I understand the worries of many - not only here in this auditorium -, and some have already written to me to say that technical progress has lowered the threshold that stops people from helping themselves to protected works without the slightest embarrassment.

Rau had a deep and lifelong commitment to bringing reconciliation between Germany and its past. Only two months later (19 October 2004) a hematoma in the abdominal cavity was surgically removed. However Israeli President MoJohannes Rau Katsav supported and praised him for bridging the gap between the two states.

Johannes Rau (German pronunciation: [joˈhanəs ˈʁaʊ]; 16 January 1931 – 27 January 2006) was a German politician of the SPD.