Forty years, as the Old Testament shows, marks a psychological threshold. Richard von Weizsaecker observed this on May 8th 1985, as he gave the speech of his presidency and his life. In 40 years, a people could traverse the desert and reach the promised land; but they could also forget old lessons and stray from the path. And so, 40 years after their surrender in the war they had started, the Germans should face their crimes and their own destruction as honestly as they could. Only then-and this was his shocking twist-would they understand that the day of their defeat was the moment of their liberation. Helmut Kohl, then chancellor, had muttered something similar a few weeks earlier, but the public had taken little notice. Now, however, the thought came from the ceremonial head of state, a white-haired and elegant aristocrat, the son of a diplomat, and it was delivered in dialect-free German that resonated with gravitas. Suddenly the sentiment struck with full force, at home and abroad. A few months after the speech, Mr von Weizsaecker became the first German president to visit Israel.
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机译：如旧约所示，四十年标志着一个心理门槛。理查德·冯·魏兹塞克（Richard von Weizsaecker）于1985年5月8日发表讲话，介绍了他的总统任期和一生。在40年内，一个人可以穿越沙漠并到达应许之地。但是他们也可能忘记旧的经验教训，并迷失了方向。因此，在开始投降战争40年之后，德国人应该诚实地面对自己的罪行和自己的破坏。只有那时-这才是他令人震惊的转折-他们才会知道失败的日子就是他们解放的时刻。时任总理的赫尔穆特·科尔（Helmut Kohl）几周前曾喃喃地说过类似的话，但公众对此并不在意。然而，现在，这个想法来自礼仪国家元首，一个白发而优雅的贵族，是一位外交官的儿子，并以无方言的德语表达，并引起了格拉维塔的共鸣。突然之间，国内外的情绪都爆发了。演讲后的几个月，冯·魏兹塞克先生成为第一位访问以色列的德国总统。
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