Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Schmidt was the elder of two sons to Ludovica Koch (10 November 1890 – 29 November 1968) and Gustav Ludwig Schmidt (18 April 1888 – 26 March 1981) in Barmbek, a working-class district of Hamburg, in 1918.{{cite web|url=http://www.wargs.com/royal/laborde.html |title=Ancestry of Henri de Laborde de Monpezat |publisher=Wargs |access-date=2013-09-10}} Schmidt studied at Hamburg Lichtwark School, graduating in 1937.{{cite web|title=Helmut Schmidt geb. 1918|url=https://www.hdg.de/lemo/biografie/helmut-schmidt.html|website=Lebendiges Museum Online|publisher=Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de}} Schmidt's father was born the biological son of a German Jewish banker, Ludwig Gumpel, and a Christian waitress, Friederike Wenzel,{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/spiegelspecial/d-28731611.html|title=Sachbücher: Kleiner, großer Mann mit Mütze|work=Der Spiegel|access-date=2015-11-10|archive-date=2015-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031348/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/spiegelspecial/d-28731611.html}} and then covertly adopted, although this was kept a family secret for many years.{{cite book |last=Lehrer |first=Steven |title=Wannsee house and the Holocaust |date=2000 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-0792-7 |page=74}}{{cite news |title=Told French President of Jewish Origins – Helmut Schmidt's Revelation Reported |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-25-mn-45342-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1988-02-25 |access-date=2009-09-25}} This was confirmed publicly by Schmidt in 1984, after Valéry Giscard d'Estaing revealed the fact to journalists, apparently with Schmidt's assent. Helmut Schmidt was a non-practising Protestant.{{cite news|last1=Walter|first1=Franz|title=Helmut Schmidt: Der deutsche Krisen-Kanzler|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/helmut-schmidt-der-deutsche-krisen-kanzler-a-456933.html|work=Der Spiegel|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de|date=2006-12-31}}

Schmidt was a group leader (Scharführer) in the Hitler Youth organisation until 1936, when he was demoted and sent on leave because of his anti-Nazi views.{{cite book |title=Sozialisation in der Hitlerjugend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46bwcjzoZ-UC&pg=PA87 |last=Janzyk |first=Stephan |page=87 |language=de |access-date=2013-12-12 |isbn=978-3-8428-9555-3 |date=April 2013| publisher=Diplomica Verlag }}{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21678156-social-democrat-chancellor-west-germany-died-november-10th-helmut-schmidt-has-died |title=Helmut Schmidt has died, aged 96 |newspaper=The Economist |date=2015-11-10}} However, documents from 1942 praise his "Impeccable national socialist [Nazi] behaviour", and in 1944 his superiors mentioned that Schmidt "stands the ground of national socialist ideology, knowing that he must pass it on."{{cite book |title=Helmut Schmidt und der Scheißkrieg: die Biografie 1918 bis 1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VunjoAEACAAJ |last=Pamperrien |first=Sabine |language=de |access-date=2017-01-05 |isbn=978-3-492-05677-9 |date=2014| publisher=Piper}}{{cite news |title=Was Helmut Schmidt an 'impeccable Nazi'? |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20141202/was-helmut-schmidt-an-impeccable-nazi |work=The Local |date=2014-12-02 |access-date=2017-01-06}} On 27 June 1942, he married his childhood sweetheart Hannelore "Loki" Glaser (3 March 1919 – 21 October 2010). They had two children: Helmut Walter (26 June 1944 – 19 February 1945, died of meningitis), and {{ill|Susanne Schmidt (journalist)|de|Susanne Schmidt (Journalistin)|lt=Susanne}} (born 8 May 1947), who works in London for Bloomberg Television.{{cite news|title=Ich hatte eine Beziehung zu einer anderen Frau|url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article138051616/Ich-hatte-eine-Beziehung-zu-einer-anderen-Frau.html|work=Die Welt|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de|date=2015-03-04}}{{cite web |last1=Gerwien |first1=Tilman |last2=Schönfeld |first2=Gerda-Marie |title=Helmut Schmidts Tochter Susanne: Kein Platz für Befindlichkeiten |url=http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/helmut-schmidts-tochter-susanne-kein-platz-fuer-befindlichkeiten-3739476.html |work=Stern |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2008-12-23}} Schmidt resumed his education in Hamburg after the war, graduating in economics and political science in 1949.

Schmidt had planned to study without interruption. Therefore, he volunteered at age 18 for military service in 1937. He began serving with an anti-aircraft battery of Luftwaffe at Vegesack near Bremen.

In World War II, after brief service on the Eastern Front during the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 (including the Siege of Leningrad), he returned to Germany in 1942 to work as a trainer and advisor at the Ministry of Aviation. During his service in World War II, Schmidt was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.{{cite web |url=http://hsb.ub.hsu-hh.de/free/530569175.pdf |title=Verleihung der Ehrendoktorwürde der Johns-Hopkins-Universität; Laudatio verlesen von Harry W o o l f bei der Überreichung des Grades eines Doktors der Rechtswissenschaften an Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt am 16. Juli 1976 |access-date=2009-03-20 |last=Woolf |first=Harry |date=1976-07-16 |language=de |quote=Bundeskanzler Schmidt wurde 1918 in Hamburg als Sohn eines Lehrers geboren. Er besuchte die fortschrittliche Lichtwarkschule, wo er auch seine zukünftige Frau Hannelore kennenlernte. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg gehörte er einer Flak-Einheit an, wurde mit dem Eisernen Kreuz ausgezeichnet und geriet gegen Ende des Krieges in britische Gefangenschaft |archive-date=2009-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325172030/http://hsb.ub.hsu-hh.de/free/530569175.pdf }}

He attended the People's Court as a military spectator at some of the show trials for officers involved in the 20 July plot, in which an unsuccessful attempt was made to assassinate Hitler at Rastenburg, and was disgusted by Judge Roland Freisler's conduct.{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/politische-buecher/helmut-schmidt-vom-oberleutnant-zum-soldatenkanzler-13323194.html |title=Helmut Schmidt: Vom Oberleutnant zum Soldatenkanzler |access-date=2015-11-12 |last=Wolffsohn |first=Michael |newspaper=Faz.net |date=2014-12-15 |language=de}}

Toward the end of the war, from December 1944 onwards, he served as an Oberleutnant in the Flak artillery on the Western Front during the Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes Offensive. He was captured by the British in April 1945 on Lüneburg Heath, and was a prisoner of war until August of that year in Belgium.The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 11 November 2015, Obituary [paper only], p.31 In 1958 Schmidt was promoted to Hauptmann of the Bundeswehr reserve.{{Cite book |last=Noack |first=Hans-Joachim |title=Helmut Schmidt: die Biographie |date=2008 |publisher=Rowohlt |isbn=978-3-87134-566-1 |edition=1. Aufl |location=Berlin |oclc=244654452}}

Schmidt joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1946, and from 1947 to 1948 was the leader of the Socialist German Student League, the student organisation of the SPD. Upon graduating from the University of Hamburg, where he read economics, he worked for the government of the city-state of Hamburg, working in the department of Economic Policy. Beginning in 1952, under Karl Schiller, he was a senior figure heading up the {{lang|de|Behörde für Wirtschaft und Verkehr}} (the Hamburg State Ministry for Economy and Transport).

File:Helmut Schmidt 1953.jpg portrait, 1953]]

He was elected to the Bundestag in 1953, and in 1957 he became a member of the SPD parliamentary party executive. A vocal critic of conservative government policy, his outspoken rhetoric in parliament earned him the nickname {{lang|de|Schmidt-Schnauze}} ("Schmidt the Lip").{{efn|The German word Schnauze designates the mouth and nose area of an animal like a dog or a wolf; so the epithet indicates a ready wit and a sharp tongue, suitable for (metaphorically) tearing his opponents' arguments to pieces. In the early years of the Bundestag, it was commonplace to announce a speaker's name followed by his or her electoral district, so Schmidt-Schnauze is also interpreted as a play on words.}} In 1958, he joined the national board of the SPD ({{lang|de|Bundesvorstand}}), and campaigned against nuclear weapons and the equipping of the Bundeswehr with such devices. He alarmed some in his party by taking part in manoeuvres as a reserve officer in the newly formed Bundeswehr. In 1962, he gave up his seat in parliament to concentrate on his tasks in Hamburg.

The government of the city-state of Hamburg is known as the Senate of Hamburg, and from 1961 to 1965, Schmidt was the {{lang|de|Innensenator}}: the senator of the interior. He gained a reputation as a {{lang|de|Macher}}{{efn|Literally, a maker or doer; in the sense of "a man of action"}} – someone who gets things done regardless of obstacles – by his effective management during the emergency caused by the 1962 flood, during which 300 people drowned. Schmidt used all means at his disposal to alleviate the situation, even when that meant overstepping his legal authority, including employing the federal police and army units (ignoring the German constitution's prohibition on using the army for "internal affairs"; a clause excluding disasters was not added until 1968). Describing his actions, Schmidt said, "I wasn't put in charge of these units – I took charge of them!"{{cite news|title=Herr der Flut|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-32655070.html|access-date=2015-11-10|work=Der Spiegel|issue=10/1962|date=7 March 1982|language=de}}{{cite news|last1=Bahnsen|first1=Uwe|title=Als der 'Herr der Flut' 40.000 Retter kommandierte|url=https://www.welt.de/regionales/hamburg/article13825421/Als-der-Herr-der-Flut-40-000-Retter-kommandierte.html|work=Die Welt|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de |date=2012-01-22}} He saved a further 1,000 lives and swiftly managed the re-housing of thousands of the homeless.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In 1965, he was re-elected to the Bundestag. In 1967, after the formation of the Grand Coalition between the SPD and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he became chairman of the Social Democratic parliamentary party, a post he held until the elections of 1969. In 1968, he was elected deputy party chairman, a post that he held until 1983. Unlike Willy Brandt and Gerhard Schröder, he never became chairman of the party.

In October 1969, he entered the government of Willy Brandt as defense minister.{{cite news|title=Die Erwartungen sind verdammt hoch: Neue Minister für die Reform-Ressorts|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-45520455.html|access-date=2015-11-10|work=Der Spiegel|issue=44/1969|date=1969-10-27|language=de}} During his term in office, the military conscription time was reduced from 18 to 15 months, while at the same time increasing the number of young men being conscripted.{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Kurt|title=Wer muß unter die Soldaten?|url=http://www.zeit.de/1971/06/wer-muss-unter-die-soldaten|access-date=2015-11-10|work=Die Zeit|date=1971-02-05|language=de}} Additionally, Schmidt decided to introduce the Bundeswehr universities in Hamburg and Munich to broaden the academic education of the German officer corps, and the situation of non-commissioned officers was improved.{{cite web|title=Helmut Schmidt|url=http://www.hsu-hh.de/hsu/index_J6ZVOJXUfS44PbZs.html|publisher=Helmut-Schmidt-Universität Hamburg|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106223420/http://www.hsu-hh.de/hsu/index_J6ZVOJXUfS44PbZs.html|archive-date=2015-11-06}} In July 1972, he succeeded Karl Schiller as Minister for Economics and Finance, but in November 1972, he relinquished the Economics department, which was again made a separate ministry. Schmidt remained Minister of Finance and faced the prospect of rising inflation. Shortly before the Oil Shock of 1973, which rattled Britain and the United States, Schmidt agreed that European currencies should be floated against the US dollar. He remained in charge of finance until May 1974.

{{See also|First Schmidt cabinet|Second Schmidt cabinet|Third Schmidt cabinet}}

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-P0805-314, Helsinki, KSZE-Konferenz, Schlussakte.jpg, Gerald Ford and Bruno Kreisky in 1975 in Helsinki]]

Schmidt became Chancellor of West Germany on 16 May 1974, after Brandt's resignation in the wake of an espionage scandal. The worldwide economic recession was the main problem his administration faced, and Schmidt took a tough and disciplined line, in reduction of public spending.{{cite news|title=Regierung Schmidt: Schonfrist gibt es nicht|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-41726498.html|access-date=2015-11-10|work=Der Spiegel|issue=21/1974|date=1974-05-20|language=de}} Schmidt was also active in improving relations with France. Together with the French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, he was one of the fathers of the world economic summits, the first of which assembled in 1975.{{cite book |author1=Kristina Spohr |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/2744/chapter-abstract/143229616 |title=The Global Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt and the Reshaping of the International Order |date=March 2016 |publisher=Bonn |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747796.002.0010 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |isbn=978-3-8012-4186-5 |language=de |access-date=2023-08-13}} In 1975, he was a signatory of the Helsinki Accords to create the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the precursor of today's OSCE.{{cite web|last1=Zannier|first1=Lamberto|title=Reviving the Helsinki Spirit: 40 years of the Helsinki Final Act|url=http://www.osce.org/magazine/170891|website=osce.org|publisher=OSCE|access-date=2015-11-10}} In 1978, he helped set up the European Monetary System (EMS).

He remained as Chancellor after the 1976 federal election, in coalition with the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).{{cite news|last1=Funk|first1=Albert|title=Zwei Sieger namens Helmut|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/bundestagswahl-historie/serie-bundestagswahlen-1976-zwei-sieger-namens-helmut/8582636.html|work=Der Tagesspiegel|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de|date=2013-08-01}} He adopted a tough, uncompromising line with the indigenous Red Army Faction (RAF) extremists. In October 1977, he ordered an anti-terrorist unit of Bundesgrenzschutz policemen to end the Palestinian terrorist hijacking of a Lufthansa aircraft named Landshut, staged to secure the release of imprisoned RAF leaders, after it landed in Mogadishu, Somalia. Three of the four kidnappers were killed during the assault on the plane, but all 86 passengers were rescued unharmed.{{cite news|title=RAF-Terror: Der "Deutsche Herbst"|url=http://www.spiegel.de/sptv/special/a-220284.html|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=November 2002|publisher=Spiegel TV|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de}}{{cite news|last1=di Lorenzo|first1=Giovanni|title=Deutscher Herbst: "Ich bin in Schuld verstrickt"|url=http://www.zeit.de/2007/36/Interview-Helmut-Schmidt|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2015-11-10|language=de|date=30 August 2007}}

File:Carter und Schmidt.JPG and Schmidt in July 1977]]

Schmidt was re-elected as Chancellor in November 1980.{{cite news |last1=Funk |first1=Albert |title=Wie ein wilder Stier |url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/bundestagswahl-historie/serie-bundestagswahlen-1980-wie-ein-wilder-stier/8582662.html |work=Der Tagesspiegel |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2013-08-01}}{{cite news|title=Helmut Schmidt ja, SPD na ja|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14316743.html |access-date=2015-11-10 |work=Der Spiegel |issue=41/1980 |date=1980-10-06 |language=de}} Concerned about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Soviet superiority regarding missiles in Central Europe, Schmidt issued proposals resulting in the NATO Double-Track Decision, concerning the deployment of medium-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe, should the Soviets not disarm. This decision was unpopular with the German public. A mass demonstration against the deployment mobilised 400,000 people in October 1981.{{cite web |title=Historische Debatten (9): NATO-Doppelbeschluss |url=https://www.bundestag.de/bundestag/ausschuesse18/a08/25482592_debatten09/200098 |publisher=Deutscher Bundestag |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}

At the beginning of his period as chancellor, Schmidt was a proponent of Keynesian economics, and pursued expansionary monetary and fiscal policies during his tenure. Between 1979 and 1982, the Schmidt administration pursued such policies in an effort to reduce unemployment. These were moderately successful, as the fiscal measures introduced after 1977, with reductions in income and wealth taxes and an increase in the medium-term public investment programme, were estimated to have created 160,000 additional jobs in 1978–79, or 300,000 if additional public sector employment was included in the figure.{{cite book|last1=Walker|first1=Robert|last2=Townsend|first2=Peter|last3=Lawson|first3=Roger|title=Responses to Poverty: Lessons from Europe|date=January 1984|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=978-0-8386-3222-2|pages=163–170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXshEyRHrccC&q=Responses+to+poverty:+lessons+from+Europe+by+Robert+Walker |access-date=2015-02-05}} The small reduction in the unemployment rate, however, was achieved at the cost of a larger budget deficit (which rose from 31.2 billion DM to 75.7 billion DM in 1981), brought about by fiscal expansion.Taxation, Wage Bargaining and Unemployment by Isabela Mares

File:Anwar_Sadat_and_Helmut_Schmidt.jpg and Schmidt in July 1977]]

During the 1970s, West Germany was able to weather the global financial storm far better than almost all the other developed countries, with unemployment and inflation kept at comparatively low levels. During the 1976 election campaign, the SPD/FDP coalition was able to win the battle of statistics, whether the figures related to employees' incomes, strikes, unemployment, growth, or public sector debts. Amongst other social improvements, old age pensions had been doubled between 1969 and 1976, and unemployment benefits increased to 68% of previous earnings.Germany in the Twentieth Century by David Childs

Whilst visiting Saudi Arabia in April 1981, Schmidt made some unguarded remarks about the Israel-Palestine conflict that succeeded in aggravating the delicate relations between Israel and West Germany. Asked by a reporter about the moral aspect of German-Israeli relations, he stated that Israel was not in a position to criticise Germany due to its handling of Palestinians, and "That won't do. And in particular, it won't do for a German living in a divided nation and laying moral claim to the right of self-determination for the German people. One must then recognize the moral claim of the Palestinian people to the right of self-determination." On 3 May, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin denounced Schmidt as "unprincipled, avaricious, heartless, and lacking in human feeling", and stated that he had "willingly served in the German armies that murdered millions." Begin was also upset over remarks that Schmidt had made on West German television the previous week, in which he spoke apologetically about the suffering Germany inflicted on various nations during World War II; but made no mention of the Jews. On his flight home from Riyadh, Schmidt told his advisers that war guilt could not continue to affect Germany's foreign relations.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/05/world/begin-rebukes-schmidt-for-remark-on-palestinians.html |title=Begin Rebukes Schmidt for Remark on Palestinians |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1981-05-05}}

Schmidt was the first world leader to call upon newly elected French president François Mitterrand, who visited Bonn in July 1981. The two found themselves in "complete agreement" on foreign policy matters and relations with the United States and the Soviet Union, but differed on trade and economic issues.{{cite news |first=Frank J. |last=Prial |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/13/world/paris-bonn-talks-focus-security-mitterrand-france-chancellor-helmut-schmidt-west.html |title=Paris-Bonn Talks Focus on Security: Mitterrand of France and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1981-07-13}}

By the end of his term, however, Schmidt had turned away from deficit spending, due to a deteriorating economic situation, and a number of welfare cuts were carried out, including smaller increases in child benefits and higher unemployment and health contributions.{{rp|p.129}} Large sections of the SPD increasingly opposed his security policy, while most of the FDP politicians strongly supported that policy. While representatives of the left wing of the Social Democratic Party opposed reduction of the state expenditures, the FDP began proposing a monetarist economic policy. In February 1982, Schmidt won a motion of confidence; however, on 17 September 1982, the coalition broke apart, with the four FDP ministers leaving his cabinet. Schmidt continued to lead a minority government composed only of SPD members, while the FDP negotiated a coalition with the CDU/CSU. During this time, Schmidt also headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 1 October 1982, the FDP supported a CDU-proposed constructive vote of no confidence, ousting Schmidt in favour of CDU chairman Helmut Kohl as the new chancellor. This was the only time in the history of the Federal Republic that a chancellor was removed from office in this way.{{cite web|url=https://www.bundestag.de/webarchiv/textarchiv/2012/40797914_kw40_misstrauensvotum_kalenderblatt-209576 |title=Deutscher Bundestag – Das Misstrauensvotum gegen Helmut Schmidt |first=Jan |last=Eisel |date=2012-09-28 |access-date=2015-11-10}}

{{Cleanup section|reason=The following subsections concerning Schmidt's political policies and actions may be too expansive.|date=March 2022}}

Although Schmidt did not feel that he was in a position to substantially extend the social reforms of the Brandt Administration, due to the economic problems he encountered during his time as chancellor, a wide range of reforms were nevertheless carried out under his administration. Increases were made to pensions, which went up in numerical terms. Adjusted for changes in the annual price index, pensions went up in real terms. However, the rate of pension was not changed in 1978 (even though prices increased by 2.7%), and in 1980 and 1981 the real value of pensions fell by 1.5% and 2.3%, respectively.The Social Democratic Party of Germany 1848–2005 by Heinrich Potthoff and Susanne Miller Improvements were made in family allowances, with monthly subsidies for children increased by over 100% in 1975.Taxation, wage bargaining and unemployment by Isabela Mares

Improvements were made to invalidity and old-age pension provision for the unemployed, who (from 1977 onwards) were technically insured free of charge under the old-age pension and invalidity scheme. Previously, there had only existed partial and restricted coverage for the unemployed.Responses to poverty: lessons from Europe by Robert Walker, Roger Lawson, and Peter Townsend The Law to Improve Occupational Old Age Pensions (1974) extended coverage of occupational pensions, whilst also "co-ordinating them more closely with state pensions and setting minimum standards as regards benefit levels and the preservation of pension rights". By 1976, as a result of this legislation, 65% of private sector employees were covered by occupational schemes, and over two-thirds of these workers were eligible for benefits equal to more than 15% of their earnings at retirement. This legislation also acquired that entitlements to occupational pensions must not expire after leaving a firm, and that occupational pensions must not be reduced as a result of receipt of benefits under the public insurance system. The Social Insurance Law for the Handicapped (1975) extended compulsory coverage to disabled persons working in special establishments for the disabled (medical benefits and cash benefits to replace earnings from work). In 1976, a new declaration of social rights was made,{{cite book |title=Socialists in the Recession: The Search for Solidarity |first1=Giles |last1=Radice |first2=Lisanne |last2=Radice |date=1986 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-333-38845-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oekSAQAAMAAJ}} and in 1979, an Act was passed which lowered the pensionable age for severely disabled persons to 61 years, and to 60 years as from 1980.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cRlfyus2mgwC&pg=PA51 |title=Changing Patterns of Social Protection |isbn=978-1-4128-1935-0 |access-date=2013-09-10 |last1=Gilbert |first1=Neil |last2=Van Voorhis |first2=Rebecca A. |publisher=Transaction Publishers}}

In October 1974, a Rehabilitation Benefits Alignment Act was passed, with the intention of promoting rehabilitation of the disabled by extending certain benefits to them.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gl0tzPYgko8C&pg=PA435 |title=Industrial Relations |date=1974-10-01 |isbn=978-81-7446-619-8 |access-date=2013-09-10 |author1=Singh |publisher=Excel Books India}} To meet the need for more uniform medical treatment in rural areas and on the peripheral of cities due to a lack of panel doctors in those areas, a bill was passed in December 1976 which improved the possibilities of panel doctors' associations by ensuring that panel doctors were available to provide treatment, while also providing for planning according to need and the participation of the sickness insurances. An Act of August 1975 on criminal law reform introduced "other forms of assistance" such as medical advice on contraception, together with assistance pertaining to sterilisation and abortion.The Evolution of Social Insurance 1881–1981: Studies of Germany, France, Great Britain, Austria, and Switzerland edited by Peter A. Kohler and Hans F. Zacher in collaboration with Martin Partington New assistance benefits were created in 1975 for family planning and maternity consultations, whilst a constant attendance allowance was increased.[http://aei.pitt.edu/10250/1/10250.pdf Report on the Development of the Social Situation in the Communities in 1975] Housing renovation and energy savings legislation was introduced in 1977, while a constitutional reform of 1981 increased federal powers in health and education.The Federal Republic of Germany: The End of an era edited by Eva Kolinsky

In July 1974, special benefits were introduced to compensate for wages not paid as a result of bankruptcy for a maximum of up to three months. Increases in income-limits for housing allowances were carried out, together with housing allowance rates, while major improvements were made in welfare provision for the elderly.The rise and decline of the state by Martin Van Creveld By 1982, the purchasing power of the average pension was 2.5% better than in 1975. In 1975, tax allowances were replaced by child benefits, while payment for the first child was introduced. A tax relief act reduced income taxes and provided additional tax benefits for housing allowances. The Schmidt administration also introduced social policy legislation in the late 1970s, which increased family allowances (though by a smaller amount than in 1974) and maternity leave benefits. The increases in benefits under the Schmidt administration arguably had a positive impact on reducing inequalities, with the percentage of West Germans living in poverty (according to one measurement) falling between 1978 and 1982.{{cite web |url=http://www.lisproject.org/publications/liswps/148.pdf |title=Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper Series |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123223222/http://www.lisproject.org/publications/liswps/148.pdf |archive-date=2012-11-23}}

Under the law of June 1974, the residents could participate in the management of the establishment through a consultative committee. A law of June 1975 amended the Employment Protection Law and the Law on the provision of temporary workers which improved the legal protection of temporary migrant workers in West Germany. A law of December 1975 gave the right to claim under the sickness insurance scheme for medical consultations for family planning purposes. A law of May 1975 extended social security to disabled persons according to various procedures.

A law of April 1976 on youth employment limited working hours to 40 hours in a 5-day week, raised the minimum working age from 14 to 15, increased leave, improved conditions for release from work for day attendance at vocational training school and for periods of weeks under the block release system, and improved protection at work by restrictions on employment in dangerous or unhealthy work. A law on protection against dismissal was amended by abolishing the minimum age limit of 18, so that young workers under eighteen were now also protected against dismissal. The Ministry for Youth, Family Affairs and Health encouraged a pilot scheme, of a scientific nature, aimed at promoting the development of qualified advisory services on family planning, sexual problems and problems linked with pregnancy. A regulation of June 1976 laid down detailed rules governing 'aid to overcome particular social difficulties'. This measure was specially aimed at marginal social groups, such as former convicts and the homeless, and consisted of providing information, personal guidance, help in obtaining and maintaining a home and in obtaining and keeping a job, in addition to guidance as regards training and the organization of leisure time. The general section of the Social Code, which came into effect in January 1976, introduced basic measures concerning the social services. It laid down an obligation to establish the services and institutions needed by the population and to provide them with information and advice on their social rights. These provisions had already had certain effects, in particular a considerable growth in home help services and social centres. A regulation in application of a 1974 law on old people's homes and adult hostels was introduced, according to which compulsory consultative committees could be set up by the residents to ensure their participation in the running of these establishments in a greater measure than in the past. A law passed in August 1974 supplemented the protection provided for handicapped people under a law passed during the Brandt Administration in April 1974 by providing that, henceforth, the benefits for the purposes of medical and occupational rehabilitation would be the same for all the categories of persons concerned: war victims, the sick, the victims of industrial accidents, congenitally handicapped persons: a total of about 4 million persons in all.

The 1976 Act for the Promotion of Urban Development and the 1977 Housing Modernisation Act, together with the 1971 Act for the Promotion of Urban Development passed by the Brandt Administration, enabled most West German cities by the end of the Seventies to introduce programmes aimed at renovating their pre-war residential areas.{{cite book |title=Urban and Rural Change in West Germany |first=Martin |last=Trevor |date=1983 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-389-20392-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKU5DwAAQBAJ&dq=Urban+and+Rural+Change+in+West+Germany&pg=PT22}} Additional tax reforms were introduced that lowered the tax burden on low-income households, and which played an important role "in pre-empting a real decline in the income and purchasing power of workers". A law was passed to encourage low-income home ownership,{{cite web |url=http://www.chroniknet.de/daly_de.0.html?year=1975&month=4&day=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606104348/http://www.chroniknet.de/daly_de.0.html?year=1975&month=4&day=10 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 June 2013 |title=10.04.1975 – Präsident Gerald Ford Rede Kongress Washington 722 Mio |publisher=Chroniknet.de |date= |access-date=2013-09-10 }} while 250 million marks was provided in 1978 for the promotion of sports and physical education.{{cite web |url=http://www.chroniknet.de/daly_de.0.html?year=1978&month=8 |title=August 1978 – Oberste Gericht DDR Berufungsantrag Regimekritikers Rudolf Bahro Verurteilung |publisher=Chroniknet.de |date= |access-date=2013-09-10 |archive-date=6 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606121152/http://www.chroniknet.de/daly_de.0.html?year=1978&month=8 |url-status=dead }} That same year, entitlement to educational allowances was extended to all tenth-grade pupils in vocational education.

The Introductory Tax Reform Law (1974) increased bad weather payments, part-time workers' benefits and insurance benefits to 68% of net wages, fixed special benefits during vocational training at 90% of net earnings, increased assistance benefits to 58% of net earnings, and abolished special family benefits "in favour of the inclusion of the unemployed under general child allowance scheme". A special tax credit was introduced in 1978 in cases of particular financial burden due to children, while a substantial increase in the child allowance was made in 1979.Below-Replacement Fertility in Industrial Societies: Causes, Consequences, Policies, edited by Kingsley Davis, Mikhail S. Bernstam, and Rita Ricardo-Campbell Several policy changes were carried out between 1976 and 1982, such as tax credits and family allowances, which compensated unions for wage restraint and "guaranteed the maintenance of a constant income level for employed persons and their families". Increases were made in child benefits, which rose on a regular basis (particularly for families with more than one child) for most of the years that the Schmidt Administration was in office.

Various measures were also carried out to mitigate the effects of unemployment. Employment creation schemes were introduced to help young workers. The Training Opportunities Act (1976) helped (over a four-year period) to increase the number of vocational training places from 450,000 to 630,000 a year. In 1976, a provisional law was introduced to boost the number of apprentices, which reduced the numbers of young people out of work. An experimental retraining programme was launched on the shop floor (lasting from 1979 to 1981), which benefited 45,680 people.

In June 1974, a reformed food law was passed into law, which aimed to safeguard consumers from physical harm.{{cite web |url=http://www.sophienschule.de/comenius/timeline/index_files/Ger74economy.htm |title=Germany '74 – Economy |publisher=Sophienschule.de |date=1974-12-20 |access-date=2013-09-10 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212819/http://www.sophienschule.de/comenius/timeline/index_files/Ger74economy.htm }} The Students' Sickness Insurance Law (1975) extended compulsory coverage to students (medical benefits only), while the Artists' Social Insurance Law (1981) introduced compulsory insurance for artists below a certain income-limit. The Detergents Law (1975) and the Effluency Levies Act (1978) were passed to encourage environmental protection.Germany, 2000 Years: From the Nazi era to German unification by Kurt Frank Reinhardt, Gerhart Hoffmeister, and Frederic Christian Tubach In 1975, the allowable duration of unemployment benefit payment was extended to twenty-four months during periods of general recession. The 1976 law on standard terms of sale gave consumer groups the right to file suits against companies employing unfair terms of sale.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gCv4K6D_8MwC&dq=Germany+law+on+standard+terms+1976+consumers&pg=PA63 |title=Consumer Capitalism: Politics, Product Markets, And Firm Strategy in France ... – Gunnar Trumbull|date=2006|isbn=0-8014-4382-2 |access-date=2013-09-10 |last1=Trumbull |first1=Gunnar |publisher=Cornell University Press}} The Higher Education Framework Act of 1976 pronounced that scientific continuing education was a task to be implemented by the institutions of the system of higher education, thus exceeding their traditional tasks of research and lecturing.{{cite web|url=http://paginas.fe.up.pt/nuce/GERM.html |title=Ulrike Kommer |publisher=Paginas.fe.up.pt |date= |access-date=2013-09-10}} In 1977, an "investment programme for the future" was decided upon by the Schmidt Administration, which provided DM 16 thousand million for the improvement of the transport system, an efficient and ecological energy supply, provisions for water supply, vocational training, and the safeguarding of the environment.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCHq-Fgjci4C&dq=germany+Federal+financial+support+local+authority+transport+systems+1971&pg=RA1-PA204 |title=The German Economy in the Twentieth Century: The German Reich and the ... – Hans-Joachim Braun |date=1990 |isbn=978-0-415-02101-2 |access-date=2013-09-10 |last1=Braun |first1=Hans-Joachim |publisher=Routledge }}

Under a regulation of December 1976, four new occupational diseases were recognised. To expand training opportunities for girls, a pilot scheme was launched in 1978 to open up certain skilled industrial and technical occupations to them. Laws restricting the access of migrant workers to certain regions were repealed in 1977, and the existing provisions were made more flexible in order to allow the children of migrant workers who had entered the Federal Republic of Germany in 1975/76 access to employment. Legislation governing old people's homes and adult assistance establishments was further supplemented by two regulations, one imposing minimum requirements concerning premises, and the other laying down rules for financial management to ensure that residents were not financially exploited.

The Fifth Amendment of July 1979 to the Employment Promotion Law provided among other things for an improvement in conditions governing financial support towards basic vocational training for unemployed young people with at least one year's vocational experience, the expansion of training activities for jobs in which there is a shortage of skilled workers and easier access to further vocational training facilities for problem groups (such as the unskilled, the unemployed, and women generally). In 1979, the Federal Minister for Education and Science made funds available for a new further education establishment to train instructors. Under a law amending the law respecting technical working media and the Industrial Code of August 1979, machines and equipment which had been voluntarily submitted for testing and passed by an established body may bear the marking 'GS' (=safety-tested). For medical equipment, the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs was authorized to issue orders containing further safety provisions, while the resale of hazardous equipment and its display at exhibitions may be prohibited in future by factory inspectors even in the case of trading companies.

In 1979 DM 219 million was set aside for about 80,000 dwellings under the modernisation programme for dwellings worthy of preservation run jointly by the Federal authorities and the individual {{lang|de|Länder}} (50% of this money was earmarked for modernization priority areas). In addition, DM 2,350 million was made available under a five-year programme to improve the housing stock. Loans and higher tax rebates were also used to encourage modernisation of dwellings and energy-saving measures. 577 slum clearance and urban development schemes in 459 municipalities were also accorded financial support amounting to DM 183.5 million under a law on the promotion of urban development. A law of October 1979 granted a lump-sum allowance for the winter of 1979/80 to help low-income groups to meet the additional outlay incurred by the rise in fuel costs. In August 1979, a programme was adopted for foreign refugees, with resources allocated for aid concerning information, legal advice, psycho-social and medical assistance and for measures to facilitate the integration of refugees or their emigration to other countries.

Under a law of July 1980, a farmer's surviving spouse wishing to continue working on the farm could obtain a helper or temporary aid from the agricultural pension fund. Any spouse choosing not to do so was entitled to a survivor's allowance if he or she was no longer able to find suitable paid employment either for reasons of age (over 45) or because there were children to bring up. In other cases, the allowance was designed to facilitate reintegration into working life. This allowance guaranteed the spouse protection under the agricultural sickness insurance scheme, which also covered self-employed fishermen and beekeepers.

A special programme was introduced, specially designed for young people who, because of their poor level of education and language ability, were unable to find a suitable job or training place. The young people were offered a one-year full-time course of training to qualify them for a training place or job, and in September 1980, approximately 15,000 young people were participating in these courses. From 1980 onwards, parents could deduct the cost of day care for their children (in day nurseries and nursery schools in particular) from their taxable income up to an annual maximum of DM 600 or DM 1,200 depending on whether the income of a single parent or that of a married couple was involved. Major additions were also made to the regulations on dangerous substances, while comprehensive new regulations concerning installations requiring supervision were introduced. The Federal Ministry for Youth, Family Affairs and Health gave particular attention to assisting parents in assuming their educational responsibilities towards their children. For instance, special 'letters to parents' were distributed free of charge to parents of children under 8, with some 3 million sent in 1979. A determined effort was also made to provide better education for socially disadvantaged children by supporting pilot schemes and research projects. Public funds had been allocated from 1979 onwards to a pilot scheme entitled 'Aid to children in need' under which children's communities were set up in Berlin and Gütersloh to protect and care for children who had been or were at risk of being ill-treated by their parents, while at the same time the family education and advisory services were assigned the task of educating these parents.

In terms of workplace rights, a "parity" system was introduced (although in a weakened form) on the supervisory boards of all companies employing over 2,000 workers, a reform which West German trade unions had long fought for. This law improved employee representation on the supervisory boards of companies outside the steel and coal industries. The main provision of this new piece of legislation was that in the 650 major companies that accounted for 70% of West Germany's output, employee representation on the supervisory boards rose from one-third to one-half. In 1976, the Young Persons (Protection of Employment) Act was passed, which forbade the employment of children and young persons required to attend full-time education, with minor exceptions.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tERFy1q6okC&pg=PA63 |title=Recent Developments in the Clothing Industry: Fourth Tripartite Technical ...|date=1994|publisher=International Labour Organization |isbn=978-92-2-109484-5|access-date=2013-09-10}}

The social protection of civil servants and judges ({{lang|de|Bund}} and {{lang|de|Länder}}) was standardised and improved by a law of August 1974. Under a law of May 1976, victims of acts of violence and their survivors would in future have the right to compensation in respect of the physical and economic consequences in the same manner as protection for war victims. In 1977, DM 8 million was made available by the federal government to welfare bodies to build and modernise holiday homes for families. That same year, the conditions for investment in the privately financed construction of rented dwellings were improved by the reintroduction of decreasing depreciation for buildings. In order to take the situation of the unemployed into account to the maximum possible extent in asset formation policy, certain legal provisions were amended so that in the event of unemployment, personal payments could be made to continue savings plans which entailed employers' contributions. In addition, workers who had been unemployed for a year or more could unblock savings plans before the end of the freeze without losing the financial benefits offered by the State. A new special programme with funds of DM 100 million was launched at the start of 1978 to improve training and job opportunities for the disabled. The budget of the Federal Labour Office was increased exceptionally by more than 20%, whilst special emphasis was placed on measures to promote vocational training, job creation, advanced training and retraining. The aim was to reduce the high proportion of unemployed persons lacking training and increase the chances of this group to obtain employment.

A wide range of social liberal reforms were also carried out during Schmidt's time in office. A marriage and divorce law of 1976 instituted the principle of maintenance obligations of each economically stronger partner, That same year, a reform of naming for partners after marriage was carried out, together with a reform of marriage law, which eliminated "moral guilt" as a criterion for alimony payment obligations. The First Marriage Reform Law of 1976 stated that pension entitlements acquired during marriage must be shared with the economically weaker spouse following divorce. In 1977, a law was introduced which enabled married women to enter employment without the permission of their husbands, while prison reforms guaranteed inmates access to courts for any violations of their rights,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4af2Ko82tZIC&pg=PA320 |title=Essentials of Corrections|isbn=978-0-495-50438-2|access-date=2015-11-10|last1=Larry Mays|first1=G.|last2=Winfree|first2=Latham Thomas|date=2008-02-28|publisher=Cengage Learning }} limited sentences in all but the gravest cases to 15 years, and proclaimed rehabilitation to be the objective of incarceration.German History in Modern Times: Four Lives of the Nation by William W. Hagan In 1977, a Sex Discrimination Act was passed. In 1981, a legal aid system was established to facilitate access to courts of law.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ks5cULQvt4oC&pg=PA317 |title=Fassbinder's Germany |isbn=978-90-5356-059-4 |access-date=2015-11-10 |last1=Elsaesser |first1=Thomas |date=1996 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press}}

File:Helmut Schmidt Bundeskanzler - Moscow 11 dec 2013 (cropped).jpg

In 1982, along with his friend Gerald Ford, he co-founded the annual AEI World Forum.{{cite book|editor1-last=Theakston|editor1-first=Kevin|editor2-last=de Vries|editor2-first=Jouke|title=Former Leaders in Modern Democracies. Political Sunsets |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan London |location=Basingstoke|isbn=978-0-230-31447-4|page=24 |doi=10.1057/9781137265319}} The following year he joined the nationwide weekly Die Zeit newspaper as co-publisher, also acting as its director from 1985 to 1989.{{cite web|last1=Sommer|first1=Theo|title=Helmut Schmidt: A Life Lived for Germany|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-11/helmut-schmidt-obituary-english|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2015-11-10 |date=2015-11-10}} In 1985, he became managing director. With Takeo Fukuda he founded the Inter Action Councils in 1983. He retired from the Bundestag in 1986. In December 1986, he was one of the founders of the committee supporting the EMU and the creation of the European Central Bank.

Contrary to the line of his party, Schmidt was a determined opponent of Turkey's bid to join the EU.{{cite news|last1=Schmidt|first1=Helmut|title=Einbinden, nicht aufnehmen|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/leiter_schmidt|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2015-11-11|language=de|date=2002-12-05}} He also opposed phasing out nuclear energy,{{Cite journal|date=2008-07-23|title=Helmut Schmidt für Atomkraft|url=https://www.zeit.de/online/2008/30/schmidt-atomausstieg-spd|journal=Die Zeit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727025353/http://www.zeit.de/online/2008/30/schmidt-atomausstieg-spd|archive-date=2008-07-27|access-date=2020-02-08}} something that the Red-Green coalition of Gerhard Schröder supported.{{Cite journal|last=Braunthal|first=Gerard|date=1999-01-01|title=The 1998 German Election: Gerhard Schröder and the Politics of the New Middle|journal=German Politics and Society|volume=17|issue=1|pages=32–54 |doi=10.3167/104503099782486897|issn=1045-0300}} In 2007, Schmidt described the climate debate as "hysterically overheated".{{cite news|author1=Kai Diekmann and Hans-Jörg Vehlewald |title=Der G8-Gipfel ist nur noch ein Spektakel|url=http://www.bild.de/news/2007/ex-bundeskanzler-interview-1936410.bild.html|access-date=2015-11-01 |work=Bild |date=2007-06-03}} When asked about social media, Schmidt said he perceived the internet as "threatening". He was particularly concerned about the superficiality of communication on the web.{{cite web |url=http://www.netzwelt.de/news/91902-helmut-schmidt-ueber-neue-medien.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403153244/http://www.netzwelt.de/news/91902-helmut-schmidt-ueber-neue-medien.html |archive-date=2013-04-03 |title=Helmut Schmidt über neue Medien |language=de |work=netzwelt |access-date=2012-04-19 |quote='Drei Dinge fallen mir dazu ein. Erstens: Das Internet gehört kaum zu meiner Welt. Zweitens: Ich empfinde es als bedrohlich. Und drittens: Es hat Zukunft.' Er beklagt insbesondere die Oberflächlichkeit der Kommunikation im Netz.}}

Schmidt was highly critical of allowing immigration from outside of Europe, believing that people from these cultures would not integrate well. He said in a 2004 interview with Hamburger Abendblatt that "a multicultural society can function peacefully only under a strong authoritarian state like Singapore, the cultures there all speak English and the political system is based on authority."{{Cite news |title=Wieviel Anatolien verträgt Europa? |url=http://www.abendblatt.de/politik/deutschland/article290699/Wieviel-Anatolien-vertraegt-Europa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517032658/http://www.abendblatt.de/politik/deutschland/article290699/Wieviel-Anatolien-vertraegt-Europa.html |archive-date=17 May 2013 |access-date=2025-01-01 |work=Hamburger Abendblatt |language=de |url-status=live }} In 2005, he spoke out against attempts to remedy Germany's aging population with more immigration: "Immigration of people from East of Anatolia or from Subsaharan Africa does not solve the problem, it only creates a much bigger problem."{{Cite web |last=NACHRICHTEN |first=n-tv |title=Alt-Kanzler gegen Zuwanderung |url=https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Alt-Kanzler-gegen-Zuwanderung-article152129.html |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=n-tv.de |language=de}} In a 2010 interview with Sandra Maischberger, he said that "Immigration from foreign civilizations creates more problems than it can bring us in terms of benefits on the labor market. Immigration from Europe is no problem, the problem starts from somewhat more eastern regions. These are different cultures, not because of their different genes or ancestry, but because of the way they were raised."{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D5kr9lowTw |title=Helmut Schmidt 2010 |date=2015-11-12 |last=tagesschau |access-date=2025-01-01 |via=YouTube}}

On 16 May 2014, Schmidt said the Russo-Ukrainian War was dangerous, because, "Europe, the Americans and also Russia are behaving in a way that Christopher Clark described in his book The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 that's very much worth reading, as the beginning of World War I: like sleepwalkers."{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-16/ukraine-crisis-resembles-europe-1914-says-helmut-schmidt.html |title=Ukraine Crisis Echoes 1914, German Ex-Leader Schmidt Says |work=Bloomberg |date=2014-05-16}} Clark later disputed comparisons between the Russo-Ukrainian War and World War I, saying in 2022, "The first world war began in an incredibly complex, around-the-houses way. Whereas in the case of the invasion of Ukraine, in 2014 and this year, it's quite clearly a case of the breach of the peace by just one power."{{Cite news |last=Oltermann |first=Philip |date=2022-06-26 |title=Don't compare Ukraine invasion to first world war, says 'Sleepwalkers' historian |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/26/historian-says-dont-compare-ukraine-invasion-with-his-book-on-first-world-war |access-date=2022-07-06}}

Schmidt was the author of numerous books on his political life, on foreign policy, and political ethics. He made appearances in numerous television talk shows, and remained one of the most renowned political publicists in Germany until his death.{{cite web |title=Helmut Schmidt, former West German chancellor, dies aged 96 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/helmut-schmidt-former-west-german-chancellor-dies-aged-96 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2015-11-10 |date=2015-11-10}}

In his later years, Schmidt gained a positive reputation as an elder statesman across party lines in Germany.

File:MSC 2014 Schmidt GiscardDEstaing Kissinger Bahr2 Zwez MSC2014.jpg, Henry Kissinger and Egon Bahr (2014)]]

Schmidt described the assassinated Egyptian president Anwar Sadat as one of his friends from the world of politics, and maintained a friendship with ex-president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of France. His circle also included former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew{{cite news |title=Schmidt's end-of-life wish: To see Mr Lee once more |work=Today |date=2015-11-12 |url=https://www.todayonline.com/world/schmidts-end-life-wish-see-mr-lee-once-more |access-date=2021-10-03}}{{cite news |title=The world according to two old friends: Lee Kuan Yew and Helmut Schmidt |work=The Straits Times |date=2012-09-22 |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/the-world-according-to-two-old-friends-lee-kuan-yew-and-helmut-schmidt |access-date=2021-10-03}} and former U.S. Secretaries of State George Shultz{{cite news |title=4 very powerful friends: Lee Kuan Yew, Helmut Schmidt, Henry Kissinger, George Shultz |work=The Straits Times |date=2012-07-21 |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/4-very-powerful-friends-lee-kuan-yew-helmut-schmidt-henry-kissinger-george-shultz |access-date=2021-10-03}} and Henry Kissinger. Kissinger went on record as stating that he wished to predecease Helmut Schmidt, because he would not wish to live in a world without him.Helmut Schmidt – der deutsche Kanzler, documentary, ZDF 2008.

He was also good friends with former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. At the 4th G7 summit in 1978, the two discussed strategies for the upcoming Canadian federal election, and Schmidt gave him advice on economic policy.{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Lawrence |title=Chrétien: The Will to Win |location=Toronto |publisher=Lester Publishing |date=1995 |page=262 |isbn=978-1-895555-75-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0WtSNAzFaMC }} In 2011, Schmidt made a pilgrimage to the Trudeau family vault in St-Rémi-de-Napierville Cemetery, accompanied by Jean Chrétien and Tom Axworthy.{{cite news |title=Chrétien and former German leader visit Trudeau's tomb |work=The Canadian Press |date=2011-06-01 |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/06/01/chrtien_and_former_german_leader_visit_trudeaus_tomb.html |access-date=2021-02-22}}

Schmidt admired the philosopher Karl Popper, and contributed a foreword to the 1982 Festschrift in Popper's honour.Helmut Schmidt, "The Way of Freedom", in In Pursuit of Truth: Essays on the Philosophy of Karl Popper, On the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, ed. Paul Levinson, Humanities Press, 1982, pp. xi–xii.

Schmidt was a talented pianist, and recorded piano concertos of both Mozart and Bach with German pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach. Schmidt recorded Mozart's piano concerto for three pianos, K. 242, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Eschenbach in 1982 with pianists Eschenbach and Justus Frantz for EMI Records (CDC 7 47473 2). In that recording, according to the CDs liner notes, Schmidt played the part written for Countess Antonia Lodron's youngest daughter Giuseppina, "almost a beginner" who commissioned the work. The part brilliantly "enables any reasonably practiced amateur to participate in a performance". The same musical notes also indicate that Schmidt and Frantz had played duets during Frantz's student days. In 1990 Schmidt joined Eschenbach, Frantz, Gerhard Oppitz and the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra in Deutsche Grammophon's recording of Bach's Concerto in A minor for four harpsichords, BWV 1065.{{cite news |newspaper=Badische Zeitung |date=2008-12-10 |author=Alexander Dick |title=Der Klavier-Kanzler |url=http://www.badische-zeitung.de/panorama/der-klavier-kanzler--8963225.html |language=de}}

File:MSC 2014 Schmidt Mueller MSC2014.jpg

All his adult life, Schmidt was a heavy smoker. He was well known for lighting up during TV interviews and talk shows. On 13 October 1981, Schmidt was fitted with a cardiac pacemaker.{{cite news|title=Dann rumpelt es in der Brust ...|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-14338700.html |access-date=2015-11-10 |work=Der Spiegel |issue=43/1981 |date=1981-10-19 |language=de}} On 24 August 2002, he suffered a heart attack and subsequently underwent bypass surgery.{{cite news|title=Altkanzler Schmidt erholt sich von Bypass-Operation |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/herzinfarkt-altkanzler-schmidt-erholt-sich-von-bypass-operation-a-211176.html |access-date=2023-09-08 |work=Der Spiegel |date=2002-08-27 |language=de}}{{cite web |title=Helmut Schmidt has heart attack August 27, 2002 |website=CNN.com |date=2002-08-27 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/08/27/germany.schmidt/index.html |access-date=2023-08-26 |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822183512/https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/08/27/germany.schmidt/index.html |url-status=dead }}

On 25 January 2008, German police launched an inquiry after an anti-smoking initiative charged that Schmidt was defying the recently introduced smoking ban. The initiative claimed that Schmidt had been flagrantly ignoring anti-smoking laws. Despite pictures in the press, the case was subsequently dropped after the public prosecutor's office ruled that Schmidt's actions had not been a threat to public health.Der Spiegel: [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/leute/0,1518,530882,00.html "Strafanzeige: Altkanzler Schmidt raucht trotz Verbots – Staatsanwalt ermittelt"] (han) 25 January 2008; [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/nichtraucher-debatte-altkanzler-schmidt-liess-die-zigaretten-stecken-a-531306.html "Nichtraucher-Debatte: Altkanzler Schmidt ließ die Zigaretten stecken"] (flo/dpa) 27 January 2008; [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/ich-bin-doch-nicht-verrueckt-helmut-schmidt-bleibt-raucher-a-535051.html "'Ich bin doch nicht verrückt': Helmut Schmidt bleibt Raucher"] (pad/AP), 13 February 2008 {{in lang|de}}

On 6 April 2010, with a lifespan of 33,342 days, he surpassed Konrad Adenauer in terms of longevity, and at the time of his death was the oldest former chancellor in German history.{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-oldest-former-chancellor-helmut-schmidt-turns-90/a-3889487 |title=Germany′s Oldest Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Turns 90 |date=2008-12-22 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=2015-11-10}}

His wife of 68 years, Loki Schmidt, died on 21 October 2010, aged 91.[https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/specials/loki-schmidt/article10709802/Loki-Schmidt-auf-Parkfriedhof-Ohlsdorf-beigesetzt.html Loki Schmidt auf Parkfriedhof Ohlsdorf beigesetzt] Die Welt; 3. November 2010

At the beginning of August 2012, Schmidt gave an interview on German television and revealed that at 93 years of age, he had fallen in love again. His new life partner was his associate of over 57 years, Ruth Loah (27 September 1933 – 23 February 2017).{{cite web |url=http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120804-44159.html|title=Ex-Chancellor Schmidt, 93, in love again |access-date=2015-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806003809/http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120804-44159.html |archive-date=2012-08-06}}{{cite web |url=http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/altkanzler-bekennt-sich-mit-93-zu-ruth-loah-helmut-schmidts-neue-sieht-loki-zum-verwechseln-aehnlich_aid_792532.html |title=Altkanzler bekennt sich mit 93 zu Ruth Loah: Helmut Schmidts Neue sieht Loki zum Verwechseln ähnlich |author=FOCUS Online |date=2012-08-04|work=Focus|access-date=2015-11-10}}

File:WDK 6198 15.JPG procession in Hamburg, 23 November 2015]]

On 2 September 2015, Schmidt underwent surgery for a vascular occlusion in his right leg.{{cite news |title=Helmut Schmidt auf Intensivstation |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/gefaessverschluss-helmut-schmidt-auf-der-intensivstation-a-1050976.html |work=SPIEGEL Online |access-date=2017-09-11 |language=de |date=2015-12-01}} On 17 September, he was discharged from hospital.{{cite web |title=Hier fährt Helmut Schmidt nach Hause |url=https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/helmut-schmidt/hier-faehrt-er-nach-hause-42621456.bild.html |work=bild |access-date=2015-09-17 |language=de |date=2015-09-17}} After initial improvement, his condition worsened again on 9 November,{{Cite news |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article148601402/Helmut-Schmidt-offenbar-nicht-mehr-ansprechbar.html |title=Leibarzt: Helmut Schmidt offenbar "nicht mehr ansprechbar" |newspaper=Die Welt |date=2015-11-09}} with his doctor saying he "feared for the worst".{{cite web |title=Bangen um Helmut Schmidt: "Er will und kann nicht mehr" |url=http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/altkanzler-schwer-krank-bangen-um-helmut-schmidt-er-will-und-kann-nicht-mehr_id_5074312.html |work=Focus |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2015-11-10}} Schmidt died in his Hamburg home on the afternoon of 10 November 2015, aged 96.{{cite web |title=Altkanzler Helmut Schmidt ist tot |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/eilmeldung/eilmeldung-293.html |publisher=Tagesschau |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2015-11-10}}{{cite web |title=German ex-Chancellor Schmidt dies at 96 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34778565 |publisher=BBC |access-date=2015-11-10 |date=2015-11-10}}{{cite news |title=Altkanzler: Helmut Schmidt ist tot |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/helmut-schmidt-ist-tot-a-1062105.html |work=Der Spiegel |access-date=2015-11-11 |language=de |date=2015-11-10}} At the time of his death, he was the longest-lived German Chancellor.{{Cite news |date=2015-11-10 |editor-last=Connolly |editor-first=Kate |title=Helmut Schmidt, former West German chancellor, dies aged 96 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/helmut-schmidt-former-west-german-chancellor-dies-aged-96?CMP=share_btn_url |access-date=2024-08-24 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en}}

File:Grabstein Loki und Helmut Schmidt (2).jpg and Helmut Schmidt in the Ohlsdorf Cemetery]]

A state funeral for Schmidt was held on 23 November at the Protestant (Lutheran) St. Michael's Church, Hamburg, where Loki Schmidt's funeral had been held. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in remarks to mourners, said, "He will be missed. He was an astute observer and commentator, and it was with good reason that he had a reputation for dependability." Others who spoke included former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Speaking in German, he lauded Schmidt for "vision and courage", based on the principles of "reason, law, peace and faith", and said Schmidt had been "a kind of world conscience".

Among the 1,800 who attended were German President Joachim Gauck, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, whose tenure in office paralleled Schmidt's as German chancellor. Other guests included former chancellor Gerhard Schröder, former presidents Christian Wulff, Horst Köhler, Roman Herzog and Hamburg's mayor Olaf Scholz.{{cite web |title=Geladene Gäste nehmen Abschied von Helmut Schmidt |url=http://www.radiohamburg.de/Nachrichten/Hamburg-aktuell/Menschen-in-Hamburg/2015/November/Geladene-Gaeste-nehmen-Abschied-von-Helmut-Schmidt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124202439/http://www.radiohamburg.de/Nachrichten/Hamburg-aktuell/Menschen-in-Hamburg/2015/November/Geladene-Gaeste-nehmen-Abschied-von-Helmut-Schmidt |archive-date=2015-11-24 |publisher=Radio Hamburg |access-date=2015-11-25 |language=de |date=2015-11-23}} A flag-draped coffin containing the remains of the former chancellor, also a former German defense minister, was escorted by the German Army's Wachbataillon from St. Michael's to Ohlsdorf Cemetery for a private interment ceremony.{{cite news |title= Merkel über den Altkanzler: "Lieber Helmut Schmidt, Sie werden uns fehlen" |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/helmut-schmidt-hamburg-verabschiedet-sich-mit-staatsakt-a-1064093.html |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |access-date=2015-11-23 |date=2015-11-23}} Helmut Schmidt's remains were buried there one day later, in the family grave alongside the remains of his parents and his wife, Loki.{{cite web |title= Helmut Schmidt ist bestattet |url=http://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Helmut-Schmidt-ist-bestattet,schmidt1232.html |work=NDR |language=de |access-date=2015-11-24 |date=2015-11-24}}

Helmut Schmidt received a number of accolades. Among those offered was the Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which he chose not to accept in Hanseatic tradition in line with the history of independence of Hamburg.{{cite news| url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/bundesverdienstkreuz-das-kreuz-mit-dem-dank/253942.html |title=Bundesverdienstkreuz: Das Kreuz mit dem Dank |work=Tagesspiegel |date=2001-09-06 |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}

In 2003, the university of Germany's federal armed forces in Hamburg was renamed Helmut Schmidt University – University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg in 2003, in honour of the politician who{{spaced ndash}}as minister of defense{{spaced ndash}}had introduced mandatory academic education for German career officers.{{cite web |url=http://www.hdg.de/lemo/biografie/helmut-schmidt |title=LeMO Bestand: Biografie Helmut Schmidt |author=Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland |access-date=2015-11-10}}

In November 2016, Hamburg Airport was renamed "Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt" in his honour.{{cite web |title=Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt |website=aero.de |date=2016-09-01 |url=https://www.aero.de/news-24891/Hamburg-Airport-Helmut-Schmidt-ab-10-November.html |language=de |access-date=2023-08-26}}

• 1983: Hamburg{{cite web |url=http://www.hamburg.de/ehrenbuerger |title=Hamburger Ehrenbürger |publisher=City of Hamburg |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}
• 1983: Bonn{{cite web |url=http://www.bonn.de/rat_verwaltung_buergerdienste/der_oberbuergermeister/ehrenbuerger/index.html?lang=de |title=Ehrenbürger der Stadt Bonn |publisher=Stadt Bonn |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203081412/http://www.bonn.de/rat_verwaltung_buergerdienste/der_oberbuergermeister/ehrenbuerger/index.html?lang=de |archive-date=2010-12-03 }}
• 1983: Bremerhaven{{cite web |url=http://www.bremerhaven.de/stadt-politik/stadtinformation/staedtische-ehrungen/ehrenbuerger.12669.html |title=Bremerhaven.de – Ehrenbürger |date=2009-05-13 |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}
• 1989: Berlin{{cite web |url=http://www.parlament-berlin.de/de/Das-Haus/Berliner-Ehrenbuerger |title=Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin – Berliner Ehrenbürger |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}
• 1995: Güstrow{{cite web |url=http://www.guestrow.de/stadt-politik/ehrenbuerger/ |title=Ehrenbürger: Barlachstadt Güstrow |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-date=2015-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204091704/http://www.guestrow.de/stadt-politik/ehrenbuerger/ }}
• 1998: State of Schleswig-Holsteinsee List of honorary citizens of Schleswig-Holstein

Throughout his tenure as chancellor, and even thereafter, Helmut Schmidt received 24 honorary degrees. They include degrees from the British universities Oxford and Cambridge, Paris Sorbonne, the American Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities, the Belgian Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and the Keio University in Japan.{{cite web|url=http://www.interactioncouncil.org/helmut-schmidt|title=Helmut Schmidt|access-date=2015-11-10}}

The Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung was established in 2016 by the German Bundestag as one of six non-partisan foundations commemorating politicians. It aims to honour Helmut Schmidt's historic achievements and to work on political issues Helmut Schmidt was concerned with throughout his political life and which have lost none of their relevance today.{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.helmut-schmidt.de/en/the-foundation/about-us/ |website=Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt Stiftung |language=en |access-date=2020-04-30 |archive-date=2020-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706101359/https://www.helmut-schmidt.de/en/the-foundation/about-us/}} The foundation's headquarters are located in Hamburg.

• 1978: Theodor Heuss Prize for his crisis management in the time of RAF-Terror{{cite web |url=http://www.theodor-heuss-stiftung.de/thp/1978-2/ |title=Theodor Heuss Stiftung / 1978 |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de }}
• 1978: Peace Prize of the Louise Weiss Foundation in Strasbourg{{cite web |title=Preisträger 2005: Helmut Schmidt |url=http://www.trier.de/Kultur-Freizeit/Preise-Ehrungen/Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-Preis/Helmut-Schmidt/ |website=trier.de |publisher=Stadt Trier |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}
• 1986: Athena Award of the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation
• 1988: Red Cross Four Freedoms Award{{cite web |url=http://www.fourfreedoms.nl/en/the-awards/year:1988/award:international-four-freedoms-award/laureates:helmut-schmidt.htm |access-date=2015-11-10 |title=Helmut Schmidt Laureate International Four Freedoms Award 1988 |archive-date=2015-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629161122/http://www.fourfreedoms.nl/en/the-awards/year:1988/award:international-four-freedoms-award/laureates:helmut-schmidt.htm }}
• 1989: Prize "The Political Book" award of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation for Men and Powers{{cite web |title=Die Preisträger "Das politische Buch" seit 1982 |url=http://www.fes.de/daspolitischebuch/preistraeger.php |publisher=Friedrich Ebert Stiftung |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-date=27 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127003736/http://www.fes.de/daspolitischebuch/preistraeger.php }}
• 1990: Friedrich-Schiedel-Literaturpreis for Men and Powers{{cite web |url=http://literaturpreis-bad-wurzach.de/preistraeger/preistraeger.htm |title=Friedrich-Schiedel-Literaturpreis der Stadt Bad Wurzach/Allgäu: Preisträger |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-date=2015-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224215949/http://literaturpreis-bad-wurzach.de/preistraeger/preistraeger.htm }}
• 1996: Spanish journalism prize Godo
• 1998: Carlo Schmid Prize{{cite web |title=1998 Helmut Schmidt |url=http://carlo-schmid-stiftung.de/preistrager-1998-helmut-schmidt/ |publisher=Carlo-Schmid-Stiftung |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de}}
• 2001: Gold Medal of the Foundation Jean Monnet, for his dedication in the service of the European Monetary Union (together with his friend, the former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing){{cite web |title=Giscard – Schmidt – Delors |url=http://jean-monnet.ch/giscard-schmidt-delors/ |publisher=Fondation Jean Monnet pour l'Europe |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=fr |archive-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128002335/http://jean-monnet.ch/giscard-schmidt-delors/ }}
• 2002: Martin Buber Plaque{{cite web |url=http://www.euriade.net/martinbuber_EN.php |title=Euriade |access-date=2015-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425044547/http://euriade.net/martinbuber_EN.php |archive-date=2017-04-25 }}
• 2002: Dolf Sternberger Prize{{cite web |title=Dolf-Sternberger-Preis: Helmut Schmidt auszeichnet |url=http://www.n-tv.de/archiv/Helmut-Schmidt-auszeichnet-article112641.html |publisher=n-tv |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2003-03-15}}
• 2005: Prix des Generations of the initiative VIVA 50plus
• 2005: Oswald von Nell-Breuning Prize of the city of Trier{{cite web |title=Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-Preis: Stadt Trier ehrt CDU-Politiker Heiner Geißler |url=http://www.swr.de/landesschau-aktuell/rp/trier/oswald-von-nell-breuning-preis-stadt-trier-ehrt-cdu-politiker-heiner-geissler/-/id=1672/did=14567662/nid=1672/17u37hq/index.html |publisher=Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2014-11-20}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• 2005: Adenauer-de Gaulle Prize, for his work at the Franco-German cooperation (along with Valéry Giscard d'Estaing){{cite web |url=http://www.deutschland-frankreich.diplo.de/Liste-der-bisherigen-Preistrager,1502.html |title=Liste der bisherigen Preisträger des Adenauer-de (...) – France-Allemagne.fr |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511033111/http://www.deutschland-frankreich.diplo.de/Liste-der-bisherigen-Preistrager,1502.html |archive-date=2015-05-11 }}
• 2007: Henry Kissinger Prize of the American Academy in Berlin{{cite web |url=http://www.americanacademy.de/fileadmin/_temp_/Kissinger_Prize.pdf |title=Press release of the American Academy |date=2007-05-30 |quote=As a publisher, he remains a pre-eminent catalyst of transatlantic dialogue and debate. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628090244/http://www.americanacademy.de/fileadmin/_temp_/Kissinger_Prize.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-28 |access-date=2015-11-10}}
• 2007: Global Economy Prize of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy{{cite web |url=https://www.ifw-kiel.de/events-1/global-economy-prize/folder.2009-05-14.6472526637/the-kiel-institute-global-economy-prize-2007/?searchterm=helmut%20schmidt |title=2007 Global Economy Prize |access-date=2015-11-10}}{{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• 2008: Osgar Media Award of the Bild Zeitung{{cite web |title=Rede von Bundeskanzlerin Dr. Angela Merkel zur Verleihung des "Osgar"-Medienpreises an Bundeskanzler a.D. Helmut Schmidt am 24. Juni 2008 in Leipzig |url=http://www.bundesregierung.de/Content/DE/Bulletin/2008/06/71-1-bkin-preisverleihung.html |publisher=Deutsche Bundesregierung |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2008-06-24}}
• 2009: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Prize{{cite web |title=Mendelssohn Award 2009 |url=https://www.mendelssohn-stiftung.de/r-awards-since-2007-a-336.html |publisher=Mendelssohn Stiftung |access-date=2015-11-10 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103919/https://www.mendelssohn-stiftung.de/r-awards-since-2007-a-336.html }}
• 2010: Point Alpha Prize{{cite web |last1=Debes |first1=Martin |title=Helmut Schmidt bekommt den Point-Alpha-Preis |url=http://www.thueringer-allgemeine.de/web/zgt/politik/detail/-/specific/Helmut-Schmidt-bekommt-den-Point-Alpha-Preis-769983190 |publisher=Thüringer Allgemeine |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2010-06-18}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• 2010: Henri Nannen Prize for his journalistic lifetime achievement{{cite news |title=Henri-Nannen-Preis: Helmut Schmidt liest Journalisten die Leviten |url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/article7530510/Helmut-Schmidt-liest-Journalisten-die-Leviten.html |work=Die Welt |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2010-05-08}}
• 2011: Millennium-Bambi{{cite web |title=Altkanzler Helmut Schmidt erhält "Millennium-Bambi" |url=http://www.abendblatt.de/kultur-live/tv-und-medien/article108152207/Altkanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-erhaelt-Millennium-Bambi.html |publisher=Hamburger Abendblatt |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2011-10-26}}
• 2012: Eric M. Warburg Prize{{cite web |last1=Brössler |first1=Daniel |title=Altkanzler zur Krise der EU: Helmut Schmidt fordert Opferbereitschaft |url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/altkanzler-zur-krise-der-eu-helmut-schmidt-fordert-opferbereitschaft-1.1400788 |work=Süddeutsche Zeitung |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |date=2012-07-03}}
• 2012: Westphalian Peace Prize{{cite web |title=Westfälischer Friedenspreis: Helmut Schmidt verkneift sich das Rauchen |url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/westfaelischer-friedenspreis-helmut-schmidt-verkneift-sich-das-rauchen-1.1475232?aff_sub=00030000030104645300540d,4406498,at102799_a144815_m12_p3434_cDE+ |work=Süddeutsche Zeitung |access-date=2015-11-10 |date=2012-09-22 |language=de}}
• 2013: Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize. The Schleyer family's decision to award him this prize 36 years after Schleyer's death deeply moved him.{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/schmidt-erhaelt-schleyer-preis-aussoehnung-nach-36-jahren-12163839.html |title=Schmidt erhält Schleyer-Preis: Aussöhnung nach 36 Jahren |work=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |last1=Soldt |first1=Rüdiger}}{{cite news |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article115653515/Schmidt-ist-zutiefst-geruehrt-von-Familie-Schleyer.html |title=Auszeichnung: Schmidt ist 'zutiefst gerührt' von Familie Schleyer |work=Die Welt |date=2013-04-26 |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |last1=Clauß |first1=Ulrich}}
• 2014: German-French Journalists Prize{{cite web |url=http://www.journalistenpreise.de/?id=gewinner&pid=21 |title=JournalistenPreise.de – Deutsch-Französischer Journalistenpreis – Gewinner |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-date=2017-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904152404/http://www.journalistenpreise.de/?id=gewinner&pid=21 }}
• 2015: Gustav Stresemann Prize of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Germany{{cite web |url=http://www.afuamvd.de/freimaurer-vergeben-stresemann-preis-an-helmut-schmidt/ |title=Freimaurer vergeben Stresemann-Preis an Helmut Schmidt |access-date=2015-11-10 |language=de |archive-date=2016-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305004322/http://www.afuamvd.de/freimaurer-vergeben-stresemann-preis-an-helmut-schmidt/ }}

In 2017, after Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen issued an order to remove Wehrmacht memorabilia from barracks and other institutions of the Bundeswehr, a photo of the young Lieutenant Helmut Schmidt in Wehrmacht uniform was removed from the military's Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg. Although the photo is now displayed again, the initial decision has caused a debate over Schmidt's service in the Wehrmacht. According to Der Spiegel, von der Leyen initially distanced herself from this decision, yet after a few days, she explained that Schmidt, as Minister of Defense and later Chancellor, was important in the formation of the Bundeswehr as a democratic army, but his time in the Wehrmacht had nothing to do with this.{{cite news |last1=Wiegrefe |first1=Klaus |title=Ex-Kanzler in Wehrmachtsuniform. Helmut Schmidt darf wieder an die Wand |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/helmut-schmidt-in-wehrmachtsuniform-darf-wieder-an-die-wand-a-1152162.html |access-date=2019-05-20 |agency=Spiegel online |date=2017-06-14 |language=de}} Historian Michael Wolffsohn argues that Schmidt avoided explaining about "what he had done between 1940 and 1945." He further comments that the whole Schmidt affair reveals that while the Bundeswehr is not "a state within state", there is an uncritical milieu in the Bundeswehr that does not correspond to the spirit of the majority in the German society and might get larger if unchecked. He recommends that the photo be displayed again, but with explanations.{{cite news |last1=Wolffsohn |first1=Michael |title=Das Helmut-Schmidt-Foto und die Pinnwand-Lüge |url=https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/politik-inland/wolffsohn-bundeswehr-51768718.bild.html |access-date=2019-05-20 |agency=The Local |date=2017-05-16 |language=de}} Theo Sommer, a prominent journalist and former Chief of Planning Staff for the Ministry of Defence, while agreeing that the military leadership should pay attention to extremism within the Bundeswehr, criticizes von der Leyen for her overreaction and Wolffsohn for false representation of Schmidt's attitude. According to Sommer, Schmidt had always been frank about his service on the Eastern Front: while he denied that he had ever seen or known about mass extermination of Jews in Russia, Schmidt admitted he often had to shoot at villages and then recognized the smell of burnt flesh. Schmidt said the troops were never taught about the Geneva Conventions, and by standards of today, he would have to go to court "a dozen times".{{cite news |last1=Sommer |first1=Theo |title=Seite 2/2: Helmut Schmidts Rolle im zweiten Weltkrieg ist gar nicht so ungeklärt. "Fünf vor acht / Ursula von der Leyen: Die Ausputz-Aktionen in den Kasernen sind maßlos" |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2017-05/ursula-von-der-leyen-amt-5vor8/seite-2 |access-date=2019-05-20 |agency=Zeit Online |date=May 2017 |language=de}} According to Der Spiegel, Schmidt dated his departure from "idea and practice of National Socialism" to 1942 and his recognition of the criminal character of the regime to 1944.{{sfn|Wiegrefe|2017}}

{{external media| float=right| video1=[https://www.c-span.org/video/?11944-1/former-west-german-chancellor-helmut-schmidt-dead-96 Booknotes interview with Schmidt on Men and Powers, 15 April 1990], C-SPAN}}

• Menschen und Mächte (Men and Powers), Siedler, Berlin 1987. Memoirs with focus on Cold War politics.
• Die Deutschen und ihre Nachbarn (The Germans and Their Neighbours), Siedler, Berlin 1990. Strong focus on European politics.
• Kindheit und Jugend unter Hitler, with Willi Berkhan et al. (Childhood and Youth Under Hitler). Siedler, Berlin 1992.
• Weggefährten (Companions), Siedler, Berin 1996. Personal memoirs, with focus on personal relations with domestic and foreign politicians.

• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Balance of Power|publisher=Kimber|date=1971|isbn=978-0-7183-0112-5}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=The Soviet Union: Challenges and Responses as Seen from the European Point of View|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|date=1984|isbn=978-9971-902-75-9|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=A Grand Strategy for the West: The Anachronism of National Strategies in an Interdependent World|publisher=Yale University Press|date=1987|isbn=978-0-300-04003-6|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Men and Powers: A Political Retrospective|publisher=Random House|date=1989|isbn=978-0-394-56994-9|author-mask=2|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394569949}}
• {{cite book|first1=Helmut|last1=Schmidt|title=A Global Ethic and Global Responsibilities: Two Declarations|first2=Hans|last2=Küng|author2-link=Hans Küng|publisher=SCM Press|date=1998|isbn=978-0-334-02740-9|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Bridging the Divide: Religious Dialogue and Universal Ethics|publisher=Queen's Policy Studies|date=2008|isbn=978-1-55339-220-0|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Auf der Suche nach einer öffentlichen Moral |trans-title=In Search of a Public Morality |language=de|publisher= DVA|place=Stuttgart|date=1998|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Die Selbstbehauptung Europas |trans-title=The Self-Assertion of Europe |publisher=DVA|place=Stuttgart|date=2000|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Die Mächte der Zukunft. Gewinner und Verlierer in der Welt von morgen |trans-title=The Powers of the Future: Winners and Losers in the World of Tomorrow |publisher=Siedler |place=Munich |date=2004|author-mask=2}}
• {{cite book|author1=Frank Sieren|author2=Helmut Schmidt|title=Nachbar China |trans-title=Neighbour China |publisher=Econ |date=2006-09-01}}
• {{cite book|first=Helmut|last=Schmidt|title=Außer Dienst |trans-title=Out of Service |publisher=Siedler |place=Munich|date= 2008 |author-mask=2}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/9819/1/9819.pdf#140 |title=Report on the Development of the Social Situation in the Communities in 1976 |publisher=European Economic Committee |date=April 1977 |access-date=2023-08-12}}

{{cite web|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/10246/1/10246.pdf#page115 |title=Report on the Development of the Social Situation in the Communities in 1977 |publisher=European Economic Community |date=April 1978 |access-date=2023-02-04}}

{{cite web|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/10248/1/10248.pdf#page71 |title=Report on the Development of the Social Situation in the European Community I in 1978 |publisher=European Economic Community |date=31 January 1979 |access-date=2023-02-04}}

{{cite news|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/9816/1/9816.pdf#page169 |title=Report on Social Developments Year 1979 |publisher=European Economic Community |date=April 1980 |access-date=2023-02-03}}

{{cite web|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/9813/1/9813.pdf |title=Report on Social Developments Year 1980 |publisher=Commission of the European Communities |date=1981-01-30 |access-date=2023-02-04}}

{{cite web|url=http://aei.pitt.edu/9842/1/9842.pdf#page168 |title=Report on the Development of the Social Situation in the Community in 1974 |publisher=European Economic Community |date=1975 |access-date=2023-02-03}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11255.pdf#page65 |title=Social Protection versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade-Off? |author=Rebecca M. Blank |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=January 1994 |access-date=2023-02-04}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.genet.ac.uk/workpapers/GeNet2007p28.pdf |title=Panacea or Pitfall? Women's Part-time Employment and Marital Stability in West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317052939/http://www.genet.ac.uk/workpapers/GeNet2007p28.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-17}}

Growth to Limits. The Western European Welfare States Since World War II by Peter Flora

{{cite web|url=http://www.bpb.de/izpb/10109/sozialliberale-koalition-und-innere-reformen?p=3 |title=Sozialliberale Koalition und innere Reformen |author=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |date=2002-04-05 |access-date=2015-11-10}}

}}

• Bark, Dennis L., and David R. Gress. Democracy and Its Discontents 1963–1988 (A History of West Germany) (v. 2) (1989)
• {{cite book|author-link=Jonathan Carr (writer) |last=Carr |first=Jonathan |title=Helmut Schmidt: Helmsman of Germany |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |date=1985|isbn=978-0-312-36744-2|url=https://archive.org/details/helmutschmidthel00carr}}
• Dönhoff, Marion. Foe into Friend: Makers of the New Germany from Konrad Adenauer to Helmut Schmidt (1982)
• Merkl, Peter H. The Federal Republic of Germany at Forty: Union Without Unity (1989)
• Soell, Hartmut. Helmut Schmidt: Pioneer of International Economic and Financial Cooperation (2013) [https://www.amazon.com/Helmut-Schmidt-International-SpringerBriefs-Policymakers-ebook/dp/B00HAZB8OA/ excerpt]
• Spohr, Kristina. The Global Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt and the Reshaping of the International Order (Oxford University Press, 2016).
• Wilsford, David, ed. Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 405–13.

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/SchmidtHelmut/ Biography at the German Historic Museum] {{in lang|de}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090209012308/http://www.bundeskanzlerin.de/nn_4976/Webs/BK/DE/Amt-und-Verfassung/Bundeskanzler-1949-2005/Helmut-Schmidt/helmut-schmidt.html Chancellor Site] {{in lang|de}}
• [http://www.hsu-hh.de/hsu/index.php?action=setlanguage&language=en Helmut Schmidt University]
• {{C-SPAN|8391}}
• Talks:
• [http://www.zeit.de/online/2006/14/rede_schmidt Kröten und Paragrafenwahn (German, 2006)]
• [http://www.zeit.de/online/2006/37/schmidt-rede-china Schmidt's talk on the occasion of China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visiting Hamburg (English, 2006)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070213182242/http://openvault.wgbh.org/wapina/barcode48541schmidt_1/index.html Interview on nuclear strategy in Europe] for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
• Interviews:
• [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/16/magazine/a-talk-with-helmut-schmidt.html?pagewanted=1 A Talk with Helmut Schmidt], The New York Times, 16 September 1984

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