"The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open."
"I was assigned to the Waffen-SS but was never involved in any crime. Besides, I always felt the need to write about my experiences in a larger context one day. This has only developed recently, now that I have overcome my inner aversion to writing an autobiography in the first place, specifically one having to do with my younger years."
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Source: It Was Always on My Mind. Interview with Ulrich Wickert, www.spiegel.de. August 21, 2006.
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