Stephane Hessel
Stephane Hessel
Stéphane Frédéric Hesselwas a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, French Resistance member and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939. He became an observer of the editing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. In 2011 he was named by Foreign Policy magazine in its list of top global thinkers. In later years his activism focused on economic inequalities, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and protection for the post-WW2 social vision. His short book...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionDiplomat
Date of Birth20 October 1917
CountryFrance
Let us not be defeated by the tyranny of the world financial markets that threaten peace and democracy everywhere.
I was a young boy when I met the Surrealists and the Dadaists. I admired them, and that is what they taught me: to admire. Admiration is very important. People who are unable to admire others lose an important part of their soul. My soul developed from a very early age through encounters with admired people.
The wealthy have installed their slaves in the highest spheres of the state. The banks are privately owned. They are concerned solely with profits. They have no interest in the common good.
I wish for you all, each of you, to have your own motive for indignation. This is precious. When something outrages you as I was outraged by Nazism, then people become militant, strong, and involved.
History can bring luck: this is what we can call optimism.
I feel that I am completely in solidarity with Jews in the world, because I know what it is to be a Jew. I've seen what it is; I am myself of Jewish origin, and therefore I can only be fully in support of the idea that the Jews, after all they've suffered, need a country where they are at home.
For me, true and authentic democracy occurs when the privileged groups assist the unprivileged groups to become more privileged.
Death is something to savour, and I hope to savour mine.
I never felt like a good Jew. My mother was not Jewish, and that makes me a non-Jew according to Jewish religious law.