(applause) >> THANK YOU, AND I THINK LET'S
START. (laughter) PRESIDENT BACOW, FELLOWS OF THE
CORPORATION, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF OVERSEERS, MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI BOARD,
MEMBERS OF THE FACULTY, PROUD PARENTS, AND GRADUATES. TODAY IS A DAY OF JOY. IT'S YOUR DAY. MANY CONGRATULATIONS. I AM DELIGHTED TO BE HERE TODAY
AND WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF MY OWN EXPERIENCES. THIS CEREMONY MARKS THE END OF
AN INTENSIVE AND PROBABLY ALSO HARD CHAPTER IN YOUR LIVES. NOW, THE DOOR TO A NEW LIFE IS OPENING. THAT'S EXCITING AND INSPIRING. THE GERMAN WRITER HERMANN HESSE HAD SOME
WONDERFUL WORDS FOR SUCH A SITUATION IN LIFE. I'D LIKE TO QUOTE HIM, AND
THEN CONTINUE IN MY NATIVE LANGUAGE. (speaking in German) HERMANN HESSE WROTE: IN ALL BEGINNINGS
DWELLS A MAGIC FORCE, FOR GUIDING US AND HELPING US TO LIVE. (speaking in German) >> THESE WORDS BY HERMANN HESSE INSPIRED ME
WHEN I COMPLETED MY PHYSICS DEGREE AT THE AGE OF 24. (speaking in German) >>THAT WAS BACK IN 1978. (speaking in German) THE WORLD WAS DIVIDED INTO EAST
AND WEST. (speaking in German) AND IT WAS IN THE GRIPS OF THE
COLD WAR. (speaking in German) I GREW UP IN EAST GERMANY IN THE
G.D.R., THE PART OF MY COUNTRY WHICH WAS NOT FREE AT THAT TIME,
IN A DICTATORSHIP. (speaking in German) PEOPLE WERE OPPRESSED AND UNDER
STATE SURVEILLANCE. (speaking in German) POLITICAL DISSIDENTS WERE
PERSECUTED. (speaking in German) THE EAST GERMAN GOVERNMENT WAS
AFRAID THAT THE PEOPLE WOULD FLEE TO FREEDOM. (speaking in German) AND THAT'S WHY IT BUILT THE
BERLIN WALL, A WALL MADE OF CONCRETE AND STEEL. (speaking in German) ANYONE CAUGHT TRYING TO OVERCOME
IT WAS ARRESTED OR SHOT DEAD. (speaking in German) THIS WALL WHICH CUT BERLIN IN
HALF DIVIDED A PEOPLE AND FAMILIES. MY FAMILY WAS ALSO DIVIDED. (speaking in German) MY FIRST JOB AFTER COLLEGE WAS
AS A PHYSICIST AT THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN EAST BERLIN. (speaking in German) I LIVED NEAR THE BERLIN WALL. (speaking in German) I WALKED TOWARDS IT EVERY DAY ON
MY WAY HOME FROM MY INSTITUTE. (speaking in German) BEHIND IT LAY WEST BERLIN,
FREEDOM. (speaking in German) AND EVERY DAY, WHEN I WAS VERY
CLOSE TO THE WALL, I HAD TO TURN AWAY AT THE LAST MINUTE, IN
ORDER TO HEAD TOWARDS MY APARTMENT. (speaking in German) EVERY DAY, I HAD TO TURN AWAY
FROM FREEDOM AT THE LAST MINUTE. (speaking in German) I DON'T KNOW HOW OFTEN I THOUGHT
THAT I JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING. (speaking in German) NOW, I WAS NOT A DISSIDENT. (speaking in German) I DIDN'T RUN UP AND BANG AGAINST
THE WALL. (speaking in German) NOR HOWEVER DID I DENY ITS
EXISTENCE, FOR I DIDN'T WANT TO LIE TO MYSELF. (speaking in German) THE BERLIN WALL LIMITED MY
OPPORTUNITIES. (speaking in German) IT QUITE LITERALLY STOOD IN MY
WAY. (speaking in German) HOWEVER, THERE WAS ONE THING,
WHICH THIS WALL COULDN'T DO DURING ALL OF THOSE YEARS. (speaking in German) IT COULDN'T IMPOSE LIMITS ON MY
INNER THOUGHTS. (speaking in German) MY PERSONALITY, MY IMAGINATION,
MY DREAMS AND DESIRES, PROHIBITIONS OR COERCION
COULDN'T LIMIT ANY OF THAT. (speaking in German) THEN CAME 1989. (speaking in German) A COMMON DESIRE FOR FREEDOM
UNLEASHED INCREDIBLE FORCES THROUGHOUT EUROPE. (speaking in German) IN POLAND, IN HUNGARY, IN CZECHOLSOVAKIA,
AS WELL AS IN EAST GERMANY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DARED TO TAKE TO THE STREETS. (speaking in German) THE PEOPLE DEMONSTRATED AND
BROUGHT DOWN THE WALL. (speaking in German) SOMETHING, WHICH MANY PEOPLE
INCLUDING MYSELF WOULD NOT HAVE BELIEVED POSSIBLE BECAME REALITY. (speaking in German) WHERE THERE WAS ONCE ONLY A DARK
WALL, A DOOR SUDDENLY OPENED. (speaking in German) FOR ME, TOO, THE MOMENT HAD COME
TO WALK THROUGH THAT DOOR. (speaking in German) I NO LONGER HAD TO TURN AWAY
FROM FREEDOM AT THE LAST MINUTE. (speaking in German) I WAS ABLE TO CROSS THIS BORDER
AND VENTURE OUT INTO THE GREAT, WIDE OPEN. (speaking in German) DURING THESE MONTHS, 30 YEARS
AGO, I EXPERIENCED FIRST-HAND THAT NOTHING HAS TO STAY THE WAY IT IS. (speaking in German) THIS EXPERIENCE, DEAR GRADUATES,
IS THE FIRST THOUGHT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY FOR YOUR
FUTURE. (speaking in German) ANYTHING THAT SEEMS TO BE SET IN
STONE OR INALTERABLE CAN INDEED CHANGE. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) >> IN MATTERS BOTH LARGE AND SMALL, (speaking in German) IT HOLDS TRUE THAT EVERY
CHANGE BEGINS IN THE MIND. (speaking in German) MY PARENTS' GENERATION
DISCOVERED THIS IN A MOST PAINFUL WAY. (speaking in German) MY FATHER AND MOTHER WERE BORN
IN 1926 AND 1928. (speaking in German) WHEN THEY WERE AS OLD AS MOST OF
YOU HERE TODAY, THE BETRAYAL OF ALL CIVILIZED VALUES THAT
WORLD WAR II HAD JUST ENDED, (speaking in German) MY COUNTRY, GERMANY, HAD BROUGHT
UNIMAGINABLE SUFFERING ON EUROPE AND THE WORLD. (speaking in German) THE VICTORS AND THE DEFEATED
COULD EASILY HAVE REMAINED IRRECONCILABLE FOR MANY YEARS. (speaking in German) BUT INSTEAD, EUROPE OVERCAME
CENTURIES-OLD CONFLICTS. (speaking in German) A PEACEFUL ORDER BASED ON COMMON VALUES
RATHER THAN SUPPOSED NATIONAL STRENGTH EMERGED. (speaking in German) DESPITE ALL THE DISCUSSIONS AND
TEMPORARY SETBACKS, I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WE EUROPEANS HAVE
UNITED FOR THE BETTER. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) >> AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
GERMANS AND AMERICANS TOO DEMONSTRATES HOW FORMER WARTIME
ENEMIES CAN BECOME FRIENDS. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) >> IT WAS GEORGE MARSHALL WHO
GAVE A CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO THIS FOR THE PLAN HE ANNOUNCED
AT THE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES IN 1947 IN THIS VERY PLACE. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) >>THE TRANSATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP
BASED ON VALUES, SUCH AS DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS HAS
GIVEN US AN ERA OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY, OF BENEFITS TO ALL
SIDES, WHICH HAS LASTED FOR MORE THAN 70 YEARS NOW. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) IT WILL NOT BE LONG
NOW BEFORE THE POLITICIANS OF MY GENERATION ARE NO LONGER THE
SUBJECT OF THE EXERCISING LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AND AT MOST
WILL BE DEALT WITH IN LEADERSHIP IN HISTORY. (speaking in German) HARVARD CLASS OF 2019, (speaking in German) YOUR GENERATION WILL BE FACED WITH
THE CHALLENGES OF THE 21st CENTURY IN THE COMING DECADES. (speaking in German) YOU ARE AMONG THOSE WHO WILL LEAD US INTO
THE FUTURE. (speaking in German) PROTECTIONISM AND TRADE CONFLICTS JEOPARDIZE
FREE INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND THUS THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF OUR PROSPERITY. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
AFFECTS ALL FACETS OF OUR LIVES. (speaking in German) WARS AND TERRORISM LEAD TO
DISPLACEMENT AND FORCED MIGRATION. (speaking in German) CLIMATE CHANGE POSES A THREAT TO
OUR PLANET'S NATURAL RESOURCES. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) IT AND THE RESULTING CRISIS ARE
CAUSED BY HUMANS. (speaking in German) THEREFORE, WE CAN AND MUST DO
EVERYTHING HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO TRULY MASTER THIS CHALLENGE TO
HUMANKIND. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) IT'S STILL POSSIBLE. (speaking in German) HOWEVER EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US
MUST PLAY OUR PART. (speaking in German) AND I SAY THIS WITH A MEASURE OF
SELF-CRITICISM, GET BETTER. (speaking in German) I WILL THEREFORE DO EVERYTHING
IN MY POWER TO ENSURE THAT GERMANY, MY COUNTRY, WILL
ACHIEVE CLIMATE NEUTRALITY BY 2050. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) CHANGES FOR THE BETTER ARE
POSSIBLE IF WE TACKLE THEM TOGETHER. (speaking in German) IF WE WERE TO GO IT ALONE, WE
COULD NOT ACHIEVE MUCH. (speaking in German) THE SECOND THOUGHT I WANT TO
SHARE WITH YOU IS THEREFORE (speaking in German) MORE THAN EVER, OUR WAY OF THINKING AND OUR ACTIONS HAVE TO BE MULTILATERAL, RATHER THAN
UNILATERAL. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) GLOBAL, RATHER THAN NATIONAL. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) OUTWARD LOOKING, RATHER THAN
ISOLATIONIST. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) IN SHORT, WE HAVE TO WORK
TOGETHER, RATHER THAN ALONE. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) YOU, DEAR GRADUATES, WILL HAVE
QUITE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THIS IN THE FUTURE THAN MY
GENERATION DID. (speaking in German) AFTER ALL, YOUR SMART PHONE
PROBABLY HAS CONSIDERABLY MORE PROCESSING POWER THAN THE COPY
OF AN I.B.M. MAINFRAME COMPUTER MANUFACTURED IN THE SOVIET
UNION, WHICH I WAS ALLOWED TO USE FOR MY DISSERTATION IN EAST
GERMANY IN 1986. [LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) TODAY, WE USE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE. FOR EXAMPLE, TO SEARCH THROUGH
MILLIONS OF IMAGES FOR SYMPTOMS OF DISEASES. (speaking in German) IN ORDER, AMONG OTHER THINGS, TO
BETTER DIAGNOSE CANCER. (speaking in German) IN FUTURE, EMPATHETIC ROBOTS COULD HELP
DOCTORS AND NURSES TO FOCUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF PATIENTS. (speaking in German) WE CANNOT PREDICT TODAY WHICH
APPLICATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE. (speaking in German) HOWEVER, THE OPPORTUNITIES IT
BRINGS ARE TRULY BREATH TAKING. (speaking in German) CLASS OF 2019, HOW WE USE THESE
OPPORTUNITIES WILL BE LARGELY UP TO YOU AS GRADUATES. (speaking in German) YOU ARE THE ONES WHO WILL BE
INVOLVED IN DECIDING HOW OUR APPROACH TO HOW WE WORK,
COMMUNICATE, GET ABOUT, INDEED OUR ENTIRE WAY OF LIFE WILL
DEVELOP. (speaking in German) AS FEDERAL CHANCELLOR I OFTEN HAVE TO
ASK MYSELF, AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING? (speaking in German) AM I DOING SOMETHING BECAUSE IT
IS RIGHT OR SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS POSSIBLE? (speaking in German) THAT IS SOMETHING YOU, TOO, NEED
TO KEEP ASKING YOURSELVES. (speaking in German) AND THAT IS THE THIRD THOUGHT I
WISH TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY. (speaking in German) ARE WE LAYING DOWN THE RULES FOR
TECHNOLOGY? OR IS TECHNOLOGY DICTATING HOW
WE INTERACT? [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) DO WE PRIORITIZE PEOPLE AS INDIVIDUALS WITH
A HUMAN DIGNITY AND ALL THEIR MANY FACETS? (speaking in German) OR DO WE SEE IN THEM MERELY
CONSUMERS, DATA SOURCES, OBJECTS OF SURVEILLANCE? (speaking in German) THESE ARE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. (speaking in German) I HAVE LEARNED THAT WE CAN FIND
GOOD ANSWERS EVEN TO DIFFICULT QUESTIONS IF WE ALWAYS TRY TO
VIEW THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF OTHERS. (speaking in German) [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) IF WE RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S
HISTORY, TRADITIONS, RELIGION, AND IDENTITY. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) IF WE HOLD FAST TO OUR
INALIENABLE VALUES AND ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEM. (speaking in German) AND IF WE DON'T ALWAYS ACT ON
OUR FIRST IMPULSES, EVEN WHEN THERE IS PRESSURE TO MAKE A SNAP
DECISION. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) BUT INSTEAD TAKE A MOMENT TO
STOP, BE STILL, THINK, PAUSE. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) GRANTED THAT CERTAINLY TAKES
COURAGE. (speaking in German) ABOVE ALL, IT CALLS FOR
TRUTHFULNESS IN OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS OTHERS. (speaking in German) AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT
CALLS FOR US TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) WHAT BETTER PLACE TO BEGIN TO DO
SO THAN HERE, IN THIS PLACE, WHERE SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE FROM
ALL OVER THE WORLD COME TO LEARN, RESEARCH, AND DISCUSS THE
ISSUES OF OUR TIME UNDER THE MAXIM OF TRUTH. (speaking in German) THAT REQUIRES US NOT TO DESCRIBE
LIES AS TRUTHS, AND TRUTHS AS LIES. [APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) >> IT REQUIRES US NOT TO ACCEPT
SHORTCOMINGS AS OUR NORMALITY. (speaking in German) YET WHAT, DEAR GRADUATES, COULD
STOP YOU, WHAT COULD STOP US, FROM DOING THAT? (speaking in German) ONCE AGAIN THE ANSWER IS WALLS. (speaking in German) WALLS IN PEOPLE'S MINDS, WALLS
OF IGNORANCE AND NARROW-MINDEDNESS. (speaking in German) THEY EXIST BETWEEN FAMILY MEMBERS, (speaking in German) AS WELL AS BETWEEN GROUPS WITHIN THE SOCIETY,
BETWEEN PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SKIN COLORS, NATIONS AND RELIGIONS. (speaking in German) I WOULD LIKE US TO SEE BREAK DOWN THESE WALLS. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) WALLS THAT KEEP PREVENTING US FROM ENVISIONING THE WORLD IN WHICH, TOGETHER, WE WANT TO LIVE. (speaking in German) WHETHER WE MANAGE TO DO THAT IS
UP TO US. (speaking in German) THAT'S WHY MY FOURTH THOUGHT FOR YOU, DEAR
GRADUATES, TO CONSIDER IS THIS: (speaking in German) NOTHING CAN BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. (speaking in German) OUR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES ARE NOT GIVENS. (speaking in German) DEMOCRACY IS NOT SOMETHING
WE CAN TAKE FOR GRANTED. (speaking in German) NEITHER IS PEACE. (speaking in German) AND NEITHER IS PROSPERITY. (speaking in German) BUT IF WE BREAK DOWN THE WALLS
THAT HEM US IN, (speaking in German) IF WE STEP OUT INTO THE OPEN AND HAVE THE COURAGE TO EMBRACE NEW BEGINNINGS, (speaking in German) EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) WALLS CAN COLLAPSE. (speaking in German) DICTATORSHIPS CAN DISAPPEAR. (speaking in German) WE CAN HALT GLOBAL WARMING. (speaking in German) WE CAN ERADICATE STARVATION. (speaking in German) WE CAN ELIMINATE DISEASES. (speaking in German) WE CAN GIVE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY
GIRLS, ACCESS TO EDUCATION. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) WE CAN FIGHT THE CAUSES OF
DISPLACEMENT AND FORCED MIGRATION. (speaking in German) WE CAN DO ALL OF THAT. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) SO LET'S NOT START BY ASKING
WHAT ISN'T POSSIBLE OR FOCUSING ON WHAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT
WAY. LET'S START BY ASKING WHAT IS
POSSIBLE AND LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN DONE LIKE
THAT BEFORE. (speaking in German) THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I SAID TO
THE BUNDESTAG, THE GERMAN PARLIAMENT IN 2005 IN MY FIRST POLICY STATEMENT AS
NEWLY ELECTED CHANCELLOR OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND
THE FIRST WOMAN TO HOLD THIS OFFICE. [APPLAUSE] (speaking in German) AND I WANT TO USE PRECISELY
THESE WORDS TO SHARE WITH YOU MY FIFTH THOUGHT. (speaking in German) LET US SURPRISE OURSELVES BY
SHOWING WHAT IS POSSIBLE. (speaking in German) LET US SURPRISE OURSELVES BY
SHOWING WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF. (speaking in German) IN MY OWN LIFE, IT WAS THE FALL
OF THE BERLIN WALL THAT ALLOWED ME ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO TO STEP
OUT INTO THE OPEN. (speaking in German) AT THAT POINT, I LEFT MY WORK AS
A SCIENTIST BEHIND ME AND ENTERED POLITICS. (speaking in German) THAT WAS AN EXCITING AND MAGICAL
TIME. (speaking in German) JUST AS YOUR LIVES WILL BE
EXCITING AND MAGICAL. (speaking in German) BUT I ALSO EXPERIENCE MOMENTS OF
DOUBT AND WORRY. (speaking in German) FOR AT THAT TIME, WE ALL KNEW WHAT LAY BEHIND
US, BUT NOT WHAT MIGHT LIE AHEAD. (speaking in German) PERHAPS THAT REFLECTS A LITTLE
HOW YOU, TOO, ARE FEELING TODAY, AMIDST ALL THE JOY OF THIS
OCCASION. (speaking in German) THE SIXTH THOUGHT, I ALSO WANT
TO SHARE WITH YOU IS THIS: (speaking in German) THE MOMENT WHEN YOU STEP OUT
INTO THE OPEN IS ALSO A MOMENT OF RISK TAKING. (speaking in German) LETTING GO OF THE OLD IS PART OF
A NEW BEGINNING. (speaking in German) THERE IS NO BEGINNING WITHOUT AN END. (speaking in German) NO DAY WITHOUT NIGHT. (speaking in German) NO LIFE WITHOUT DEATH. (speaking in German) OUR WHOLE LIFE CONSISTS OF THE
DIFFERENCE, THE SPACE BETWEEN BEGINNING AND ENDING. (speaking in German) IT IS WHAT LIES IN BETWEEN THAT
WE CALL LIFE AND EXPERIENCE. (speaking in German) I BELIEVE THAT TIME AND TIME
AGAIN, WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO KEEP BRINGING THINGS TO AN END IN ORDER TO
FEEL THE MAGIC OF NEW BEGINNINGS AND TO MAKE THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITIES. (speaking in German) THAT WAS WHAT I LEARNED AS A STUDENT, (speaking in German) AS A
SCIENTIST, (speaking in German) AND IT IS WHAT I EXPERIENCE NOW IN POLITICS. (speaking in German) AND WHO KNOWS WHAT LIFE WILL BRING AFTER MY
TIME AS A POLITICIAN? (speaking in German) THAT, TOO, IS COMPLETELY OPEN. (speaking in German) ONLY ONE THING IS CLEAR. (speaking in German) IT WILL AGAIN BE SOMETHING
DIFFERENT AND SOMETHING NEW. (speaking in English) >>
THAT'S WHY I WANT TO LEAVE
THIS WISH WITH YOU: TEAR DOWN WALLS OF IGNORANCE AND
NARROW-MINDEDNESS, FOR NOTHING HAS TO STAY AS IT IS. [APPLAUSE] IT'S SIX THINGS TAKE JOINT ACTION IN THE
INTERESTS OF THE MULTILATERAL GLOBAL WORLD. KEEP ASKING YOURSELVES AM I
DOING SOMETHING BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT OR SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S
POSSIBLE? DON'T FORGET THAT FREEDOM IS
NEVER SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. SURPRISE YOURSELF WITH WHAT IS
POSSIBLE. REMEMBER THAT OPENNESS ALWAYS
INVOLVES RISKS. LETTING GO OF THE OLD IS PART OF
THE NEW BEGINNING. AND ABOVE ALL, NOTHING CAN BE
TAKEN FOR GRANTED, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE]
queen