The Man Who Saved German Democracy

This tale holds two morals. One: Real statesmen aren’t deflected by the jejune concerns of normal mortals. They know how to get their way and to stick to their guns—or cigarettes. Second: They are shielded by a higher authority. As Henry Kissinger mused at Mr. Schmidt’s 90th birthday: “Helmut, if I had known that one can make it to 90 on 60 cigarettes a day, I would have started smoking 30 years ago.”