinies; petty conflicts abound
and the Western nations could lose both their cohesion and
their self-confidence.

The free nations must find in positive tasks -- cooperation
on economic policy, social and environmental efforts -- the
same spirit of courage and dedication with which they faced
the stark dangers of external danger and economic disaster
a generation ago. Western cohesion becomes essential for
solutions to this dimension of problems as surely as it was
to the problems of the late 1940's.

West Berlin shares the fate of all the free peoples.
Perhaps Berliners have a great contribution to make to the
Western world at a moment when their proven qualities of moral
strength are vitally needed. The continuing freedom of this
city reminds us not only of challenges met in the past but of
our reserves of pride and courage which are our common hope
for the decades to come. For you have taught all of us that