Kohl is celebrated as the father of German reunification, bringing the country back together after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
“He was one of the smartest politicians of that time,” said Walesa.
“He didn’t take into account what we had said to him, namely that Germany would be united and the Soviet Union would collapse. He didn’t take account of that at the time, but he made up for this later.”
Kohl was Germany’s longest-serving postwar chancellor, leading the country from 1982 to 1998. His Christian Democratic Union party is now led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl sits next to Christian Democrat party (CDU) leader Angela Merkel during celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of German unification in Berlin on Sept. 27, 2000. REUTERS/Michael Urban
