Speeches that Changed our Times

Contents Introduction 05/08/1945 • Charles de Gaulle Announcement of the end of World War II in a broadcast speech 09/02/1945 • Ho Chi Minh Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam 12/10/1945 • Albert Einstein Address at the Fifth Nobel Anniversary Dinner 03/05/1946 • Winston Churchill “An iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”

08/10/1946 • Alcide De Gasperi Italian Premier Alcide De Gasperi’s speech to the Paris Peace Conference 08/14/1947 • Jawaharlal Nehru Speech delivered to the Indian Constituent Assembly in the Parliament 10/02/1947 • David Ben-Gurion Statement regarding the right of the Jewish people to establish a nation 12/09/1948 • Eleanor Roosevelt An appeal for the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 05/01/1952 • Evita Perón The rallying cry for the descamisados to defend Perón

4

6

8

12

18

24

30

36

40

06/02/1953 • Elizabeth II Speech given at her coronation ceremony

58

09/11/1973 • Salvador Allende Farewell speech on the day of Pinochet’s coup d’état

10/16/1953 • Fidel Castro “History will absolve me.”

62

12/10/1979 • Mother Teresa Acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize 118

114

05/22/2008 • Dalai Lama Conference at the Royal Albert Hall during his visit to the UK

170

11/04/2008 • Barack Obama Victory speech after being elected President of the United States

176

02/25/1956 • Nikita Khrushchev Secret speech denouncing Stalin’s cult of personality and his crimes against the people 68

10/04/1984 • Thomas Sankara Speech delivered to the General Assembly of the United Nations

124

02/27/1957 • Mao Zedong Speech about the correct handling of the contradictions among the Chinese people during the Hundred Flowers Campaign

05/08/1985 • Richard von Weizsäcker Speech delivered during the fortieth anniversary of the end of World War II

03/19/2013 • Pope Francis “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!”

182

130

06/12/1987 • Ronald Reagan “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!”

05/11/2013 • George Saunders Commencement address to the students of Syracuse University

188

136

07/12/2013 • Malala Yousafzai Speech delivered at the United Nations Youth Assembly

194

01/20/1961 • John F. Kennedy Inaugural address as President of the United States of America

74

12/07/1988 • Mikhail Gorbachev Address at the General Assembly of the United Nations regarding the reforms implemented in the Soviet Union

142

90

09/04/1995 • Benazir Bhutto Address to the Fourth World Conference on Women

01/07/2018 • Oprah Winfrey Acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes 200

148

96

04/12/1999 • Elie Wiesel Speech about the perils of indifference to the tragedies of the twentieth century

09/10/2018 • António Guterres Speech about climate change delivered by the Secretary-General of the United Nations 206

154

212

102

11/27/1999 • Anita Roddick Address to the International Forum on Globalization

05/04/2020 • Elisabetta II Speech at the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic

160

14/09/2022 • Ursula von der Leyen State of the Union Address

216

108

01/11/2002 • Stephen Hawking Speech at his sixtieth birthday symposium at the University of Cambridge

164

About the author Photo credits

222

80

11/10/1962 • Pope John XXIII Address on the occasion of the opening of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican 86 08/28/1963 • Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream” 04/03/1964 • Malcolm X The ballot or the bullet: a speech about voting rights and armed revolution

46

04/20/1964 • Nelson Mandela “I am prepared to die”: his defense speech at the Rivonia trial

52

12/11/1964 • Ernesto “Che” Guevara Speech delivered to the General Assembly of the United Nations

5

Contents Introduction 05/08/1945 • Charles de Gaulle Announcement of the end of World War II in a broadcast speech 09/02/1945 • Ho Chi Minh Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam 12/10/1945 • Albert Einstein Address at the Fifth Nobel Anniversary Dinner 03/05/1946 • Winston Churchill “An iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”

08/10/1946 • Alcide De Gasperi Italian Premier Alcide De Gasperi’s speech to the Paris Peace Conference 08/14/1947 • Jawaharlal Nehru Speech delivered to the Indian Constituent Assembly in the Parliament 10/02/1947 • David Ben-Gurion Statement regarding the right of the Jewish people to establish a nation 12/09/1948 • Eleanor Roosevelt An appeal for the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 05/01/1952 • Evita Perón The rallying cry for the descamisados to defend Perón

4

6

8

12

18

24

30

36

40

06/02/1953 • Elizabeth II Speech given at her coronation ceremony

58

09/11/1973 • Salvador Allende Farewell speech on the day of Pinochet’s coup d’état

10/16/1953 • Fidel Castro “History will absolve me.”

62

12/10/1979 • Mother Teresa Acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize 118

114

05/22/2008 • Dalai Lama Conference at the Royal Albert Hall during his visit to the UK

170

11/04/2008 • Barack Obama Victory speech after being elected President of the United States

176

02/25/1956 • Nikita Khrushchev Secret speech denouncing Stalin’s cult of personality and his crimes against the people 68

10/04/1984 • Thomas Sankara Speech delivered to the General Assembly of the United Nations

124

02/27/1957 • Mao Zedong Speech about the correct handling of the contradictions among the Chinese people during the Hundred Flowers Campaign

05/08/1985 • Richard von Weizsäcker Speech delivered during the fortieth anniversary of the end of World War II

03/19/2013 • Pope Francis “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!”

182

130

06/12/1987 • Ronald Reagan “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall!”

05/11/2013 • George Saunders Commencement address to the students of Syracuse University

188

136

07/12/2013 • Malala Yousafzai Speech delivered at the United Nations Youth Assembly

194

01/20/1961 • John F. Kennedy Inaugural address as President of the United States of America

74

12/07/1988 • Mikhail Gorbachev Address at the General Assembly of the United Nations regarding the reforms implemented in the Soviet Union

142

90

09/04/1995 • Benazir Bhutto Address to the Fourth World Conference on Women

01/07/2018 • Oprah Winfrey Acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes 200

148

96

04/12/1999 • Elie Wiesel Speech about the perils of indifference to the tragedies of the twentieth century

09/10/2018 • António Guterres Speech about climate change delivered by the Secretary-General of the United Nations 206

154

212

102

11/27/1999 • Anita Roddick Address to the International Forum on Globalization

05/04/2020 • Elisabetta II Speech at the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic

160

14/09/2022 • Ursula von der Leyen State of the Union Address

216

108

01/11/2002 • Stephen Hawking Speech at his sixtieth birthday symposium at the University of Cambridge

164

About the author Photo credits

222

80

11/10/1962 • Pope John XXIII Address on the occasion of the opening of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican 86 08/28/1963 • Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream” 04/03/1964 • Malcolm X The ballot or the bullet: a speech about voting rights and armed revolution

46

04/20/1964 • Nelson Mandela “I am prepared to die”: his defense speech at the Rivonia trial

52

12/11/1964 • Ernesto “Che” Guevara Speech delivered to the General Assembly of the United Nations

5

Charles de Gaulle

Announcement of the end of World War II in a broadcast speech

Paris, May 8, 1945

May 8, 1945 marked the end of World War II in Europe.

The beginning of his speech—“The war has been won!”—

The date was a dividing line between a period of massacres

was delivered in a relieved, liberating tone after long years

and genocide and one of hope for a return to civilized life and

of suffering. Throughout the entire war, de Gaulle, in full

cohabitation. Adolf Hitler had taken his own life on April 30 and,

dress uniform, embodied the image of a nation that remained

orphaned of her Führer, Germany had had no choice but to sign

free and combative. In fact, for France, maintaining its

an unconditional surrender, placing the future of the country

honor and pride before its allies and before the world was

and her people in the hands of the Allies.

just as important as preserving its economic, political, and

Two men embody the spirit of the resistance during the

colonial interests. It was de Gaulle, the strongest advocate

darkest hours of modern Europe’s history: Winston Churchill

and representative of French grandeur, who exclaimed in

and Charles de Gaulle. Charles de Gaulle was born to a

1941: “There is a 2,000-year-old pact between the greatness

Cath­olic, nationalist family; on June 3, 1944 he became the

of France and freedom in the world.” He was a master of

president of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

communications. His use of cutting and ironic language was

His speech to the nation on May 8, 1945, broadcast in the early

unconventional for a politician and endeared him to his people,

afternoon following the German surrender, was but the last in

who believed him and had faith in him. His imposing carriage,

a long series. There would have been no May 8 for France had it

his perfectly combed hair, and his Roman nose made him an

not been for the plea of the June 18, 1940 broadcast from Radio

easily recognizable figure, an icon of the times. As the head of

London—a vehement call to arms addressed to the French

the military and the father of the nation, de Gaulle announced

people, urging them not to lose hope and to fight the German

the end of the war and France’s victory. He honored the

invader. That was the day the Resistance movement against the

French and Allied soldiers and civilians who fought in order

Vichy government, a Third Reich satellite state that occupied

to prevent Europe and the entire world from falling under

the south-central portion of France, was born.

Nazi domination.

On June 3, 1944, as the head of the French Committee of National Liberation, Charles de Gaulle became president of the Provisional Government of France.

9

Charles de Gaulle

Announcement of the end of World War II in a broadcast speech

Paris, May 8, 1945

May 8, 1945 marked the end of World War II in Europe.

The beginning of his speech—“The war has been won!”—

The date was a dividing line between a period of massacres

was delivered in a relieved, liberating tone after long years

and genocide and one of hope for a return to civilized life and

of suffering. Throughout the entire war, de Gaulle, in full

cohabitation. Adolf Hitler had taken his own life on April 30 and,

dress uniform, embodied the image of a nation that remained

orphaned of her Führer, Germany had had no choice but to sign

free and combative. In fact, for France, maintaining its

an unconditional surrender, placing the future of the country

honor and pride before its allies and before the world was

and her people in the hands of the Allies.

just as important as preserving its economic, political, and

Two men embody the spirit of the resistance during the

colonial interests. It was de Gaulle, the strongest advocate

darkest hours of modern Europe’s history: Winston Churchill

and representative of French grandeur, who exclaimed in

and Charles de Gaulle. Charles de Gaulle was born to a

1941: “There is a 2,000-year-old pact between the greatness

Cath­olic, nationalist family; on June 3, 1944 he became the

of France and freedom in the world.” He was a master of

president of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

communications. His use of cutting and ironic language was

His speech to the nation on May 8, 1945, broadcast in the early

unconventional for a politician and endeared him to his people,

afternoon following the German surrender, was but the last in

who believed him and had faith in him. His imposing carriage,

a long series. There would have been no May 8 for France had it

his perfectly combed hair, and his Roman nose made him an

not been for the plea of the June 18, 1940 broadcast from Radio

easily recognizable figure, an icon of the times. As the head of

London—a vehement call to arms addressed to the French

the military and the father of the nation, de Gaulle announced

people, urging them not to lose hope and to fight the German

the end of the war and France’s victory. He honored the

invader. That was the day the Resistance movement against the

French and Allied soldiers and civilians who fought in order

Vichy government, a Third Reich satellite state that occupied

to prevent Europe and the entire world from falling under

the south-central portion of France, was born.

Nazi domination.

On June 3, 1944, as the head of the French Committee of National Liberation, Charles de Gaulle became president of the Provisional Government of France.

9

Ho Chi Minh

Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Hanoi, September 2, 1945

On September 2, 1945, in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, Ho Chi

nations. In his communications, he denounced the revanchist

Minh spoke before hundreds of thousands of people—the entire

aims of French colonialism and openly asked for help in the fight

population of Vietnam, a population who harbored a strong sense

for independence. But since the United States feared a possible

of freedom. On that stage, pronouncing the word “independence”

Soviet influence in the area, they decided to aid France. After a

was essentially a declaration of the birth of a new country, the

few feeble attempts to avoid military conflict with diplomacy, the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam. During World War II, which

War of Indochina broke out. In 1954, after hundreds of thousands

ended on that day, September 2, six years after it had begun,

of deaths, General Giap, the able military strategist who led the

the French colony of Vietnam had fallen under Japanese domain,

Viet Minh fighters, finally defeated the French at the battle of Dien

like much of Asia. In 1941, Ho Chi Minh founded the Viet Minh

Bien Phu.

League for the Independence of Vietnam to fight the invaders, and

The war against the United States was a new chapter in the

instituted a provisional government to implement social reforms.

fight for national sovereignty. Ho Chi Minh died before the end

Japan’s surrender—a few days after the atomic bombs were

of the conflict. With his death, Vietnam lost the man who had led

dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—changed the geopolitical

the country to independence in 1954, the man who had resisted

situation in the region. Across Vietnam, thousands of people

the American army, and the man who had dedicated his entire life

took to the streets to demand independence. French politics

to the liberation of his country. At twenty years old, he had left

stood at a crossroads. They could return to colonial dominion

his country to go to Europe and live in Paris and in London and,

and enter into a war to reconquer the territories they had lost,

later, to the United States. So it was that his political education

or they could accept the request for emancipation. No one in

began, between one temporary job and another, and it continued

Paris was willing to give up the territories in Indochina. More

when he went to Moscow and China. In all, he was far from his

than once, Ho Chi Minh wrote to the American president, Harry

people and his homeland for thirty years before he returned

Truman, who had spoken favorably of the self-determination of

to free them.

A close-up of the North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, in 1965.

13

Ho Chi Minh

Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Hanoi, September 2, 1945

On September 2, 1945, in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, Ho Chi

nations. In his communications, he denounced the revanchist

Minh spoke before hundreds of thousands of people—the entire

aims of French colonialism and openly asked for help in the fight

population of Vietnam, a population who harbored a strong sense

for independence. But since the United States feared a possible

of freedom. On that stage, pronouncing the word “independence”

Soviet influence in the area, they decided to aid France. After a

was essentially a declaration of the birth of a new country, the

few feeble attempts to avoid military conflict with diplomacy, the

Democratic Republic of Vietnam. During World War II, which

War of Indochina broke out. In 1954, after hundreds of thousands

ended on that day, September 2, six years after it had begun,

of deaths, General Giap, the able military strategist who led the

the French colony of Vietnam had fallen under Japanese domain,

Viet Minh fighters, finally defeated the French at the battle of Dien

like much of Asia. In 1941, Ho Chi Minh founded the Viet Minh

Bien Phu.

League for the Independence of Vietnam to fight the invaders, and

The war against the United States was a new chapter in the

instituted a provisional government to implement social reforms.

fight for national sovereignty. Ho Chi Minh died before the end

Japan’s surrender—a few days after the atomic bombs were

of the conflict. With his death, Vietnam lost the man who had led

dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—changed the geopolitical

the country to independence in 1954, the man who had resisted

situation in the region. Across Vietnam, thousands of people

the American army, and the man who had dedicated his entire life

took to the streets to demand independence. French politics

to the liberation of his country. At twenty years old, he had left

stood at a crossroads. They could return to colonial dominion

his country to go to Europe and live in Paris and in London and,

and enter into a war to reconquer the territories they had lost,

later, to the United States. So it was that his political education

or they could accept the request for emancipation. No one in

began, between one temporary job and another, and it continued

Paris was willing to give up the territories in Indochina. More

when he went to Moscow and China. In all, he was far from his

than once, Ho Chi Minh wrote to the American president, Harry

people and his homeland for thirty years before he returned

Truman, who had spoken favorably of the self-determination of

to free them.

A close-up of the North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, in 1965.

13

Albert Einstein

Address at the Fifth Nobel Anniversary Dinner

New York, December 10, 1945

On December 10, 1945, under the light of the sumptuous

It was in the name of peace that, in 1939, Einstein and

chandeliers of the Astor Hotel in New York, a dinner was held

his Hungarian colleague, Leo Szilard, wrote to the American

to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Alfred

president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to warn him about the

Nobel. Albert Einstein took the opportunity to reiterate the

possibility that Nazi Germany was working on the creation

responsibility and duty that lay on the shoulders of all physicists

of a nuclear fission bomb. But it was not that letter that

and scientists in regard to the fate of our planet. It was 1945.

prompted the president to create the Manhattan Project, nor

World War II had just ended, but the sixty-six-year-old Nobel

was Einstein invited to participate in it. The aim of the scientists

Prize winner for Physics was not seeing real signs of a stable and

in the project was to intensify studies and research regarding

lasting peace among world powers, who were still untrusting and

uranium—and, ultimately, they produced an atomic bomb.

fearful of the horrors of conflict. He called for the establishment

Einstein also failed to prevent the United States from dropping

of a worldwide supranational authority to whom governments

the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945; an act of

would delegate part of their sovereignty and who would

cruel revenge against Japan in a war that was already drawing

safeguard the secrets of the atomic bomb in order to guarantee

to a close.

“security, peace, and wellbeing for all of humanity.” Einstein

However, Albert Einstein’s moral commitment was still

called himself a pacifist, but he was certainly not naive. He knew

strong. In 1955, before he died, his final act was to co-sign what

all too well the nature of man and his intrinsic aggressiveness.

would become the Russell-Einstein Manifesto with Bertrand

In fact, in his correspondence with Sigmund Freud he wrote:

Russell, the prominent British mathematician and philosopher.

“So long as there are men, there will be wars.” Over the years,

The manifesto was an invitation to discuss the dangers that

he tried to free himself of the mistaken labels ascribed to him.

weapons of mass destruction posed for humanity. It was a seed

His critical attitude led the FBI to open a file of over 1,500

that would sprout at the Pugwash Conference for Science and

pages regarding his activities. They feared he might have been

World Affairs, a non-governmental organization, which was

affiliated with the Communist movement and have pro-Soviet

founded in 1957 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.

Union leanings; but, in reality, that fear was never realized.

Not all of Einstein’s pacifistic efforts had been in vain.

The theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, during a conference at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, on January 17, 1931.

19

Albert Einstein

Address at the Fifth Nobel Anniversary Dinner

New York, December 10, 1945

On December 10, 1945, under the light of the sumptuous

It was in the name of peace that, in 1939, Einstein and

chandeliers of the Astor Hotel in New York, a dinner was held

his Hungarian colleague, Leo Szilard, wrote to the American

to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Alfred

president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to warn him about the

Nobel. Albert Einstein took the opportunity to reiterate the

possibility that Nazi Germany was working on the creation

responsibility and duty that lay on the shoulders of all physicists

of a nuclear fission bomb. But it was not that letter that

and scientists in regard to the fate of our planet. It was 1945.

prompted the president to create the Manhattan Project, nor

World War II had just ended, but the sixty-six-year-old Nobel

was Einstein invited to participate in it. The aim of the scientists

Prize winner for Physics was not seeing real signs of a stable and

in the project was to intensify studies and research regarding

lasting peace among world powers, who were still untrusting and

uranium—and, ultimately, they produced an atomic bomb.

fearful of the horrors of conflict. He called for the establishment

Einstein also failed to prevent the United States from dropping

of a worldwide supranational authority to whom governments

the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945; an act of

would delegate part of their sovereignty and who would

cruel revenge against Japan in a war that was already drawing

safeguard the secrets of the atomic bomb in order to guarantee

to a close.

“security, peace, and wellbeing for all of humanity.” Einstein

However, Albert Einstein’s moral commitment was still

called himself a pacifist, but he was certainly not naive. He knew

strong. In 1955, before he died, his final act was to co-sign what

all too well the nature of man and his intrinsic aggressiveness.

would become the Russell-Einstein Manifesto with Bertrand

In fact, in his correspondence with Sigmund Freud he wrote:

Russell, the prominent British mathematician and philosopher.

“So long as there are men, there will be wars.” Over the years,

The manifesto was an invitation to discuss the dangers that

he tried to free himself of the mistaken labels ascribed to him.

weapons of mass destruction posed for humanity. It was a seed

His critical attitude led the FBI to open a file of over 1,500

that would sprout at the Pugwash Conference for Science and

pages regarding his activities. They feared he might have been

World Affairs, a non-governmental organization, which was

affiliated with the Communist movement and have pro-Soviet

founded in 1957 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.

Union leanings; but, in reality, that fear was never realized.

Not all of Einstein’s pacifistic efforts had been in vain.

The theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, during a conference at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, on January 17, 1931.

19

Alcide De Gasperi

Italian Premier Alcide De Gasperi’s speech to the Paris Peace Conference

Paris, August 10, 1946

For the countries who won World War II, Italy was seen more

return to within Italy’s national border. The country was also

as a defeated enemy than as an ally; a country who had changed

called upon to make reparations, monetary compensation for

sides during the conflict, pulling out of its alliance with Hitler’s

damages caused during the war. The economic situation was

Germany only after the defeat of Mussolini on July 25, 1943 and the

critical, and much of Italy needed to be rebuilt following the

subsequent armistice with the Allies. At the Paris Peace Conference

Allied bombings and the armed conflicts that preceded the

in 1946, the task of Alcide De Gasperi, the first president of the

Liberation. It had been eighteen long months during which the

Council of Ministers of the newly formed Italian Republic, was to

soldiers of the Reich had destroyed everything along their path

convince them of the contrary, despite the climate of suspicion

as they slowly retreated northward.

and hostility that reigned. In fact, his first words were “I feel that

For Italy, the conditions of the peace treaty were oppressive.

everything—except your personal courtesy—is against me.” And

De Gasperi underlined the decisive role that Italian partisans

he, who had personally suffered the oppression of the regime, was

and soldiers had played in the final defeat of Germany. He also

the best man for such a delicate assignment.

insisted upon the need for the international community’s trust

Italy’s national borders, established before Mussolini’s rise to

and support for the newly formed Republic whose anti-fascist

power, were being challenged. The country was forced to give

constitution would be approved in the months to follow.

up its colonies in Africa, as well as Albania and the Dodecanese

He asserted that punitive measures would serve no purpose,

Islands. Moreover, and above all, there was the failure to retain

that they would be no more than unjust provisions based on

Trieste within the Italian border. The Allies divided the city into

prejudice and near-sightedness that would harm “a hard-working

two zones: one was placed under the protection of an Allied

population of 47 million people.” The delegates listened to

military government, and the other was temporarily controlled by

his fervent appeal with interest and, indeed, “courtesy”; but,

Yugoslavia. Only eight years later, in 1954, would the area officially

ultimately, they were still cold and even indifferent.

The head of the Italian delegation, Alcide De Gasperi, during the speech he delivered at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris, France, in 1946.

31

Alcide De Gasperi

Italian Premier Alcide De Gasperi’s speech to the Paris Peace Conference

Paris, August 10, 1946

For the countries who won World War II, Italy was seen more

return to within Italy’s national border. The country was also

as a defeated enemy than as an ally; a country who had changed

called upon to make reparations, monetary compensation for

sides during the conflict, pulling out of its alliance with Hitler’s

damages caused during the war. The economic situation was

Germany only after the defeat of Mussolini on July 25, 1943 and the

critical, and much of Italy needed to be rebuilt following the

subsequent armistice with the Allies. At the Paris Peace Conference

Allied bombings and the armed conflicts that preceded the

in 1946, the task of Alcide De Gasperi, the first president of the

Liberation. It had been eighteen long months during which the

Council of Ministers of the newly formed Italian Republic, was to

soldiers of the Reich had destroyed everything along their path

convince them of the contrary, despite the climate of suspicion

as they slowly retreated northward.

and hostility that reigned. In fact, his first words were “I feel that

For Italy, the conditions of the peace treaty were oppressive.

everything—except your personal courtesy—is against me.” And

De Gasperi underlined the decisive role that Italian partisans

he, who had personally suffered the oppression of the regime, was

and soldiers had played in the final defeat of Germany. He also

the best man for such a delicate assignment.

insisted upon the need for the international community’s trust

Italy’s national borders, established before Mussolini’s rise to

and support for the newly formed Republic whose anti-fascist

power, were being challenged. The country was forced to give

constitution would be approved in the months to follow.

up its colonies in Africa, as well as Albania and the Dodecanese

He asserted that punitive measures would serve no purpose,

Islands. Moreover, and above all, there was the failure to retain

that they would be no more than unjust provisions based on

Trieste within the Italian border. The Allies divided the city into

prejudice and near-sightedness that would harm “a hard-working

two zones: one was placed under the protection of an Allied

population of 47 million people.” The delegates listened to

military government, and the other was temporarily controlled by

his fervent appeal with interest and, indeed, “courtesy”; but,

Yugoslavia. Only eight years later, in 1954, would the area officially

ultimately, they were still cold and even indifferent.

The head of the Italian delegation, Alcide De Gasperi, during the speech he delivered at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris, France, in 1946.

31

David Ben-Gurion

Statement regarding the right of the Jewish people to establish a nation

Jerusalem, October 2, 1947

There are moments in history when a man assumes responsibility

played a primary role in the situation: the United Kingdom, who

for the fate of a population, to the point of forging his own

had been entrusted with the administration of the territory since

character with the wishes and expectations, the hopes and dreams

1920 with the Mandate for Palestine; the Zionist institutions, who

of the millions of people who recognize him as their leader and

considered the Mandate and the British laws that regulated Jewish

guide. Ben-Gurion was born in Płonsk, Poland. Before he turned

immigration in Palestine to be obstacles to Jewish independence

twenty, he went to Palestine, already aware that his entire life would

in the region; and the Arab countries that firmly opposed the

be dedicated to leading Israel to freedom and to the creation of

foundation of a Jewish state. At the end of World War II, the

a new sovereign state. Exile, persecution, two world wars, and the

survivors of the Shoah asked to move to Palestine, a move that the

holocaust—none of these could weaken his intentions. Quite the

United Kingdom opposed. Ultimately, the harsh Zionist reaction

opposite: they all served to strengthen his desire to finally give a

forced the British government to put the Mandate into the hands

home to his people. On October 2, 1947, in front of the elected

of the newly formed United Nations, who decided to partition

assembly of Palestinian Jews in Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion spoke as

the country between Jews and Arabs. In his speech, Ben-Gurion

the father of his country. With a steady voice, forged by years

listed the three key elements, in order of importance, that would

of dedication and activism, the Israeli leader displayed all of his

determine the destiny of the Jewish people and the conditions

pragmatism. Declaring to the world that the Jewish people were

necessary for their survival: defense; the creation of a Jewish State;

finally the proud, conscious masters of their own fate, he forever

and cohabitation between Israelis and Arabs. He maintained that

destroyed the stereotypical image of the continuously wandering

“Each one needs the other and each one completes the other.” It

Jew who passively endured history.

was a call for close collaboration between Jews and Arabs that put

He gave his speech in the complex political context that had

forth an impressive number of hopes and resolutions, all of which

marked the history of the Holy Land for decades. Three exponents

would eventually be betrayed by both parts for different reasons.

The leader of the World Zionist Organization, David Ben-Gurion, as he announces the establishment of the State of Israel. He was the country’s prime minister from 1948 to 1963.

41

David Ben-Gurion

Statement regarding the right of the Jewish people to establish a nation

Jerusalem, October 2, 1947

There are moments in history when a man assumes responsibility

played a primary role in the situation: the United Kingdom, who

for the fate of a population, to the point of forging his own

had been entrusted with the administration of the territory since

character with the wishes and expectations, the hopes and dreams

1920 with the Mandate for Palestine; the Zionist institutions, who

of the millions of people who recognize him as their leader and

considered the Mandate and the British laws that regulated Jewish

guide. Ben-Gurion was born in Płonsk, Poland. Before he turned

immigration in Palestine to be obstacles to Jewish independence

twenty, he went to Palestine, already aware that his entire life would

in the region; and the Arab countries that firmly opposed the

be dedicated to leading Israel to freedom and to the creation of

foundation of a Jewish state. At the end of World War II, the

a new sovereign state. Exile, persecution, two world wars, and the

survivors of the Shoah asked to move to Palestine, a move that the

holocaust—none of these could weaken his intentions. Quite the

United Kingdom opposed. Ultimately, the harsh Zionist reaction

opposite: they all served to strengthen his desire to finally give a

forced the British government to put the Mandate into the hands

home to his people. On October 2, 1947, in front of the elected

of the newly formed United Nations, who decided to partition

assembly of Palestinian Jews in Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion spoke as

the country between Jews and Arabs. In his speech, Ben-Gurion

the father of his country. With a steady voice, forged by years

listed the three key elements, in order of importance, that would

of dedication and activism, the Israeli leader displayed all of his

determine the destiny of the Jewish people and the conditions

pragmatism. Declaring to the world that the Jewish people were

necessary for their survival: defense; the creation of a Jewish State;

finally the proud, conscious masters of their own fate, he forever

and cohabitation between Israelis and Arabs. He maintained that

destroyed the stereotypical image of the continuously wandering

“Each one needs the other and each one completes the other.” It

Jew who passively endured history.

was a call for close collaboration between Jews and Arabs that put

He gave his speech in the complex political context that had

forth an impressive number of hopes and resolutions, all of which

marked the history of the Holy Land for decades. Three exponents

would eventually be betrayed by both parts for different reasons.

The leader of the World Zionist Organization, David Ben-Gurion, as he announces the establishment of the State of Israel. He was the country’s prime minister from 1948 to 1963.

41

Evita Perón

The rallying cry for the descamisados to defend Perón

Buenos Aires, May 1, 1952

In what was to be her final speech, Evita Perón pronounced

disputable. And disputed. Her charisma fascinated factory

the word pueblo, the people or the population, twenty times in

workers and dockworkers in the port of Buenos Aires who

eleven minutes. The population of women, of men, of workers, of

followed her activities with enthusiasm, but she also captivated

the disowned, the Argentinian people, the people of the world.

the leaders of the world—even the Pope, whom she met

In simplistic terms, it is what has reappeared in today’s political

during her long trip to Europe.

arena—“populism.” A phenomenon that comes and goes and

In Plaza de Mayo on that first day of May, Worker’s Day, that

comes back again in waves and for which Evita was a great

charisma was palpable in the words she spoke. The square was

advocate. She was much more than the wife of the general and

packed with descamisados, the backbone of government support,

much more than the smiling face of the regime. Rather, she was

and she urged them to defend Perón, physically if necessary, from

its icon, from her humble family background to her youth as a girl,

his treacherous enemies both at home and abroad. She invoked

seeking her fortune, to her premature, theatricalized death.

God; she compared herself to the weakest members of the

Her life seems like a Hollywood movie in which even the last

population as one who understands their suffering and hopes;

of the disowned can become part of high society. One needs to

she, who was able to gain her freedom and realize her dreams.

have ambition, good luck, and extraordinary willpower, as well as

Those who listened valued her dedication and self-sacrifice.

a number of other qualities that may or may not be considered

She was already ill and had been warned against making public

positive. But ultimately, the illegitimate daughter of a cook from

appearances, but she was stubborn and fearless and wanted

the Argentinian countryside became Evita, the most powerful,

to say good-bye to her people for the last time. Two months later,

most exalted, and best-loved woman in the country. It was

her condition worsened and she was confined to a hospital bed,

almost as if that path had been created for her and just for her.

where she fell into a coma before dying. The long line of people

It goes without saying that Evita was a complicated figure.

who came to pay their respects at the burial chamber where her

She was articulate, out-of-the-ordinary, and mysterious in her

body was on display wound through the streets of Buenos Aires

own way. Perhaps she was sincere, and she was undoubtedly

for more than a mile.

Evita Perón married Argentina’s future president, Juan Domingo Perón, in 1945. She was an active supporter of her husband’s political career.

53

Evita Perón

The rallying cry for the descamisados to defend Perón

Buenos Aires, May 1, 1952

In what was to be her final speech, Evita Perón pronounced

disputable. And disputed. Her charisma fascinated factory

the word pueblo, the people or the population, twenty times in

workers and dockworkers in the port of Buenos Aires who

eleven minutes. The population of women, of men, of workers, of

followed her activities with enthusiasm, but she also captivated

the disowned, the Argentinian people, the people of the world.

the leaders of the world—even the Pope, whom she met

In simplistic terms, it is what has reappeared in today’s political

during her long trip to Europe.

arena—“populism.” A phenomenon that comes and goes and

In Plaza de Mayo on that first day of May, Worker’s Day, that

comes back again in waves and for which Evita was a great

charisma was palpable in the words she spoke. The square was

advocate. She was much more than the wife of the general and

packed with descamisados, the backbone of government support,

much more than the smiling face of the regime. Rather, she was

and she urged them to defend Perón, physically if necessary, from

its icon, from her humble family background to her youth as a girl,

his treacherous enemies both at home and abroad. She invoked

seeking her fortune, to her premature, theatricalized death.

God; she compared herself to the weakest members of the

Her life seems like a Hollywood movie in which even the last

population as one who understands their suffering and hopes;

of the disowned can become part of high society. One needs to

she, who was able to gain her freedom and realize her dreams.

have ambition, good luck, and extraordinary willpower, as well as

Those who listened valued her dedication and self-sacrifice.

a number of other qualities that may or may not be considered

She was already ill and had been warned against making public

positive. But ultimately, the illegitimate daughter of a cook from

appearances, but she was stubborn and fearless and wanted

the Argentinian countryside became Evita, the most powerful,

to say good-bye to her people for the last time. Two months later,

most exalted, and best-loved woman in the country. It was

her condition worsened and she was confined to a hospital bed,

almost as if that path had been created for her and just for her.

where she fell into a coma before dying. The long line of people

It goes without saying that Evita was a complicated figure.

who came to pay their respects at the burial chamber where her

She was articulate, out-of-the-ordinary, and mysterious in her

body was on display wound through the streets of Buenos Aires

own way. Perhaps she was sincere, and she was undoubtedly

for more than a mile.

Evita Perón married Argentina’s future president, Juan Domingo Perón, in 1945. She was an active supporter of her husband’s political career.

53

Martin Luther King, Jr. Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963

“I have a dream” On a hot day in August 1963, more than 250,000 people from every corner of the United States converged on Washington to take part in the March for Jobs and Freedom, the largest rally for civil rights in American history. The African American community marched along the mile between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, hoping it would be the last leg of the long, hard road that would lead to the recognition of their dignity. Slavery had been abolished a century earlier; but another, equally hateful form of racism and discrimination had quickly taken hold across the country: racial segregation.

After the dramatic clashes between police and protesters in Birmingham, Alabama, a few months earlier, tensions were running high and the deployment of law-enforcement agents was powerful. But from the first moments of the march, it was clear that that August 28 would be remembered as a great day for a movement that had made nonviolence its emblem, a day in which there would be no incidents or clashes. At the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, under the gaze of the president who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 that declared the freedom of millions of slaves, speakers and performers took turns at the microphone; the gospel legend Mahalia Jackson; Joan Baez, who sang We Shall Overcome; and a young Bob Dylan. But the audience was waiting for the last speaker to take the podium. He was the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the man who, more than any other, could give a voice and hope for a better future to the millions of African Americans that were being forced to live on the edge of society. The reverend’s intense passion and his inspired words shaped what would become one of the most riveting messages of peace, love, and equality in the history of the world. He spoke of his “dream” of a more equitable society, based on principles that are rooted in the Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution of the United States of America, but that seem to have been forgotten by so many citizens and politicians. Television brought Martin Luther King’s speech into the homes of millions of Americans, rattling the conscience of many of them. The approval of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 established the end of segregation and the beginning of a new era for the African American community and for the entire country.

90

91

Martin Luther King, Jr. Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963

“I have a dream” On a hot day in August 1963, more than 250,000 people from every corner of the United States converged on Washington to take part in the March for Jobs and Freedom, the largest rally for civil rights in American history. The African American community marched along the mile between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, hoping it would be the last leg of the long, hard road that would lead to the recognition of their dignity. Slavery had been abolished a century earlier; but another, equally hateful form of racism and discrimination had quickly taken hold across the country: racial segregation.

After the dramatic clashes between police and protesters in Birmingham, Alabama, a few months earlier, tensions were running high and the deployment of law-enforcement agents was powerful. But from the first moments of the march, it was clear that that August 28 would be remembered as a great day for a movement that had made nonviolence its emblem, a day in which there would be no incidents or clashes. At the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, under the gaze of the president who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 that declared the freedom of millions of slaves, speakers and performers took turns at the microphone; the gospel legend Mahalia Jackson; Joan Baez, who sang We Shall Overcome; and a young Bob Dylan. But the audience was waiting for the last speaker to take the podium. He was the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the man who, more than any other, could give a voice and hope for a better future to the millions of African Americans that were being forced to live on the edge of society. The reverend’s intense passion and his inspired words shaped what would become one of the most riveting messages of peace, love, and equality in the history of the world. He spoke of his “dream” of a more equitable society, based on principles that are rooted in the Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution of the United States of America, but that seem to have been forgotten by so many citizens and politicians. Television brought Martin Luther King’s speech into the homes of millions of Americans, rattling the conscience of many of them. The approval of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965 established the end of segregation and the beginning of a new era for the African American community and for the entire country.

90

91

Thomas Sankara

Speech delivered to the General Assembly of the United Nations

New York, October 4, 1984

When the president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, got up to speak to the General Assembly of the United Nations, very little

basic rights be trampled for the economic gain of just a few.

The initial measures to be adopted were simple and necessary:

was known about him or the country he came from. He was a

to send children to school and vaccinate them so they did not

man about thirty years old in a military uniform who delivered

die of measles; to overcome the feudal system that was still

his speech in French; but where was Burkina Faso, exactly? Until

enforced in the countryside; to eliminate the tangle of privileges

just a few months earlier, it had been known as Upper Volta, a

of many state officials; and to build houses for those who lived

landlocked strip of earth bordering on the Sahara desert, swept

in miserable shacks on the edge of the cities. With pride and

by a dry wind many months of the year. Sankara began by saying

hope, Burkina Faso looked out on a world that was dominated

that after more than twenty years of independence that had

by two great opposing powers. Struggling on the fringes were the

brought them nothing, the people there no longer intended to

Third-World Countries: lands that had been there for the taking.

die of hunger and thirst. Foreign aid made no actual contribution

Lands that were plundered and pillaged without remorse by the

to development, and the models proposed by “charlatan”

powerful, who allocated great sums of money to build weapons,

development specialists did not work and had to be abandoned.

the instruments of death used to appropriate raw materials that

It was time for change, change that was possible even in Burkina

were needed by the Western societies.

Faso’s desperate situation, where one child in five did not reach

Sankara was killed three years later. He was disliked by many,

the age of one and only two percent of the population could

not only in Africa. He was becoming an inspiration for Africa’s new

read and write; where few had access to drinkable water, and

generations, and his condemnation of the hypocrisy and arrogance

having two meals a day was considered a luxury. Sankara spoke

of the powerful in the world had become intolerable to them. The

of restraint, austerity, and moral integrity. At the same time, he

essence of his philosophy called for the creation of a “world with

expressed his solidarity with the populations of other countries

more justice and no wars,” but it would have to wait. Who knows

who were enduring the same suffering and were also seeing their

for how long?

The president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, during the visit of the French president, François Mitterrand, on November 18, 1986 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

125

Thomas Sankara

Speech delivered to the General Assembly of the United Nations

New York, October 4, 1984

When the president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, got up to speak to the General Assembly of the United Nations, very little

basic rights be trampled for the economic gain of just a few.

The initial measures to be adopted were simple and necessary:

was known about him or the country he came from. He was a

to send children to school and vaccinate them so they did not

man about thirty years old in a military uniform who delivered

die of measles; to overcome the feudal system that was still

his speech in French; but where was Burkina Faso, exactly? Until

enforced in the countryside; to eliminate the tangle of privileges

just a few months earlier, it had been known as Upper Volta, a

of many state officials; and to build houses for those who lived

landlocked strip of earth bordering on the Sahara desert, swept

in miserable shacks on the edge of the cities. With pride and

by a dry wind many months of the year. Sankara began by saying

hope, Burkina Faso looked out on a world that was dominated

that after more than twenty years of independence that had

by two great opposing powers. Struggling on the fringes were the

brought them nothing, the people there no longer intended to

Third-World Countries: lands that had been there for the taking.

die of hunger and thirst. Foreign aid made no actual contribution

Lands that were plundered and pillaged without remorse by the

to development, and the models proposed by “charlatan”

powerful, who allocated great sums of money to build weapons,

development specialists did not work and had to be abandoned.

the instruments of death used to appropriate raw materials that

It was time for change, change that was possible even in Burkina

were needed by the Western societies.

Faso’s desperate situation, where one child in five did not reach

Sankara was killed three years later. He was disliked by many,

the age of one and only two percent of the population could

not only in Africa. He was becoming an inspiration for Africa’s new

read and write; where few had access to drinkable water, and

generations, and his condemnation of the hypocrisy and arrogance

having two meals a day was considered a luxury. Sankara spoke

of the powerful in the world had become intolerable to them. The

of restraint, austerity, and moral integrity. At the same time, he

essence of his philosophy called for the creation of a “world with

expressed his solidarity with the populations of other countries

more justice and no wars,” but it would have to wait. Who knows

who were enduring the same suffering and were also seeing their

for how long?

The president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, during the visit of the French president, François Mitterrand, on November 18, 1986 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

125

Elie Wiesel

Speech about the perils of indifference to the tragedies of the twentieth century

Washington, D.C., April 12, 1999

When Elie Wiesel took the stage on April 12, 1999, as part of the

tattooed on his arm. He and his father were sent to the Buna

Millennium Lecture Series held at the White House, the culprit he

work camp and then to Buchenwald, where he watched as his

pointed his finger at was indifference. When the first lady, Hillary

father was beaten to death in January 1945, only a few weeks

Clinton, introduced him, she thanked him for teaching the world

before the first American soldiers arrived. He was sixteen.

to “never forget.” Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, he

It would take time before he would be able to talk about

narrated his dramatic experience as a survivor of the Shoah.

the events that had scarred him, but he finally did that in his

His words were full of recognition for the United States, who had

first book, an autobiographical novel, Night, published in 1959.

helped end the horror with the sacrifice of many lives, but they

Initially, as he worked as a journalist in Paris, he tried to forget

were also full of indignation for those who knew and did nothing

the horrors he had seen and experienced; then he decided to

to save millions of people. How could anyone have remained

put his writing at the service of the community, to help resolve

impassive and, indeed, indifferent in the face of such horrible

humanitarian issues.

atrocities? His entire life had been marked by his infancy. When he

Despite the negative events that had scarred the twentieth

was born in 1928 in Sighet, the small town was part of Romania;

century, Wiesel underlined the positive ones, including the

then, during the war, it fell under Hungarian rule. On May 6,

downfall of dictatorships, the signing of peace agreements, and

1944, from one of the ghettos established there by the Germans,

particularly the intervention of the United States and NATO

the Wiesel family was deported to the concentration camp in

in Kosovo, against the atrocities perpetrated by Slobodan

Auschwitz. On the tracks of the train that had transported them,

Miloševic’s Yugoslavian Army. This direct action in the field

Elie embraced his mother and his sister, Tzipora, for the last time.

was a signal of hope, the collapse of that indifference that had

From that time on, he was A-7713, the number that the Nazis had

repeatedly marked the century that was coming to an end.

The Romanian-born, French-speaking American writer, Elie Wiesel, in August 1996, in Paris.

155

Elie Wiesel

Speech about the perils of indifference to the tragedies of the twentieth century

Washington, D.C., April 12, 1999

When Elie Wiesel took the stage on April 12, 1999, as part of the

tattooed on his arm. He and his father were sent to the Buna

Millennium Lecture Series held at the White House, the culprit he

work camp and then to Buchenwald, where he watched as his

pointed his finger at was indifference. When the first lady, Hillary

father was beaten to death in January 1945, only a few weeks

Clinton, introduced him, she thanked him for teaching the world

before the first American soldiers arrived. He was sixteen.

to “never forget.” Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, he

It would take time before he would be able to talk about

narrated his dramatic experience as a survivor of the Shoah.

the events that had scarred him, but he finally did that in his

His words were full of recognition for the United States, who had

first book, an autobiographical novel, Night, published in 1959.

helped end the horror with the sacrifice of many lives, but they

Initially, as he worked as a journalist in Paris, he tried to forget

were also full of indignation for those who knew and did nothing

the horrors he had seen and experienced; then he decided to

to save millions of people. How could anyone have remained

put his writing at the service of the community, to help resolve

impassive and, indeed, indifferent in the face of such horrible

humanitarian issues.

atrocities? His entire life had been marked by his infancy. When he

Despite the negative events that had scarred the twentieth

was born in 1928 in Sighet, the small town was part of Romania;

century, Wiesel underlined the positive ones, including the

then, during the war, it fell under Hungarian rule. On May 6,

downfall of dictatorships, the signing of peace agreements, and

1944, from one of the ghettos established there by the Germans,

particularly the intervention of the United States and NATO

the Wiesel family was deported to the concentration camp in

in Kosovo, against the atrocities perpetrated by Slobodan

Auschwitz. On the tracks of the train that had transported them,

Miloševic’s Yugoslavian Army. This direct action in the field

Elie embraced his mother and his sister, Tzipora, for the last time.

was a signal of hope, the collapse of that indifference that had

From that time on, he was A-7713, the number that the Nazis had

repeatedly marked the century that was coming to an end.

The Romanian-born, French-speaking American writer, Elie Wiesel, in August 1996, in Paris.

155

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Piazzale Luigi Cadorna, 6 20123 Milan, Italy www.whitestar.it Translation: Iceigeo, Milan (translation: Cynthia Anne Koeppe; editing: Katherine Clifton) Final editing: Phillip Gaskill All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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