Speech by Dr. Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the occasion of the visit by President Clinton to Eisenach on Thursday, May 14, 1998
Mr. President,
My good friend Bill Clinton,
Minister-President,
Mr. Mayor,
Citizens of Eisenach:

It is a great pleasure for me today to have the opportunity to welcome the President of the United States of America to Eisenach.

This is the first visit ever made by an American president to the new Länder. It is a good day for German-American relations. Your visit to Brandenburg and here to Thuringia clearly dem-onstrates America's interest in the development of the new Länder.

The fact that today we are able to visit together this city, rich in tradition, in the green heart of Germany is a gift history has bestowed on us, and for which we are grateful.
No country made a greater contribution than the United States to fulfilling the dream of unity and freedom for all Germans after decades of division. This demonstration of friendship and trust is something we will never forget.

I particularly welcome the fact that it is American companies in the new Länder which are making the biggest foreign investments. They have invested around DM 13 billion, creating ap-proximately 60,000 jobs.

The city of Eisenach is one focus of American commitment to the new Länder.

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the launch of automobile production in Eisenach. Thanks to the building of the new Opel plant we can celebrate this anniversary in the certainty that the tradition will continue into the 21st century.

General Motors' decision to invest here provided impressive confirmation that the new Länder are a modern, attractive production location.

That bodes well for the people of Eisenach and Thuringia.
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

The city of Eisenach holds an important place in German history. This is where the reformer Martin Luther attended Latin school. Here, at the Wartburg, he later went into hiding and translated the New Testament from Greek into German.

One of the most important German composers, Johann Sebastian Bach, was also born in Eisenach. A little later on we will visit the house where he was born.

We will not forget that after the Second World War it was the then American military gover-nor who started the process of rebuilding this unique piece of Germany's cultural heritage.

Eisenach also has a special place in the history of German democracy. It was here that the Wartburg celebration took place in 1817 at which German students came together under the black, red and gold flag to demonstrate against the despotism of the princes and particularism, and for unity and freedom.

Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Here in Eisenach it is plain for all to see that an incredible amount has been achieved in the new Länder since 1990. This is above all the work of the citizens here in east Germany. They have set about tackling the challenges with a vengeance and made good use of their opportunities. The people here can and should be proud of their great achievement.

But material aspects are just one part of the challenge in our country's process of growing to-gether. Inner unity comes about also, and primarily, in the heads and hearts of the people.

We Germans in east and west stand united. This can be seen not least in the support for the development of the new Länder. In order for this good progress to continue, the development of the east remains one of the German Government's top priorities.

Mr. President:

Your visit to Brandenburg and here to Thuringia is a signal that the people in the new Länder can be confident as they go ahead into the future that America will continue to be at their side.

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