What does the person understand by “peace”?

1. Friedrich Merz

“There is peace in every cemetery.”

2. Mikhail Gorbachev

“The victor is not the one who wins battles in a war, but the one who makes peace!”

Source: Globalbridge March 7, 2025 from an article by Leo Ensel

And last but not least, since Friedrich Merz talks about freedom coming before peace, let’s think and research again: What is freedom?

Friedrich Schiller described them expressively and full of power in his poem “The Words of Faith”. The second verse reads:
…….
Man is created free, is free,
And if he were born in chains,
Do not be deceived by the clamor of the mob,
Not the abuse of raging gates.
In front of the slave when he breaks the chain,
Do not tremble before the free man.
…….

3 Friedrich Schiller

In the struggle for values and dignity, for us humans and for our countries, the German classics can provide us with a wonderful and hopeful role model. The life of Schiller (1759 – 1805) in particular, a unique struggle for freedom, shows us that values, ideals and our own lives cannot be separated from one another.

There are people, politicians, diplomats, scientists, artists, spiritual researchers of the past – and also some far-sighted people in the present – who have left and are creating considerable values. The question that I consider very important with regard to a person’s goal is: How does this person want to promote peace, what are his ways, what personal sacrifices does he make in this regard, how does the population of his own country feel about it, is there a view of the world as a whole?

I encourage people to make this distinction, as I see it as a valuable basis for people striving for freedom, peace and development, and also as the basis of “democracy” as it is meant in its most intrinsic sense. The citizen as sovereign, the citizen as responsible co-creator of his country, economy and culture.