Walther Rathenau

By choosing Walther Rathenau, the foundation not only intends to honour the foreign minister of the Weimar Republic whose policies after the catastrophe of World War I initiated a slow reconciliation of the former enemy states.
What is more, Rathenau represents an outstanding personality who at the turn of the 20th century developed a system of ideas that still impress us by their depth and accuracy. In particular, people have come to realise that due to his comprehensive knowledge of the international economical tie-in, Walther Rathenau before the First World War already gave precedence to political decisions based on facts rather than ideologies or emotions, a principle he also stuck to in his personal life. It may be that his views on changes he regarded as indispensable for society generated from this stance. Walther Rathenau hardly conceived of modern economical policies as a self-sufficient, solely ‘capitalistic’ end. In his writings, he sketched the picture of a universal development that would have to be initiated, an anticipation of “things to come”. Thus, he opened-up towards thoughts of a surprisingly modern quality that are still valid today.
“Knowledge means power, so they say, and time is money”, he once wrote and concluded: “And thereby knowledge is lost without shedding insight, and time is wasted cheerlessly”. Against this, Rathenau formulated the timeless demand for “love and a community of brothers” and the maxim: “The goal to which we aspire is called human freedom”.
Ernst Freiberger


Including contributions by:

Wolfgang Michalka
A Man of Many Qualities: Walther Rathenau and German Society – A Biography

Wolfgang Michalka
A Visionary Thinker of Modernity

Wolfgang Michalka (ed.)
The Writings of Rathenau and Rathenau Editions

The Villa in Berlin-Grunewald

Christiane Scheidemann
“He who earns the world’s trust with due means, also earns to be trusted by his own country” – Walther Rathenau’s Thoughts and Actions in Foreign Politics

The Villa in Bad Freienwalde

Wolfgang Michalka
Walther Rathenau: Selected Writings


Hardcover, 239 pages, Berlin 2006
ISBN 3-00-019575-0
This book can be obtained in any book store or directly from be.bra Publishing Berlin.
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