"Doer" and "pragmatist", "elder statesman" and "global economist" - these are just some of the words that have been used to describe Helmut Schmidt over the course of his long life. He has sometimes described himself as a "leading employee of the Federal Republic", but also as an "intellectual". In a major interview with Die Zeit in the summer of 1980, which Schmidt - then still Chancellor - conducted with Fritz J. Raddatz, then head of the feuilleton there, and the writers Günter Grass and Siegfried Lenz, Schmidt was quoted right at the beginning of the interview with the following sentence: "I consider myself an intellectual, without being able to see this as a sufficient characterisation of my person"(Die Zeit, no. 35, 22 August 1980). This sentence was preceded by Raddatz's criticism that "a mistrust of intellectuals and artists" prevailed in the SPD. Schmidt countered this accusation by appropriating the term for himself.
At first glance, Helmut Schmidt's self-image as an intellectual may seem surprising. At least this description is not remembered. Rather, the image of the sober pragmatist persists to this day. He admitted this openly in a speech at the SPD party conference in Mannheim on 12 November 1975: "I am [...] indeed a pragmatist. But not a theory-less pragmatist and certainly not a value-free one". This quote reveals some of Helmut Schmidt's characteristics in a nutshell: the ability to recognise himself, a clear image of himself, his understanding of politics and a penchant for punchlines. It also shines through in these few sentences that Helmut Schmidt's political actions had a firm intellectual basis.
There were a number of "intellectual fixed stars" in Helmut Schmidt's life. These included Marcus Aurelius, Immanuel Kant, whose 300th birthday we are celebrating this year, as well as Max Weber and Karl Popper. Schmidt's intellectual foundation can therefore be described as being characterised by rational thinking. In addition, there was a strong emphasis on duty and responsibility, as well as the insight suggested by Popper that societies are not on a historical path that has always been predetermined, but that their development should be understood as an ongoing process that allows for reflection and the correction of mistakes.
On the occasion of the presentation of Henning Albrecht's book "'Pragmatisches Handeln zu sittlichen Zwecken'. Helmut Schmidt and Philosophy" (2008) to Helmut Schmidt, the philosopher Volker Gerhardt gave a speech in which he spoke about the relationship between philosophy and politics. While Plato was of the opinion that a state would only be well run if it was governed by philosophers, Kant made a strict distinction between the two activities. Governing and philosophising could not be combined in one task. However, as Gerhardt explains, Helmut Schmidt is an example of a type of politician who was aware of the division of labour between philosophy and politics. He also united the balancing act between the poles of "political responsibility and moral obligation" in one person, despite the separation claimed by Kant.
If one understands intellectuals not only as people whose task it is to stimulate public debate and criticise the powerful, but also to take responsibility for shaping a community, then Helmut Schmidt can rightly be described as an intellectual. His philosophical background can be seen as the basis of his practical political actions. At the same time, one should not assume that philosophy alone was Helmut Schmidt's advisor in moments of decision-making.
Rather, Schmidt should be seen as a person who - like political figures such as Walther Rathenau or Theodor Heuss before him - overcame the frequently asserted opposition between intellect and power and thus contributed to the normalisation of the concept of intellectual in Germany. The fact that Schmidt considered the separation between culture and politics to be artificial can be seen not only in the inspiration he drew from philosophy, but also in an observation made by Werner Irro in a book on "Helmut Schmidt and the Fine Arts". For Schmidt, art was "never a status symbol", writes Irro, but had "existential significance". In addition to joy, he drew strength from art, which for him was never an escape from the world, but rather an encouragement for the "really important questions of life".
Like his predecessor Willy Brandt, Schmidt sought dialogue with artists and intellectuals. There is evidence in correspondence that he asked intellectuals such as Walter Jens for suggestions for government statements or other speeches. He usually accepted well-founded criticism of his own positions. For example, Henning Albrecht describes an episode in which the Kant expert Norbert Hinske criticised Schmidt in the article "Kant and the Chancellor" for Die Welt on 26 June 1974 for inadmissibly mixing the three levels of action that Kant distinguished. Schmidt's reaction was an exchange of letters with Hinske, which ultimately led to Schmidt correcting his position, but at the same time Hinske apologised for the harshness of some of his accusations.
With the end of his chancellorship in 1982, Schmidt switched to the field of journalism as co-editor of Die Zeit in May 1983. From then on, he was in demand there as a source of advice and key words and criticised from outside the political arena. For the sociologist M. Rainer Lepsius, it was precisely this "incompetent criticism", i.e. criticism from a field of activity of which one is not (or no longer) a member, that was the main characteristic of the intellectual.
But regardless of whether we want to call Schmidt an intellectual or not, he remains a figure with great potential for stimulation and the courage to engage vehemently in public debates. The fact that he also had the ability to rethink positions after well-founded criticism and adapt them if necessary can still be seen as a role model for the politically roughened debates of the present day.
Literature cited:
Albrecht, Henning: "Pragmatisches Handeln zu sittlichen Zwecken". Helmut Schmidt and Philosophy, Studies of the Helmut and Loki Schmidt Foundation, Vol. 4, Bremen 2008.
Gerhard, Volker: Helmut Schmidt und die Philosophie, in: Neue Gesellschaft | Frankfurter Hefte 2009, H. 1/2, pp. 28-32, URL = <https://www.frankfurter-hefte.de/media/Archiv/2009/Heft_01-02/NGFH_Jan-Feb_09_Gerhard_Web.pdf> (last accessed: 29 November 2023).
Hübinger, Gangolf; Hertfelder, Thomas (eds.): Critique and Mandate. Intellectuals in German politics, Stuttgart 2000.
Irro, Werner: "With great pleasure and with deep inner approval...". Helmut Schmidt and the fine arts, Studien der Helmut und Loki Schmidt-Stiftung, vol. 11, Bremen 2018.
Lepsius, M. Rainer: Criticism as a profession. On the Sociology of Intellectuals, in: Interests, Ideas and Institutions, Opladen 1990, pp. 270-285.
